The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and began operating the Big South–OVC Football Association in partnership with the Ohio Valley Conference in 2023. The Big South, founded in 1983, is firmly rooted in the South Atlantic region of the United States, with full member institutions located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Associate members are located in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.
The Liberty Flames and Lady Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. They are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 20 sports. As of July 1, 2023, LU is a member of Conference USA (C-USA) for most sports, joining that league after five years as a member of the ASUN Conference. Four sports that are not sponsored by C-USA are housed elsewhere. The field hockey team was a member of the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference before that league's demise after the 2014 season. After playing the 2015 season as an independent, the team joined the Big East Conference in 2016. Women's lacrosse remains in the ASUN Conference, and women's swimming & diving joined the ASUN when it effectively absorbed the swimming & diving side of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association after the 2022–23 season. Men's soccer competes in the Ohio Valley Conference. In football, Liberty had participated in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as an independent before joining C-USA. The mascot, Sparky, is frequently seen at events. Liberty University is the second youngest school in NCAA Division I, founded in 1971. As a member of the Big South Conference, Liberty regularly competed for the Sasser Cup, which is the trophy for the university which has the best sports program among the member institutions. Liberty won the Sasser Cup 14 times, the most in Big South Conference history.
The Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Gardner–Webb University, located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Gardner–Webb participates in 21 varsity sports at the NCAA Division I level. The school's programs are a part of the Big South Conference. Known as the Bulldogs going back to 1922, costumed mascots, registered athletic marks and Gardner-Webb University live mascots have all been featured.
The 2012 Big South men's basketball tournament took place February 27, 29, March 1, and March 3, 2012. The semifinals were televised on ESPNU, and the championship on ESPN2. It was the first year the Big South introduced a first round that consisted of 2 games to be held on campus sites of the higher seeds. VMI and High Point defeated Radford and Gardner-Webb, respectively, to advance to the quarterfinals, held at UNC Asheville's Kimmel Arena along with the semifinals.
The 2012 Big South Conference men's soccer tournament will be the 29th edition of the tournament. The tournament will decide the Big South Conference champion and guaranteed representative into the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. Held from November 6–11, the semifinal and championship rounds will be held at the Bryan Park Soccer Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The 2013 Big South Conference men's soccer tournament will be the 30th edition of the tournament. Held from Nov. 14-17, it will determine the Big South Conference champion, and the automatic berth into the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The Winthrop Eagles are the defending men's soccer champions.
The 2015–16 High Point Panthers men's basketball team represented High Point University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by seventh year head coach Scott Cherry, played their home games at the Millis Athletic Convocation Center and were members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 21–11, 13–5 in Big South play to win a share of the regular season championship. They defeated Longwood in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to UNC Asheville. As a regular season conference champion and #1 seed in their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to South Carolina.
The 2015 Big South Conference men's soccer tournament was the 32nd edition of the tournament. It determined the Big South Conference's automatic berth into the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
The 2016–17 High Point Panthers men's basketball team represented High Point University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by eighth-year head coach Scott Cherry, played their home games at the Millis Athletic Convocation Center as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 15–16, 9–9 in Big South play to finish in fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament to Gardner–Webb.
The 2016 Big South Conference women's soccer tournament is the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Big South Conference to be held from October 28 to November 6, 2016. The seven match tournament will be held at campus sites, with the semifinals and final held at Bryan Park in Greensboro, North Carolina. The eight team single-elimination tournament will consist of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Liberty Flames are the defending tournament champions, after defeating the Campbell Lady Camels in the championship match.
The 2017 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament was the 36th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game were played at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, Florida on December 1 and 3, 2017, while the preceding rounds were played at various sites across the country during November 2017. The Stanford Cardinal were tournament champions, winning the final 3–2 over the UCLA Bruins.
The 2017 Big South Conference men's soccer tournament, was the 34th edition of the tournament. It determined the Big South Conference's automatic berth into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
The 2018 Big South Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Big South Conference held from October 27 through November 4, 2018. The quarterfinals of the tournament were held at campus sites, while the semifinals and final took place at Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, North Carolina. The eight-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The High Point Panthers were the defending champions, but they were eliminated from the 2018 tournament with a 2–0 quarterfinal loss to the Radford Highlanders. The Radford Highlanders won the tournament with a 1–0 win over Gardner–Webb in the final. The conference tournament title was the sixth for the Radford women's soccer program and the sixth for head coach Ben Sohrabi.
The 2019–20 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gardner–Webb University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Bulldogs, led by seventh-year head coach Tim Craft, played their home games at the Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, North Carolina as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 11–7 in Big South play to finish in third place. They defeated UNC Asheville in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament before losing in the semifinals to Winthrop.
The 2019 Big South Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Big South Conference held from November 1 through November 10, 2019. The quarterfinals of the tournament were held at campus sites, while the semifinals and final took place at Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, North Carolina. The eight-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. Radford were the defending champions, and successfully defended their championship with a 2–1 win over Gardner-Webb fin the final. The conference tournament title was the seventh for the Radford women's soccer program and the seventh for head coach Ben Sohrabi.
The 2020–21 Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team represented Winthrop University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 9th-year head coach Pat Kelsey, will play their home games at the Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, South Carolina as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 23-2, 17-1 in Big South Play to finish as regular season champions. They defeated High Point, Longwood, and Campbell to be champions of the Big South tournament. They received the Big South’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Villanova.
The 2021 Big South Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Big South Conference held from October 31 through November 7, 2021. The tournament was hosted by the higher seed in the Quarterfinals and the higher remaining seed in the Semifinals and Finals. The eight-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. Campbell were the defending champions, and the first overall seed in the tournament. However, they were unable to defend their crown, falling in extra time to High Point in the final. The conference tournament title was the seventh for the High Point women's soccer program and the first for head coach Brandi Fontaine. As tournament champions, High Point earned the Big South's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
The 2021–22 Big South Conference men's basketball season started non-conference play on November 9, 2021, and began conference play on January 5, 2022. The regular season ended on February 26, 2022, setting up the 2021–22 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament from March 2 to March 6.
The 2021 Big South Conference men's soccer tournament was the postseason men's soccer tournament for the Big South Conference held from November 7 through November 14, 2021. The tournament was hosted on the campus of the higher seed each game. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. High Point were the defending champions. However, they were unable to defend their crown, falling in to Campbell in the final. The conference tournament title was the seventh for the Campbell men's soccer program and the third for head coach Dustin Fonder. The title was Campbell's third in the last four years and their seven titles is two more than any other Big South men's soccer program. As tournament champions, Campbell earned the Big South's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament.
The 2022 Big South Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Big South Conference held from November 3 through November 6, 2022. The tournament was hosted by the Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, North Carolina. The four team-team single-elimination tournament consisted of two rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. High Point were the defending champions, and they were unable to defend their crown, as they failed to qualify for the tournament, finishing in fifth place. Radford won the tournament with a 3–0 victory over USC Upstate in the Final. The conference tournament title was the eighth for the Radford women's soccer program, all of which have come under head coach Ben Sohrabi. As tournament champions, Radford earned the Big South's automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament.
