USA South Athletic Conference

USA South Athletic Conference
Association	NCAA
Commissioner	Dr. Tom Hart
Sports fielded	18 men's: 9; women's: 9; ;
Division	Division III
Region	South
Official website	usasouth.net
Locations

The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky.

History

The Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was founded in 1963 as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with the philosophy that participation would be strictly amateur, so no athletic financial aid or scholarships would be awarded by its affiliate institutions. The six charter members were Charlotte College, College of Charleston, Methodist College, North Carolina Wesleyan College, St. Andrews Presbyterian College, and Lynchburg College.^[1] In 1973, when the National Collegiate Athletic Association divided into a three-division format, the Dixie Conference left the NAIA and moved into the non-scholarship NCAA Division III.^[1]

On June 30, 2003, the conference changed to its name to the USA South Athletic Conference.^[2]

During the 2010–11 school year, changes to the membership of the USA South were announced. Three colleges announced plans to join the USA South Conference beginning in the 2012–13 season while one will depart the league. Piedmont College,^[3] LaGrange College,^[4] and Maryville College joined the Great South Athletic Conference on July 1, 2012.

Shenandoah University left the USA South on the above date, to become a full member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), a league in which it held associate membership in several sports.

Christopher Newport University left the USA South after the 2012–2013 season to join the Capital Athletic Conference in all sports except for football which will remain a USA South affiliate member through the 2015 season.

On May 10, 2012, Covenant College and Huntingdon College announced plans to leave the Great South and join USA South Athletic Conference beginning in the 2013–2014 season.

On May 6, 2015, the USA South announced that Agnes Scott College, Salem College, and Wesleyan College would leave the Great South Athletic Conference and join the USA South beginning in the 2016–17 school year.^[5] The conference announced the future arrival of three more schools during the 2015–16 school year. First, it announced on December 9, 2015, that Brevard College, transitioning from the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference to Division III, would join for 2017–18 and beyond.^[6] Then, on May 4, 2016, two more incoming members were announced: Berea College, nearing completion of a transition from the NAIA to Division III, and Pfeiffer University, transitioning from the Division II Conference Carolinas to Division III. Both joined in 2017–18 as well.^[7]

On June 27, 2017, Ferrum College, a conference member since 1988, announced that it would leave for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference after the 2017–18 school year.^[8]

On December 11, 2019, the USA South announced the addition of Southern Virginia University who will join in the 2021–22 academic year.^[9]

The most recent changes to the USA South membership came on March 8, 2021, when Averett University revealed its intention to leave the USA South and join Ferrum College in the ODAC as a full member in the 2022–23 academic year,^[10] and on November 22, when Belhaven University was at first accepted for membership in the conference also for 2022–23. Belhaven is leaving the American Southwest Conference.^[11]

On February 18, 2022, the USA South Conference presidents announced a restructuring of the conference, resulting in Agnes Scott, Berea, Covenant, Huntingdon, LaGrange, Maryville, Piedmont, and Wesleyan leaving the USA South to form the new Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) for the 2022-23 academic year. They were joined by incoming member Belhaven. CCS members sponsoring football, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, and women's golf will remain in the USA South as associate members for those sports.^[12]

Chronological timeline

1963 - The USA South was founded as the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was founded. It was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Charter members included Charlotte College (now the University of North Carolina at Charlotte), the College of Charleston, Lynchburg College (now the University of Lynchburg), Methodist College (now Methodist University), North Carolina Wesleyan College, and St. Andrews Presbyterian College (now St. Andrews University), effective the 1963-64 academic year.

1966 - Greensboro College joined the Dixie Conference, effective the 1966-67 academic year.

1968 - The University of North Carolina at Greensboro joined the Dixie Conference, effective the 1968-69 academic year.

1970 - Charlotte and the College of Charleston left the Dixie Conference, effective the 1969-70 academic year.

1970 - Virginia Wesleyan College (now Virginia Wesleyan University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective the 1970-71 academic year.

1972 - Christopher Newport College (now Christopher Newport University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective the 1972-73 academic year.

1973 - The Dixie Conference left the NAIA to join the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), effective the 1973-74 academic year.

1976 - Lynchburg left the Dixie Conference to join the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), effective the 1975-76 academic year.

1978 - Averett College (now Averett University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective the 1978-79 academic year.

1988 - UNC Greensboro and St. Andrews Presbyterian left the Dixie Conference, effective the 1987-88 academic year.

1988 - Ferrum College joined the Dixie Conference, effective the 1988-89 academic year.

1989 - Virginia Wesleyan left the Dixie Conference to join the ODAC, effective the 2000-01 academic year.

