The Big South Conference

BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE

Founded in 1983, the Big South Conference has been an exemplary leader in college athletics, dedicated to developing student-athletes through the pursuit of excellence in the classroom, community and field of play. The league’s growing presence as an NCAA Division I athletic conference is made evident by its multitude of athletic accomplishments, innovative marketing and media partnerships, increased television packages and most importantly, its commitment to fostering the academic, personal, social, athletic and leadership development of its studentathletes. Comprised of 11 member institutions sharing a common geographic region and similar academic values and purposes, the Big South’s remarkable history of achievement is characterized by the league’s 19 championship sports and the profound academic and life successes of its more than 4,200 student-athletes. This has evolved into the conference’s “Where Winners Are Made” mantra as part of a new strategic emphasis on becoming the premiere non-FBS conference in the Southeast.

Since 2000, the Big South Conference has experienced its most pivotal accomplishments in the league’s history both athletically and academically, such as:

NCAA Baseball National Champion in 2016 Six individual National Champions Two top 10 finishes in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship -- including fifth in 2007 The No. 1 ranked team in the national polls in 2014 and 2015 (football) Reached the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs four times in a fiveyear span from 2013-17 Multiple teams in the FCS playoffs four times since 2012 Reached the NCAA “Sweet 16” in men’s soccer, women’s basketball, baseball and women’s lacrosse Four NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament wins Reached the NCAA Softball Regional Championship game five times Three Top 24 finishes in the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship since 2011 The No. 1 seed in the NCAA Baseball Regionals four times, including the national No. 4 seed in 2010 Three berths in the NCAA Baseball Super Regionals Multiple teams in the NCAA Baseball Regionals eight times Qualified three teams for NCAA postseason play in the same sport for the first time in 2016 (men’s soccer, men’s golf) Multiple postseason berths in at least four sports for five straight years First-ever appearance in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Doubles Championship Appearances in the round of 32 in the NCAA Men’s Singles Championship First All-Americans in men’s and women’s cross country The first-ever national finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year A Big South-record 13 Academic All-Americans in 2003-04 and 2013-14 A Big South-record 28 NCAA Public Recognition Awards for APR Success in 2018 A Big South-record 86 percent Graduation Success Rate in 2017 – fourth consecutive year at or above 84 percentile A Big South-record 42 All-Americans in 2011-12 On April 24, 1983, Charleston Southern (then Baptist College) Athletic Director Howard Bagwell and Augusta President George Christenberry began recruiting members into the fledgling league, and less than four months later on August 21, the Big South Conference was formed when Augusta, Charleston Southern, Campbell, Coastal Carolina and Winthrop committed to the new conference. One month later, Dr. Edward M. Singleton was selected as the league’s first Commissioner and continued to solicit new members. His efforts led to the additions of Armstrong State, Radford and UNC Asheville, giving the Big South more than the required six members to constitute an official conference. The Big South’s first year of competition was in the Fall of 1984, and in September 1986, the Big South Conference was granted full-fledged NCAA Division I status.

During its infancy and prior to securing automatic bids to NCAA Championships, the Big South made early strides in earning at-large berths in several national postseason events, including volleyball, women’s basketball and women’s golf. In 1989, George F. “Buddy” Sasser replaced the retiring Dr. Singleton as Commissioner, and in 1990, the league received its first automatic bid -- an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Baseball Championship. Under Sasser’s seven years of leadership, the conference implemented its public relations and compliance programs, and introduced its first-ever men’s basketball television package.

