Big South Conference
Overview
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
's Division I. The conference's football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). The Big South, founded in 1983, is firmly rooted in the southeastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with member institutions located in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Charter members included Armstrong State (now Armstrong Atlantic State University
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Armstrong Atlantic State University, also referred to as Armstrong Atlantic, Armstrong, or simply AASU, is a four-year public university part of the University System of Georgia. It is located on a campus in suburban Savannah, Georgia, United States...
), Augusta (now Augusta State University
Augusta State University
Augusta State University is a public university located in Augusta, Georgia, United States and is the oldest institution in the state of Georgia ....
), Campbell University
Campbell University
Campbell University is a coeducational, church-related university in rural North Carolina, USA. Its main campus is located in the community of Buies Creek; its law school moved from Buies Creek to a new campus in the state capital of Raleigh in 2009. Campbell has an approximately equal number of...
, Charleston Baptist (now Charleston Southern University
Charleston Southern University
Charleston Southern University, founded in 1964 as Baptist College, is an independent comprehensive university located in North Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston Southern enrolls a maximum of 3,200 students. Affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, the university's mission is...
), Coastal Carolina University
Coastal Carolina University
Coastal Carolina University is an independent, state-supported, liberal arts university in Conway, South Carolina, USA, located eight miles west of Myrtle Beach. Founded in 1954, Coastal became an independent university in 1993. The University enrolls approximately 8,300 students on its campus...
, Radford University
Radford University
Radford University is one of Virginia's eight doctoral-degree granting public universities. Originally founded in 1910, Radford offers comprehensive curricula for undergraduates in more than 100 fields, and graduate programs including the M.F.A., M.B.A...
, and Winthrop University
Winthrop University
Winthrop University is a public, four-year liberal arts university in Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA. In 2006-07, Winthrop University had an enrollment of 6,292 students. The University has been recognized as South Carolina's top-rated university according to evaluations conducted by the South...
.
The Big South Conference began sponsoring football in 2002, with Charleston Southern University
Charleston Southern University
Charleston Southern University, founded in 1964 as Baptist College, is an independent comprehensive university located in North Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston Southern enrolls a maximum of 3,200 students. Affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, the university's mission is...
, Gardner–Webb University, and Liberty University
Liberty University
Liberty University is a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty's annual enrollment is around 72,000 students, 12,000 of whom are residential students and 60,000+ studying through Liberty University Online...
fielding teams; Coastal Carolina University
Coastal Carolina University
Coastal Carolina University is an independent, state-supported, liberal arts university in Conway, South Carolina, USA, located eight miles west of Myrtle Beach. Founded in 1954, Coastal became an independent university in 1993. The University enrolls approximately 8,300 students on its campus...
and Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
joined the conference as football-playing members in 2003.
