Since its inception came in the 1990–91 school year, the Peach Belt has, across all sanctioned sports, produced 30 national champions and an additional 27 national finalists. Starting with only two championships in 1991, in men's and women's basketball, the conference has expanded to 18 championship sports with the addition of men's lacrosse in the summer of 2020 and men's and women's indoor track and field in 2023.
History
Peach Belt Conference
150km 100miles
Augusta
Middle Georgia State
USC Beaufort
USC Aiken
North Georgia
Lander
Georgia Southwestern State
Georgia College
Flagler
Columbus State
Clayton State
Location of Peach Belt Conference members: full, future
The conference traces its roots November 1988 when 11 schools first met in Greenville, S.C. to form a Division II conference. Following a second meeting on Dec. 3, 1989, five of those 11 schools, plus two others, formed the Peach Belt Athletic Conference and began play in the fall of 1990.
The Peach Belt was less than a year old before capturing its first of many national championships. The Columbus State men's golf team took the honor by winning the 1992 national crown, the first of three golf championships the Cougars own. One year later, the Lander men's tennis team began their record-breaking run of eight straight national titles, the first PBC dynasty. Since then, USCA men's golf won three straight national titles from 2004 to 2006 while AASU women's tennis captured four titles overall.
The 2010–11 season was one of the most memorable the league has ever had. Clayton State became the first PBC women's basketball team to capture a national championship. Montevallo watched their men's basketball team reach the Elite Eight, eventually competing in the National Championship Game. Unfortunately, their run came to an end with a loss to Western Washington University. The Columbus State men's tennis team reached the national semifinals while the Clayton State and Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis teams also played in the national semifinals. The North Georgia softball team made an unprecedented third straight appearance in the NCAA Women's College World Series, while Columbus State's Meshack Koyiaki registered a runner-up finish at the Men's Cross Country National Championships. In all, 46 Peach Belt teams made appearances in the NCAA postseason, including seven men's tennis teams and six each in the sports of men's golf and women's tennis.
David Brunk was named the second PBC commissioner in May 2007, replacing Marvin Vanover, who was the first PBC commissioner from 1991 to 2007. Brunk is charged with continuing the strong growth of the conference as its second era begins.
Dr. Kendall Blanchard, president of Georgia Southwestern State University, began the second of his two-year term as the league president in July 2011.
In April 2020, Francis Marion University and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke announced that they would leave the Peach Belt Conference starting in 2021–22, both joining Conference Carolinas.[3]
On April 14, 2021, the conference invited the NAIA's University of South Carolina Beaufort to join in 2022–23 after applying for membership in Division II and gaining acceptance into the NCAA.[4] By July 14, 2022, USCB was accepted into the NAIA's Continental Athletic Conference for its first year of provisional membership while still playing a Peach Belt schedule as part of the Sand Sharks' dual NAIA-NCAA membership. USCB is ineligible for a Peach Belt or NCAA postseason during the three-year transition.[5]
The conference currently holds championships in 16 sports, eight for men and eight for women. The championship sports are men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, baseball, softball, men's and women's track & field, and men's and women's golf.[6] Men's lacrosse was added on July 10, 2020, with its first season was in spring 2021, and men's and women's indoor track and field was added on August 11, 2023.[7][8]
2014 - The Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) joined the PBC as an affiliate member for men's & women's outdoor track & field in the 2015 spring season (2014-15 academic year).
2021 - Alabama–Huntsville and Shorter left the PBC as affiliate members for men's & women's outdoor track & field after the 2016 spring season (2015-16 academic year).
2017 - Two members left the PBC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Armstrong State announced that it would discontinue its athletic program and would be merged into Georgia Southern University, and Montevallo rejoined the Gulf South Conference, both after the 2016-17 academic year.
2017 - Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University joined the PBC as an affiliate member for men's & women's outdoor track & field in the 2018 spring season (2017-18 academic year).
2019 - Two institutions joined the PBC as affiliate members: Albany State University for women's soccer, and Claflin University for baseball, both in the 2019-20 academic year.
2021
Francis Marion and UNC Pembroke left the PBC to join the Conference Carolinas after the 2020-21 academic year.
Alabama–Huntsville and Shorter rejoined the PBC as affiliate members for men's lacrosse (with former full member Montevallo also rejoining that sport) in the 2022 spring season (2021-22 academic year).
2023 - Central State University joined the PBC as an affiliate member for men's and women's indoor track and field in the 2024 spring season (2023-24 academic year).
