The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The 14 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed across the Southern United States.
The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champion. The tournament was formally held in 1959, when it was an eight-team tournament. Since then, the tournament has expanded to 48 teams, in which every Division I conference tournament champion is allocated a berth. Among the most successful programs, Saint Louis won 10 titles during dynasty years between 1959 and 1973. Indiana has won 8 titles beginning in 1982, whereas Virginia has won 7 titles beginning in 1989. Syracuse won its first national title in its first appearance in 2022.
The War on I-4 is a college rivalry between the University of Central Florida Knights and University of South Florida Bulls. The rivalry is best known for its college football matchup which originated in a series of football games played from 2005 to 2008 and now takes place on Thanksgiving weekend, the de facto "rivalry weekend" for FBS football. In 2013, when UCF joined the American Athletic Conference, the schools began competing annually in all sports. In 2016, the schools officially adopted the "War on I-4" as an official competition series. Each year, the team with the most wins across all sports receives a gold trophy styled after an Interstate 4 (I-4) road sign with the logos of each school. The winner of the annual football game also receives a similar trophy.
The Furman Paladins are the varsity athletic teams representing Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, in intercollegiate athletics.
The Jacksonville Dolphins are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Jacksonville University, located in Jacksonville, Florida. The Dolphins participate in NCAA Division I athletics, and are primarily members of the ASUN Conference. Some teams in sports that are not sponsored by the ASUN play in other conferences; specifically, the men's and women's rowing teams are in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The men's lacrosse team had played in the Southern Conference (SoCon) from 2015 to 2022, but that sport will return to the ASUN for the 2023 season.
The NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship is the annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States. It has been played annually since 1972; prior to that, all teams competed in a single class.
The VMI Keydets men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of the Virginia Military Institute. The team is a member of the Southern Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The West Virginia Mountaineers men's soccer team is the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I soccer team of West Virginia University (WVU). Beginning with the 2012 season, the team was an affiliate member of the Mid-American Conference because WVU is the only school in its primary conference, the Big 12 Conference, that has a varsity men's soccer team. For the 2022 season, West Virginia joined in-state rival Marshall in the Sun Belt Conference, and the Mountain State Derby will become an annual conference game. WVU had been scheduled to leave the MAC for Conference USA but this plan was changed when Marshall changed conferences from CUSA to the SBC.
The San Diego State Aztecs men's soccer team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of San Diego State University in San Diego, California, United States. The team is an associate member of the Pac-12 Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at SDSU Sports Deck in San Diego. The Aztecs are coached by Ryan Hopkins.
The UNC Greensboro Spartans men's soccer team is the varsity intercollegiate athletic team of University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. The team is a member of the Southern Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. UNCG's first men's soccer team was fielded in 1971. The team plays its home games at UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro. The UNCG Spartans have a three pronged coaching system run by head coach Chris Rich (2019) and assistant coaches Garrett McLaughlin(2018) and Jaime Ibarra(2019)
The Davidson Wildcats men's soccer team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. The team is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Davidson's first men's soccer team was fielded in 1956. The team plays its home games at Alumni Soccer Stadium in Davidson, North Carolina. The Wildcats are coached by Mike Babst.
The Marshall Thundering Herd men's soccer team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. The Thundering Herd plays its home games at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex in Huntington and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Sun Belt Conference (SBC). Marshall fielded its first intercollegiate men's soccer team in 1979. The Herd are coached by Chris Grassie, who has a record of 67–32–18 and a national championship during his six previous seasons at Marshall.
The Eastern Illinois Panthers men's soccer team represents Eastern Illinois University (EIU) as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference in NCAA Division I soccer. The Panthers play their home matches at Lakeside Soccer Field located directly south of the Lantz Arena complex on the EIU campus in Charleston, Illinois.
The Mercer Bears men's soccer team represents Mercer University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. The Bears play in the Southern Conference.
The Southern Conference women's soccer tournament is the conference championship tournament in women's soccer for the Southern Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament.
The 2017 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southern Conference held from October 25 through November 5, 2017. The first round and quarterfinals of the tournament were held at campus sites, while the semifinals and final took place at Samford University Track & Soccer Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. The ten-team single-elimination tournament consisted of four rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Samford Bulldogs were the defending champions, but they were eliminated from the 2017 tournament with a 2–1 semifinal loss in double overtime to the UNC Greensboro Spartans. UNC Greensboro won the tournament with a 1–0 win over the Western Carolina Catamounts in the final. This was the seventh Southern Conference tournament title for the UNC Greensboro women's soccer program and the first for head coach Michael Coll.
The 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament whose finals were held at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Arizona Wildcats earned their first national championship by defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 84–79 on March 31, 1997. They were coached by Lute Olsen and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Arizona's Miles Simon.
The 2018 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southern Conference held from October 24 through November 4, 2018. The first round and quarterfinals of the tournament were held at campus sites, while the semifinals and final took place at Betts Stadium in Macon, Georgia. The ten-team single-elimination tournament consisted of four rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The UNC Greensboro Spartans were the defending champions and successfully defended their crown with a 2–1 win over the Furman Paladins in the final. This was the eighth Southern Conference tournament title for the UNC Greensboro women's soccer program and the second for head coach Michael Coll.
The 2022 Southern Conference men's soccer tournament was the postseason men's soccer tournament for the Southern Conference held from November 4 through November 12, 2022. The tournament was held at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting. The seven-team single-elimination tournament consisted of four rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Mercer Bears were the defending champions but were unable to defend their crown, as they lost in the final to the UNC Greensboro Spartans, 2–1. This was the fourth Southern Conference tournament title for the UNC Greensboro men's soccer program, and second under coach Chris Rich. UNC Greensboro also has two tournament titles that were later vacated. As tournament champions, UNC Greensboro earned the Southern Conference's automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament.