1992 - Shenandoah College (now Shenandoah University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective the 1992-93 academic year.

2000 - Chowan College (now Chowan University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective the 2000-01 academic year.

2003 - Peace College (now William Peace University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective the 2003-04 academic year.

2003 - The Dixie Conference has renamed and rebranded as the USA South Athletic Conference (USA South), effective the 2003-04 academic year.

2004 - Chowan left the USA South to become an NCAA Division II independent school (and later on, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA)), effective the 2003-04 academic year.

2005 - Maryville College joined the USA South as an associate member for football, effective the 2005 fall season (2005-06 academic year).

2007 - Mary Baldwin College and Meredith College joined the USA South, effective the 2007-08 academic year.

2009 - Agnes Scott College and LaGrange College joined the USA South as associate members for women's lacrosse, effective the 2010 spring season (2009-10 academic year).

2012 - Shenandoah left the USA South to join the ODAC, effective the 2011-12 academic year.

2012 - Piedmont College joined the USA South (with LaGrange and Maryville adding the rest of their sports for full member status), effective the 2012-13 academic year.

2013 - Christopher Newport left the USA South to join the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), effective the 2012-13 academic year.

2013 - Covenant College and Huntingdon College joined the USA South, effective the 2013-14 academic year.

2014 - Agnes Scott left the USA South as an associate member for women's lacrosse, effective the 2014 spring season (2013-14 academic year).

2016 - Christopher Newport left the USA South as an associate member for football, effective the 2015 fall season (2015-16 academic year).

2016 - Salem College and Wesleyan College joined the USA South (with Agnes Scott re-joining, but for all sports), effective the 2016-17 academic year.

2017 - Berea College, Brevard College, and Pfeiffer University joined the USA South, effective the 2017-18 academic year.

2018 - Ferrum left the USA South to join the ODAC, effective the 2017-18 academic year.

2021 - Southern Virginia University joined the USA South, effective the 2021-22 academic year.

2022 - Averett will leave the USA South to join the ODAC, effective the 2021-22 academic year.

2022 - Agnes Scott, Berea, Covenant, Huntingdon, LaGrange, Maryville, Piedmont, and Wesleyan will leave the USA South to form the new Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS), effective the 2022-23 academic year.

2022 - Belhaven University will join the USA South as an associate member for football, effective the 2022-23 academic year. Belhaven was initially slated to join for all sports, but was admitted to the CCS as a full member instead.

Member schools

Current members

The USA South currently has 19 full members, all private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Football?
East Division
Averett University	Danville, Virginia	1859	1978	Non-sectarian	2,719	Cougars	Yes
Greensboro College	Greensboro, North Carolina	1838	1966	Methodist	1,233	Pride	Yes
Mary Baldwin University^[a]	Staunton, Virginia	1842	2007	Presbyterian	2,242	Fighting Squirrels	No
Meredith College^[b]	Raleigh, North Carolina	1891	2007	Non-sectarian	1,990	Avenging Angels	No
Methodist University	Fayetteville, North Carolina	1956	1963	Methodist	2,215	Monarchs	Yes
North Carolina Wesleyan College	Rocky Mount, North Carolina	1956	1963	Methodist	900	Battling Bishops	Yes
Pfeiffer University	Misenheimer, North Carolina	1885	2017	Methodist	1,200	Falcons	No
Salem College^[b]	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	1772	2016	Moravian	565	Spirits	No
Southern Virginia University	Buena Vista, Virginia	1867	2021	LDS Church	1,106	Knights	Yes
William Peace University^[a]	Raleigh, North Carolina	1857	2003	Presbyterian	950	Pacers	No
West Division
Agnes Scott College^[b]	Decatur, Georgia	1889	2016	Presbyterian	914	Scotties	No
Berea College	Berea, Kentucky	1855	2017	Christian (unaffiliated)	1,613	Mountaineers	No
Brevard College	Brevard, North Carolina	1853	2017	Methodist	708	Tornados	Yes
Covenant College	Lookout Mountain, Georgia	1955	2013	Presbyterian	1,282	Scots (men's) Lady Scots (women's)	No
Huntingdon College	Montgomery, Alabama	1854	2013	Methodist	900	Hawks	Yes
LaGrange College	LaGrange, Georgia	1831	2012	Methodist	1,137	Panthers	Yes
Maryville College	Maryville, Tennessee	1819	2012	Presbyterian	1,103	Scots	Yes
Piedmont University	Demorest, Georgia	1897	2012	Congregationalist	2,640	Lions	No
Wesleyan College^[b]	Macon, Georgia	1836	2016	Methodist	550	Wolves	No

Notes

^ ^a ^b This institution is a former women's college, which has eventually turned into a co-educational college (William Peace since 2012–13, Mary Baldwin since 2017–18).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.