2024
The Sunshine State Conference, primary home of PBC track affiliates Embry–Riddle and Nova Southeastern, announced it would start sponsoring men's and women's outdoor track & field in 2024–25, and accordingly, both schools moved their respective programs to the SSC. Embry–Riddle will remain a PBC affiliate in men's and women's indoor track.[9]
Shorter moved to Conference Carolinas for all sports after the 2023–2024 academic year, including its PBC affiliated sport of men's lacrosse.
↑ Middle Georgia State's main campus is in Macon, where the women's cross-country and volleyball teams and men's and women's tennis teams are housed; the other intercollegiate athletics teams compete on the Cochran campus.
↑ Alabama–Huntsville and Shorter were affiliates of the Peach Belt for men's and women's outdoor track & field from the 2013 to 2016 spring seasons (2012–13 to 2015–16 school years).
↑ Montevallo was a full member of the Peach Belt from 2009–10 to 2016–17.
Former members
The PBC has eight former full members, all but one are public schools:
↑ The NCAA holds a single rifle championship event open to schools in all three divisions. Rifle schools in Divisions I and II operate under the same rules, including scholarship limits.
1 2 The NCAA sponsors Division II men's and women's golf championships, but the Augusta men's and women's golf teams compete as Division I members.
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 and South Carolina.
The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States.
The University of South Carolina Beaufort is a public college with three campuses in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. It is part of the University of South Carolina System, enrolls about 2,000 students, and offers over 50 areas of study. The main campus is in Bluffton. The institution's campus in Beaufort houses the school's honor programs and the Department of Visual Arts & Design. The campus location on Hilton Head Island is home to the institution's program for hospitality management.
The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its fifteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. There are also four associate members who participate in sports not sponsored by their home conference.
Shorter University is a private Baptist university in Rome, Georgia. It was founded in 1873 and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through six colleges and schools. In addition Shorter operates the Robert H. Ledbetter College of Business and the School of Nursing at off-campus facilities in the Rome area.
The Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The 13 member universities that compete in 19 sports are located in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Basketball teams compete as a single division in the NAIA.
The Sun Conference (TSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Eight of the ten full member institutions are located in Florida, with two in Georgia. The Sun Conference competes in the NAIA in all sponsored sports.
Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) primarily at the Division II level. It is also considered as one of the seven Division I conferences for men's volleyball. Originally formed in 1930, the league reached its modern incarnation in 1994. Member institutions are located in the southeastern United States in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The Conference Carolinas membership currently consists of 15 small colleges or universities, 13 private and two public.
The Shorter Hawks are the athletic teams that represent Shorter University, located in Rome, Georgia, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Hawks have primarily competed in the Conference Carolinas since the 2023–24 academic year.
The Montevallo Falcons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Montevallo, in Montevallo, Alabama, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Falcons have primarily competed in the Gulf South Conference since the 2017–18 academic year. Rivals include West Alabama, Auburn Montgomery, Alabama–Huntsville, and North Alabama.
The Flagler Saints are the athletic teams that represent Flagler College, located in St. Augustine, Florida, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Peach Belt Conference since the 2009–10 academic year.
The Lander Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent Lander University, located in Greenwood, South Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Peach Belt Conference since the 1990–91 academic year.
The USC Aiken Pacers are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Carolina Aiken, located in Aiken, South Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Pacers have primarily competed in the Peach Belt Conference since the 1990–91 academic year. The Pacers' primary rival is conference foe Augusta.
The Young Harris Mountain Lions are the athletic teams that represent Young Harris College, located in Young Harris, Georgia, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in Conference Carolinas beginning in the 2023–24 academic year.
The North Georgia Nighthawks are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Georgia, located in Dahlonega, Georgia, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Peach Belt Conference since the 2005–06 academic year. North Georgia's rifle team competes at the Division I level as affiliate members of the Southern Conference (SoCon).
The Augusta Jaguars are the athletic teams that represent Augusta University, located in Augusta, Georgia, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Peach Belt Conference since the 1991–92 academic year. Augusta's men's and women's golf programs compete at the Division I level as affiliate members of the Southland Conference.
The Armstrong State Pirates were the athletic teams that represented Armstrong State University, located in Savannah, Georgia, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Pirates and Lady Pirates competed as members of the Peach Belt Conference for all 11 varsity sports. Armstrong had been a member of the Peach Belt from 1990 until the discontinuation of the Pirates athletic program in 2017.
The USC Beaufort Sand Sharks are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Carolina Beaufort, located in Beaufort, South Carolina, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) since the 2022–23 academic year. The Sand Sharks previously competed in the Continental Athletic Conference, formerly known as the Association of Independent Institutions (AII), for the 2022–23 school year only, while they were continuing their transition as members of the Peach Belt and of NCAA Division II; and in the Sun Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), formerly known as the Florida Sun Conference (FSC), from 2008–09 to 2021–22.
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