The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Established in 1921, the Southern Conference ranks as the fifth-oldest major college athletic conference in the United States, and either the third or fourth oldest in continuous operation, depending on definitions.
The Wofford Terriers are the athletic teams that represent the Wofford College, located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southern Conference since the 1997–98 academic year. Wofford and the other SoCon members play football in the Football Championship Subdivision. Prior to the 1995–96 year, the Terriers played in Division II in all sports, and until the 1988–89 period, Wofford's athletic teams were members of the NAIA. The football team plays in Gibbs Stadium. The basketball teams moved to the new Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium for the 2017–18 season.
The 2011 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place between Friday, March 4 and Monday, March 7 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at McKenzie Arena. The semifinals were televised by SportSouth, with the Southern Conference Championship Game televised by ESPN2. The championship matched the two teams with the best conference records, College of Charleston and Wofford. Although College of Charleston had won both regular season meetings against Wofford, the Terriers defeated the Cougars in the championship game, 77–67, to secure their bid to the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Wofford's second straight appearance.
The 2013 Summit League men's basketball tournament was the 2013 post-season tournament for Summit League, an NCAA Division I athletic conference. The tournament took place March 9–12, 2013 at the Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Only Nebraska–Omaha was ineligible for the 2013 tournament due to its NCAA Division I transition. Teams were seeded by conference record, with tiebreakers used when necessary.
The 2014 Summit League men's basketball tournament was the post-season men's basketball tournament for the Summit League, and took place March 8–11, 2014 at the Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Teams were seeded by conference record, with tiebreakers used when necessary. The champion received an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA tournament.
The 2014 Summit League women's basketball tournament was the 2014 post-season tournament for The Summit League, an NCAA Division I athletic conference. The tournament took place March 8–11, 2014, at the Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This is the last season only 7 teams will participate. Next season Oral Roberts will return to the Summit League, giving the tournament 8 teams, and in 2016 Omaha will become eligible to participate in the tournament, making it a 9-team tournament. Next year an 8-team format will be used, with no team receiving a bye. For 2016, an 8/9 first round match will be added, with the winner moving to face the 1-seed in the quarterfinals. Seeds 1-7 will be given a bye to the quarterfinals.
Steve Traylor is an American former college baseball and basketball coach. In basketball, he was the head coach of Greensboro College. In baseball, he was the head coach at Florida Atlantic, Duke, and Wofford. Traylor had 776 career wins and led both Florida Atlantic and Wofford to their first NCAA tournaments.
The 2015 Horizon League men's basketball tournament began on March 3, 2015, with the championship game on Tuesday, March 10. First round games were played on the home court of the higher-seeded team. The second round and semifinals were hosted by Valparaiso, because the Crusaders won the regular season conference championship. Since Valparaiso won its semifinal game, it also hosted the championship game. Only eight of the nine teams in the conference played in the Horizon League Tournament, as Milwaukee has been deemed ineligible for postseason play for the 2014–15 season.
The 2014–15 Southern Conference men's basketball season began on November 14, 2014, and concluded in March with the 2015 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament played at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
The 2016–17 UNC Greensboro Spartans men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Greensboro during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by sixth-year head coach Wes Miller, played their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum, with two home games at Fleming Gymnasium, as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 25–10, 14–4 in SoCon play to finish in a three-way tie for the SoCon regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the SoCon tournament, they defeated The Citadel and Wofford to advance to the championship game where they lost to East Tennessee State. As a conference champion and No. 1 seed in their conference tournament who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Syracuse.
The 2019 Southern Conference women's basketball tournament was held between March 7 and 10 in Asheville, North Carolina, at the U.S. Cellular Center. Mercer defeated Furman 66–63 to earn their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The 2021–22 VMI Keydets basketball team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Keydets, led by seventh-year head coach Dan Earl, played their home games in Cameron Hall in Lexington, Virginia as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the regular season 16–15, 9–9 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the SoCon tournament, they lost to Wofford in the quarterfinals. They accepted an invitation to play in the College Basketball Invitational tournament marking their first postseason tournament appearance since 2014. As a No. 8 seed, they lost to No. 9-seeded UNC Wilmington in the first round.
The 2021–22 Southern Conference men's basketball season started non-conference play on November 9, 2021, and began conference play on December 29, 2021. The regular season ended on February 27, 2022, setting up the 2022 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament from March 4 to March 7.
The 2021 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southern Conference held from October 26 through November 7, 2021. The tournament was held at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting. The ten-team single-elimination tournament consisted of four rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Furman Paladins were the defending champions but were unable to defend their crown, losing 4–2 in the final to the Samford Bulldogs. This was the fourth Southern Conference tournament title for the Samford women's soccer program, all four of which have come under coach Todd Yelton. As tournament champions, Samford earned the Southern Conference's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
The 2022 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Southern Conference (SoCon) for the 2021–22 season. All tournament games were played at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina, during March 4–7, 2022. The winner of the tournament received the conference's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
The 2021 Southern Conference men's soccer tournament was the postseason men's soccer tournament for the Southern Conference held from November 1 through November 14, 2021. 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 UNC Greensboro Spartans were the defending champions but were unable to defend their crown, losing 2–1 in the Semifinals to the Belmont Bruins. The Mercer Bears were the tournament champions, defeating Belmont 4–3 in the final. This was the fourth Southern Conference tournament title for the Mercer men's soccer program, all four of which have come under coach Brad Ruzzo. As tournament champions, Mercer earned the Southern Conference's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament.
The 2022 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southern Conference held from October 25 through November 6, 2022. The tournament was held at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting. 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. Samford successfully defended their crown defeating the fourth seed UNC Greensboro in a penalty-shoot out in the final. This was the fifth Southern Conference tournament title for the Samford women's soccer program, all five of which have come under coach Todd Yelton. As tournament champions, Samford earned the Southern Conference's automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
The 2023–24 Furman Paladins men's basketball team represented Furman University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Paladins, led by seventh-year head coach Bob Richey, played their home games at Timmons Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, as members of the Southern Conference.
The 2023 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southern Conference held from October 24 through November 5, 2023. The tournament was held at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting. 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. Samford was not successful in their title defense. They reached the final but fell 1–0 to Western Carolina. This was the third Southern Conference tournament title for the Western Carolina women's soccer program and first for head coach Chad Miller. The tournament title was Western Carolina's first since 2008. As tournament champions, Western Carolina earned the Southern Conference's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
The 2023 Southern Conference men's soccer tournament was the postseason men's soccer tournament for the Southern Conference held from November 3 through November 12, 2023. The tournament was held at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The UNC Greensboro Spartans were the defending champions. UNC Greensboro was unable to defend its title, falling in the Quarterfinals to Mercer. Mercer would go on to win the tournament as the fifth seed, defeating Furman 2–0 in the Final. This was the fifth Southern Conference tournament title for the Mercer men's soccer program, all of which have come under head coach Brad Ruzzo. Mercer has also won the tournament three of the last five years. As tournament champions, Mercer earned the Southern Conference's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament.
