The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
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. LU is a member of the ASUN Conference for most sports. Two sports that are not sponsored by the ASUN are housed elsewhere. Women's swimming competes in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association. 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. In football, Liberty participates in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as an independent. 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 10 times, the most in Big South Conference history.
The 2003 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament took place March 4–8, 2003, at campus sites. The tournament was won by the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, their first tournament championship, as well as first under head coach Eddie Biedenbach.
The 2016 Big South Conference Softball Tournament were held at Winthrop University's Terry Field from May 11 through May 14, 2016. Longwood won their second straight tournament championship, and the third of their four years in the conference, earning the conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. The first and second rounds were streamed online through the Big South Network, while the semifinals and championship were streamed on ESPN3.
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 Big South Conference Softball Tournament was held at Longwood University's Lancer Field from May 10 through May 14, 2017. Following the departure of Coastal Carolina for the Sun Belt Conference, the Big South reconfigured the tournament to a six-team event. Longwood won their third straight tournament, and fourth of their five seasons in the conference, becoming the first tournament host to win since Radford in 2008.
The 2017 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was held from May 18 through June 7, 2017 as the final part of the 2017 NCAA Division I softball season. The 64 participating NCAA Division I college softball teams were selected out of an eligible 293 teams on May 14, 2017. Thirty-two teams were awarded automatic bids as champions of their conferences, and the remaining 32 were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I softball selection committee. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2017 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma would repeat as National Champions, defeating Florida in 2 games and 17 innings in the first game. Oklahoma became the lowest seeded team to ever win the National Championship, winning as the 10 seed.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2018. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament and 2018 College World Series. The College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA tournament and held annually in Omaha, Nebraska at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, ended on June 28, 2018.
The 2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 17th year, the Wildcats played their home games at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Big East Conference. The Wildcats finished the season 36–4, 14–4 in Big East play to finish in second place. They defeated Marquette, Butler, and Providence to win the Big East Tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the East region, their third No.1 seed in four years. They defeated Radford, Alabama, West Virginia, and Texas Tech to advance to the Final Four for the second time in three years. In the National Semifinal, they defeated Kansas before defeating Michigan in the National Championship game to win their second national championship in three years. They won every game of the tournament by a double-digit margin and the team's tournament run is widely considered the most dominant ever along with being called among the best seasons of all time.
The High Point Panthers women's volleyball team is an NCAA Division I volleyball team representing High Point University as part of the Big South Conference. They play their home games at Millis Athletic Convocation Center in High Point, North Carolina.
The Big South Conference men's soccer tournament is a men's college soccer tournament that determines the Big South Conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament. Held annually since 1984, the tournament is the oldest active NCAA Division I men's college soccer tournament.
The 2018 Big South men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament that ended the 2017–18 season of the Big South Conference. It was held from February 27 through March 4, 2018 at various campus sites. No. 2 seed Radford defeated No. 5 seed Liberty in the championship game to win the tournament and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The 2018–19 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 18th year, the Wildcats played their home games at the Finneran Pavilion on the school's campus in the Philadelphia suburb of Villanova, Pennsylvania and Wells Fargo Center as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 26–10, 13–5 in Big East play to finish in first place. They defeated Providence, Xavier, and Seton Hall to win the Big East Tournament. As a result, the Wildcats received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region. There they defeated Saint Mary's before being defeated by Purdue in the Second Round.
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 NCAA Division I Baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began February 15, 2019. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2019 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament and 2019 College World Series. The College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held annually in Omaha, Nebraska at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, ended on June 26, 2019. The Vanderbilt Commodores won the tournament, and were consequently named national champions.
The 2019 Big South men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament that ended the 2018–19 season of the Big South Conference. It was held from March 5 through March 10, 2019 at various campus sites. Gardner–Webb defeated Radford 76–65 in the championship game to win the tournament, and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It was the first title for Gardner–Webb after 11 years in the Big South, and their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history.
The 2019 Big South women's basketball tournament was the postseason women's basketball tournament that ended the 2018–19 season of the Big South Conference. It was held March 12 through March 17, 2019, at various campus sites. Radford won the conference tournament championship game over the Campbell Lady Camels, 57–45, to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Carlik Anthony Jones is an American professional basketball player for the Texas Legends of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Radford Highlanders and the Louisville Cardinals.
The 2021 NCAA Division I Softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2021. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2021 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and 2021 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisted of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament was held in Oklahoma City at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, and ended on June 10, 2021.
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.
