Big South Conference - History

History

Charter members included Armstrong State (now Armstrong Atlantic State University) (1983-1987), Augusta (now Augusta State University) (1983-1990), Campbell University (1983-1994; 2011-present), Charleston Baptist (now Charleston Southern University) (1983-present), Coastal Carolina University (1983-present), Radford University (1983-present) and Winthrop University (1983-present).

The expansion of membership occurred during the 80's and 90's. Some of those members are University of North Carolina at Asheville (1984-present), Davidson College (1990-1992), Liberty University (1991-present), University of Maryland, Baltimore County (1992-1998), University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1992-1997), Towson University (1992-1995), Elon University (1999-2003), High Point University (1999-present) and Birmingham–Southern College (2000-2007).

The Big South Conference began sponsoring football in 2002, with Charleston Southern University, Gardner–Webb University, and Liberty University fielding teams; Coastal Carolina University and Virginia Military Institute joined the conference as football-playing members in 2003. VMI also joined the conference for all sports. Presbyterian joined the conference in 2007, moving up from Division II, and became eligible for regular-season championships and conference honors during the 2008 athletic year. Gardner–Webb, which had been a football playing member since 2002, joined the conference for all sports on July 1, 2008. Longwood accepted an invitation to join the Big South on January 23, 2012, with membership to formally begin July 1.