14 Schools•Division I•Est. 1983
The Big South formed on August 21, 1983, when Augusta, Charleston Southern, Campbell, Coastal Carolina and Winthrop committed to a new league. Competition began in the fall of 1984, and the NCAA granted full Division I status in September 1986. Headquartered in Charlotte, the conference spans North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, sponsors 19 championship sports and serves more than 3,000 student athletes under the mantra Where Winners Are Made.
Baseball delivered the crown jewel. Gary Gilmore's Coastal Carolina squad beat Arizona in June 2016 for the College World Series title, the league's first team national championship. Nine individual national champions have followed. In 2026 the Big South won NCAA tournament games in men's soccer, men's basketball, softball and baseball in the same season. Winthrop beat Notre Dame in 2007 after climbing into the national polls, and league teams have reached the round of 32 twice.
The Olympic thread is strong for a league this size. Coastal Carolina's Amber Campbell threw the hammer in Beijing, London and Rio, and her twelfth place mark in 2012 was the best ever by an American woman in the event. High Point's Taylor Milne ran for Canada in 2008 and 2016, Charleston Southern's Charlie Simpkins took triple jump silver in 1992, Radford's Dante Washington played for the United States in 1992, Campbell's Michelle Koh golfed for Malaysia in Rio, and Nick Mayhugh won Paralympic gold.
Rivalries give the calendar its flavor. Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern, the only two original Big South football programs still in the league, have met every year since 2002 and now play the North-South BBQ Bowl, where the loser hosts a barbecue feast and the winner picks the style.
Official Website
The Big South formed on August 21, 1983, when Augusta, Charleston Southern, Campbell, Coastal Carolina and Winthrop committed to a new league. Competition began in the fall of 1984, and the NCAA granted full Division I status in September 1986. Headquartered in Charlotte, the conference spans North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, sponsors 19 championship sports and serves more than 3,000 student athletes under the mantra Where Winners Are Made.
Baseball delivered the crown jewel. Gary Gilmore's Coastal Carolina squad beat Arizona in June 2016 for the College World Series title, the league's first team national championship. Nine individual national champions have followed. In 2026 the Big South won NCAA tournament games in men's soccer, men's basketball, softball and baseball in the same season. Winthrop beat Notre Dame in 2007 after climbing into the national polls, and league teams have reached the round of 32 twice.
The Olympic thread is strong for a league this size. Coastal Carolina's Amber Campbell threw the hammer in Beijing, London and Rio, and her twelfth place mark in 2012 was the best ever by an American woman in the event. High Point's Taylor Milne ran for Canada in 2008 and 2016, Charleston Southern's Charlie Simpkins took triple jump silver in 1992, Radford's Dante Washington played for the United States in 1992, Campbell's Michelle Koh golfed for Malaysia in Rio, and Nick Mayhugh won Paralympic gold.
Rivalries give the calendar its flavor. Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern, the only two original Big South football programs still in the league, have met every year since 2002 and now play the North-South BBQ Bowl, where the loser hosts a barbecue feast and the winner picks the style.
Official Website