Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. It was one of about 180 "normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. Some closed but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century and state universities in the late 20th century.
The Little Rock Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Trojans are a non-football member of the Ohio Valley Conference and a wrestling affiliate member of the Pac-12 Conference. The university offers 7 men's and 8 women's varsity sports. Little Rock has Sun Belt rivalries with all the West Division schools. Little Rock's primary in-state rival is Arkansas State.
The Troy Trojans football program represents Troy University at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level, where it has competed since 2001. The football program joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2004. The current head football coach is Gerad Parker. Troy has won 23 conference championships, with eight in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans play home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Alabama.
The South Alabama Jaguars represent the University of South Alabama in NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics. USA competes in the Sun Belt Conference; it is the conference's only remaining charter member from its inception. USA's athletics teams are nicknamed the Jaguars. Popular sports are baseball and men's basketball. USA sponsors 8 men's sports teams and 9 women's sports teams. The board of trustees voted to start a football program that began play in the fall of 2009.
Larry Blakeney is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Troy University from 1991 to 2014, compiling a record of 178–113–1 in 24 seasons. He is one of only two coaches to have taken a college football program from NCAA Division II to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the other being UCF's Gene McDowell.
Donald D. Maestri Jr. is an American college basketball coach who was the head men's basketball coach at Troy University from 1982 to 2013. Prior to accepting this position, Maestri was an assistant coach at Mississippi State University from 1979 to 1980 and at the University of Alabama from 1980 to 1982. Maestri coached the Trojans to a record of 500–404, one NCAA basketball tournament, five regular season conference titles, and one conference tournament title over the course of 26 seasons at Troy. He has been named coach of the year in the East Coast Conference (1994), the Summit League, Atlantic Sun Conference and the Sun Belt Conference (2009)
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are the athletic teams that represent Coastal Carolina University. They participate in Division I of the NCAA as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) in most sports, having joined that conference as a full but non-football member on July 1, 2016. At that time, the football team began a transition from the second-level Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the top-level Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The team played the 2016 season as an FCS independent, joined SBC football for the 2017 season, and became full FBS members for 2018 and beyond. A Chanticleer is a proud and fierce rooster. Before joining the SBC, the Chanticleers had been members of the Big South Conference since that league's formation in 1983. Coastal fields varsity teams in 19 sports, 8 for men and 11 for women. The university regularly competed for the Sasser Cup, the Big South's trophy for the university with the best sports program among the member institutions, winning the trophy nine times, tied with rival Liberty University.
The Troy Trojans baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team of Troy University, located in Troy, Alabama, United States. It competes in the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference. The program began play in 1911. In 1986 and 1987, Troy won Division II national championships under head coach Chase Riddle. As a Division II program, the team won 10 conference titles and appeared in 14 NCAA regionals and 7 College World Series.
The North Florida Ospreys are the athletic teams of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. The Ospreys compete in the ASUN Conference in NCAA Division I. UNF became a full-fledged member of Division I in 2009; previously, the Ospreys were members of the Sunshine State Conference and Peach Belt Conference in NCAA Division II. UNF fields teams in seven men's sports and ten women's sports.
The Troy Trojans men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of Troy University. The program is classified in NCAA Division I and the team competes in the Sun Belt Conference. The team currently plays their home games in Trojan Arena, which was built in 2012 and replaced the old arena known as Sartain Hall.
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 Troy Trojans softball team represents Troy University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans play their home games at Troy Softball Complex located on the university's campus. The program is one of the Top 50 winningest softball programs in the Division I, and has an overall record of 988–660–4(.599) as of the end of the 2021 season.
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 Troy Trojans women's basketball program is the intercollegiate women's basketball of Troy University. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Troy Trojans men's tennis team represents Troy University in NCAA Division I college tennis. The team belongs to the Sun Belt Conference and plays home matches at the Jimmy Lunsford Tennis Complex. The Trojans are currently led by head coach Rolando Vargas.
The Troy Trojans men's golf teams represent Troy University located in Troy, Alabama, and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans play their home matches at the Troy Country Club, and use the newly built/renovated Trojan Oaks Golf Practice Facility for practicing.
The Troy Trojans women's golf teams represent Troy University located in Troy, Alabama, and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans play their home matches at the Troy Country Club, and use the recently built/renovated Trojan Oaks Golf Practice Facility for practicing.
The Troy Trojans women's volleyball team represents Troy University in the sport of volleyball. The Trojans compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The Trojans play their home matches in Trojan Arena on the university's Troy, Alabama campus, and are currently led by head coach Josh Lauer.
The Troy Trojans women's tennis team represents Troy University and plays in the Sun Belt Conference. All home matches are played at the 12-court Jimmy Lunsford Tennis Complex on Troy's campus.
Rolando Vargas is the head tennis coach for the Troy Trojans men's tennis team. He was previously the head coach of the Radford Highlanders men's tennis team in 2018, as well as the head coach for the AUM Warhawks men's and women's tennis teams from 2010 to 2017. He holds the record for most wins in women’s tennis history at Auburn University at Montgomery, including four National Championships. Additionally, both of his men’s and women’s teams were undefeated for six consecutive years in every conference tournament in which they competed. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on March 23, 2024.
