The Big South Conference
By Matt Shetler
The Big South Conference was
founded in 1983. It is a ten member conference that competes in
sixteen Division I sports. All of its members are located in
North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The Big South
headquarters are located in Charlotte, North Carolina and the
commissioner of the Big South is Kyle Kallender, a post he has
held since 1996. The conference’s football programs compete in
the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formally
Division I-AA).
Charter members of the Big South include: Armstrong Atlantic
State, Augusta State, Campbell University, Charleston Southern,
Coastal Carolina, Radford and Winthrop. In 1999, the Big South
added High Point, and in 2003 added Virginia Military Institute.
Gardner-Webb, and Presbyterian will be making their conference
debut’s in the 2008 season.
Current members include: Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina,
Gardner-Webb, High Point, Liberty, Presbyterian, Radford, North
Carolina at Ashville, Virginia Military Institute and Winthrop.
The Big South began sponsoring football in 2002, but the
conference is most known for its success in baseball and men’s
basketball.
Coastal Carolina became the first Bid South football team to
earn a berth in the NCAA Division I Championship in 2006. The
Chanticleers received an at-large bid and were ranked in the top
25. Coastal Carolina, along with the Winthrop Eagles and VMI
Keydets also remain very good baseball programs as well.
The greatest moment in Big South history occurred in 2007,
thanks to the Winthrop Eagles men’s basketball team. The Eagles
became the first Big South program to be ranked in the top 25
and shocked the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first round of
the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles defeated the Irish74-64,
becoming the first Big South team to win a game in the
tournament.