Future associate members

Institution	Location	Nickname	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joining	USA South sports
Belhaven University	Jackson, Mississippi	Blazers	1883	Private/Presbyterian	3,245	2022–23	Football

Former members

Institution	Location	Nickname	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Current conference
Charlotte College^[a]	Charlotte, North Carolina	49ers	1961	Public	25,227	1963	1970	C-USA (NCAA Division I) (American in 2023)
Chowan College^[b]	Murfreesboro, North Carolina	Hawks	1848	Private	1260	2000	2004	Carolinas (NCAA Division II)
Christopher Newport University	Newport News, Virginia	Captains	1960	Public	4,793	1972	2013	C2C
College of Charleston	Charleston, South Carolina	Cougars	1770	Public	11,320	1963	1970	CAA (NCAA Division I)
Ferrum College	Ferrum, Virginia	Panthers	1913	Private/Methodist	1,100	1988	2018	ODAC
Lynchburg College^[c]	Lynchburg, Virginia	Fighting Hornets	1903	Private	2500	1963	1976	ODAC
Shenandoah University	Winchester, Virginia	Hornets	1875	Private	1767	1992	2012	ODAC
St. Andrews Presbyterian University^[d]	Laurinburg, North Carolina	Knights	1958	Private	600	1963	1988	AAC (NAIA)
University of North Carolina at Greensboro	Greensboro, North Carolina	Spartans	1891	Public	18,502	1968	1988	SoCon (NCAA Division I)
Virginia Wesleyan College^[e]	Norfolk, Virginia	Marlins	1961	Private	1446	1970	1989	ODAC

Notes

^ Now known as the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
^ Now known as Chowan University.
^ Now known as the University of Lynchburg.
^ Now known as St. Andrews University.
^ Now known as Virginia Wesleyan University.

Membership timeline

Sports

The conference sponsors championships in the following sports:

**Conference sports**
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	14
Basketball	15	19
Cross country	14	17
Football	9
Golf	11	7
Lacrosse	10	9
Soccer	15	19
Softball		17
Tennis	15	19
Track and field (outdoor)	10	13
Volleyball		19

Men's sponsored sports by school

Departing members are displayed in red.

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross country	Football	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Tennis	Track & field (outdoor)	Total USA South sports
Averett	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	8
Berea	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	5
Brevard	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Covenant	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	7
Greensboro	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	7
Huntingdon	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
LaGrange	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	8
Mary Baldwin	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	6
Maryville	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	7
Methodist	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
North Carolina Wesleyan	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	8
Pfeiffer	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Piedmont	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Southern Virginia	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
William Peace	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Totals	14	15	14	9	11	10	15	15	10	114
Belhaven				Y						1

Women's sponsored sports by school

Departing members are displayed in red.

School	Basketball	Cross country	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & field (outdoor)	Volleyball	Total USA South sports
Agnes Scott	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	6
Averett	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	7
Berea	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	6
Brevard	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Covenant	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Greensboro	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	5
Huntingdon	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
LaGrange	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	6
Mary Baldwin	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Maryville	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	7
Meredith	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Methodist	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
North Carolina Wesleyan	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Pfeiffer	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Piedmont	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Salem	Y	N	N	N	Y	N	Y	N	Y	4
Southern Virginia	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Wesleyan	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
William Peace	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Totals	19	17	7	9	19	17	19	13	19	139

Conference facilities

School	Football		Basketball
School	Stadium	Capacity	Arena	Capacity
Agnes Scott	Non-football school	—	Woodruff Athletic Complex	—
Averett	Cougars Den	5,000	Grant Center	2,500
Belhaven (2022)	Belhaven Bowl	1,200	Football-only school	—
Berea	Non-football school	—	Seabury Center Arena	2,000
Brevard	Brevard Memorial Stadium	5,000	Boshamer Gymnasium	1,000
Covenant	Non-football school	—	Barnes Physical Education Center	650
Greensboro	Jamieson Stadium	10,000	Hanes Gymnasium	850
Huntingdon	Charles Lee Field at Samford Stadium	2,500	Catherine Dixon Roland Arena	976
LaGrange	Callaway Stadium	5,000	Mariotti Gymnasium	500
Maryville	Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium	3,000	Boydson-Baird Gymnasium	2,000
Mary Baldwin	Non-football school	—	MBC Physical Activities Center	—
Meredith	Non-football school	—	Weatherspoon Gymnasium	500
Methodist	Monarch Field	1,500	March F. Riddle Center	1,200
North Carolina Wesleyan	Rocky Mount Athletic Stadium^[13]	5,000	Everett Gymnasium	800
Pfeiffer	Non-football school	—	Merner Gymnasium	1,500
Piedmont	Non-football school	—	Johnny Mize Athletic Center and Cave Arena^[14]	1,500
Salem	Non-football school	—	Spirit Center	—
Southern Virginia	Knight Stadium	1,000	Knight Arena	525
Wesleyan	Non-football school	—	Porter Gymnasium	586
William Peace	Non-football school	—	Hermann Center	1,000