In August 1996, Kyle B. Kallander replaced Sasser as the league’s third Commissioner, and in his 22 years at the helm of the Big South, Kallander has been instrumental in aggressively promoting the conference to unprecedented heights.During his tenure, men’s and women’s indoor track & field (1997), football (2002) and women’s lacrosse (2013) were added as sponsored sports. The conference has also enjoyed record levels in marketing revenue, in addition to extensive television coverage for women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and women’s lacrosse for the first time. The league as a whole has enjoyed increased national television exposure through aggressive and unique television packages. Conference membership has solidified with the additions of Hampton University and USC Upstate this year, plus High Point, Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian College and Longwood, as well as the return of charter member Campbell University. Kallander’s long range vision has also included technological advancements, as the conference introduced its first live streaming event in 2005 and has consistently provided video offerings of more than 850 annually through a partnership with the member institutions, as well as the creation of several online and social media platforms. Ongoing equipment upgrades will allow these productions to become “TV-ready” in the near future, while the emphasis on video integration has allowed the conference to expand its reach globally as well as serve as a model for peer conferences to emulate. Kallander has also pushed initiatives around student-athlete wellness, such as an annual Health & Safety Summit that began in 2016.

BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE

Under Kallander’s leadership, the Big South developed and initiated its first long-range strategic plan, re-affirming the league’s vision as a distinctive athletic conference committed to the quality of institutional life through athletic competition. An updated strategic plan was launched in 2015 with the objective to transform the Big South Conference into the premiere non-FBS conference in the Southeast. The primary areas of focus are basketball success, media exposure, academic centrality, student-athlete experience and messaging/branding. In 2017, the league overhauled its identity with the most comprehensive rebrand in the 33-year history of the Big South Conference. The rebrand included a new brand identity featuring an adjusted color scheme, the introduction of a secondary logo and an extensive advertising campaign to enliven the conference’s distinct values, its roots in the Southeast region of the United States and its vision for the future. The foundation of the rebrand was built from the conference’s Live, Love and Life pillars, which are externally expressed through the conference’s new “Where Winners Are Made” mantra. Crafted in collaboration with conference leadership and student-athletes, the tagline (and corresponding #BigSouthMade hashtag) embodies and affirms the Big South’s commitment to developing studentathletes for profound success through Division I collegiate athletics and transformative academics.

Prominent Big South athletic alumni include multi-Olympians Amber Campbell and Taylor Milne; 2016 U.S. Open Champion Dustin Johnson; former American League All-Star Ty Wigginton; Cleveland Indians pitcher Cody Allen; Oakland Athletics pitcher Ryan Dull; Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman, NFL running back and “Dancing with the Stars” champion Rashad Jennings; ESPN personality Sam Ponder, threetime NFL Pro Bowler Justin Bethel and WNBA veteran Avery Warley. Distinguished alumni from Big South member institutions include Charlotte Hornets President Fred Whitfield (Campbell), U.S. Senator Tim Scott (Charleston Southern), Basketball Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore (GardnerWebb), Educator, author, orator, and advisor to U.S. presidents Booker T. Washington (Hampton), Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter Donna Fargo (High Point), former LPGA player Tina Barrett (Longwood), HGTV President Jim Samples (Presbyterian), former U.S. National Men’s Soccer Team member Dante Washington (Radford), former Weather Channel anchor Kristina Abernathy (UNC Asheville) NBA player Torrey Craig (USC Upstate) and actress Andie MacDowell (Winthrop).

The conference’s on-field accomplishments have been duplicated in the classroom. For the past four years, more than 50 percent of conference’s student-athletes have been named to the Big South’s Presidential Honor Roll for maintaining a 3.0 grade-point average for the academic year -- including a record 59.69 percent in 2016-17 -- and the league has experienced year-to-year APR improvements over the last five years.

Full-Time Member Institutions (11): Campbell University, Charleston Southern University, Gardner-Webb University, Hampton University, High Point University, Longwood University, Presbyterian College, Radford University, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate, Winthrop University.

Associate Members: Monmouth (football), Kennesaw State (football), North Alabama (football)

Geographical Breakdown (3 states): North Carolina (4) – Campbell University, Gardner-Webb University, High Point University, UNC Asheville; South Carolina (4) – Charleston Southern University, Presbyterian College, USC Upstate, Winthrop University; Virginia (3) – Hampton University, Longwood University, Radford University.

Championship Sports (19): Baseball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Men’s Cross Country, Women’s Cross Country, Football, Men’s Golf, Women’s Golf, Women’s Lacrosse, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, Softball, Men’s Tennis, Women’s Tennis, Men’s Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field, Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field, Volleyball