References

^ ^a ^b 2007 Football Media Guide (PDF), USA South Athletic Conference, archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2008, retrieved April 28, 2008
^ "Dixie Conference Chooses New Name", Greensboro News Record, p. C1, February 3, 2003
^ McCormack, Timmy (April 11, 2011). "Piedmont College Announces Plan To Join USA South Athletic Conference". Piedmont College Athletics. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
^ "LaGrange College accepts invitation to join USA South Athletic Conference". LaGrange Panthers. April 21, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
^ "Agnes Scott, Salem and Wesleyan Set to Join USA South". May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
^ "Brevard College Set to Join USA South" (Press release). USA South Athletic Conference. December 9, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
^ "Berea College and Pfeiffer University Set to Join USA South" (Press release). USA South Athletic Conference. May 4, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
^ "ODAC Membership Set to Expand with Inclusion of Ferrum College" (Press release). Old Dominion Athletic Conference. June 27, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
^ "Southern Virginia Set to Join USA South" (Press release). Southern Virginia University Athletics. December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
^ "Averett University to Join the ODAC as a Full-Time Member". ODAC. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
^ "Belhaven University Set to Join USA South". USA South Athletic Conference. November 22, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
^ "USA South Announces Conference Restructuring". USA South Athletic Conference. February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
^ "Bishops to Return to Rocky Mount Athletic Stadium". NC Wesleyan Battling Bishops. July 31, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
^ "Johnny Mize Athletic Center with Video". Piedmont Lions. Piedmont College. Retrieved April 12, 2014.

External links

Official website

[coed-13] This institution is a former women's college, which has eventually turned into a co-educational college (William Peace since 2012–13, Mary Baldwin since 2017–18).

[women-14] This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.

[15] Now known as the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

[16] Now known as Chowan University.

[17] Now known as the University of Lynchburg.

[18] Now known as St. Andrews University.

[19] Now known as Virginia Wesleyan University.

[usasacfbmedia-1] 2007 Football Media Guide (PDF), USA South Athletic Conference, archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2008, retrieved April 28, 2008

[2] "Dixie Conference Chooses New Name", Greensboro News Record, p. C1, February 3, 2003

[3] McCormack, Timmy (April 11, 2011). "Piedmont College Announces Plan To Join USA South Athletic Conference". Piedmont College Athletics. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.

[4] "LaGrange College accepts invitation to join USA South Athletic Conference". LaGrange Panthers. April 21, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.

[5] "Agnes Scott, Salem and Wesleyan Set to Join USA South". May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.

[6] "Brevard College Set to Join USA South" (Press release). USA South Athletic Conference. December 9, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2016.

[7] "Berea College and Pfeiffer University Set to Join USA South" (Press release). USA South Athletic Conference. May 4, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2016.

[8] "ODAC Membership Set to Expand with Inclusion of Ferrum College" (Press release). Old Dominion Athletic Conference. June 27, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.

[9] "Southern Virginia Set to Join USA South" (Press release). Southern Virginia University Athletics. December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.

[10] "Averett University to Join the ODAC as a Full-Time Member". ODAC. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.

[11] "Belhaven University Set to Join USA South". USA South Athletic Conference. November 22, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.

[12] "USA South Announces Conference Restructuring". USA South Athletic Conference. February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2022.

[20] "Bishops to Return to Rocky Mount Athletic Stadium". NC Wesleyan Battling Bishops. July 31, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.

[21] "Johnny Mize Athletic Center with Video". Piedmont Lions. Piedmont College. Retrieved April 12, 2014.

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v t e USA South Athletic Conference
Full members with football	Brevard Greensboro Methodist North Carolina Wesleyan Southern Virginia
Full, non-football members	Mary Baldwin Meredith^† Pfeiffer Salem^† William Peace
Football associate members	Belhaven Huntingdon LaGrange Maryville
^† Women's sports only