USA South Athletic Conference explained

USA South Athletic Conference
Founded:	1963
Association:	NCAA
Division:	Division III
Teams:	10
Sports:	18
Mens:	9
Womens:	9
Region:	South
Formerly:	Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Dixie Conference
Headquarters:	Rome, Georgia
Commissioner:	Dr. Tom Hart
Website:	usasouth.net
Map:	File:USASouth-USA-states.png
Map Size:	250
Color:	0e0c7a;
Font Color:	FFFFFF

The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolina and Virginia.

History

The Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was founded in 1963 as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with the philosophy that participation would be strictly amateur, so no athletic financial aid or scholarships would be awarded by its affiliate institutions. The six charter members were Charlotte College, College of Charleston, Methodist College, North Carolina Wesleyan College, St. Andrews Presbyterian College, and Lynchburg College. In 1973, when the National Collegiate Athletic Association divided into a three-division format, the Dixie Conference left the NAIA and moved into the non-scholarship NCAA Division III.

On June 30, 2003, the conference changed to its name to the USA South Athletic Conference.

During the 2010–11 school year, changes to the membership of the USA South were announced. Three colleges announced plans to join the USA South Conference beginning in the 2012–13 season while one departed the league. Piedmont College,^[1] LaGrange College,^[2] and Maryville College joined the Great South Athletic Conference on July 1, 2012.

Shenandoah University left the USA South on the above date, to become a full member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), a league in which it held associate membership in several sports.

Christopher Newport University left the USA South after the 2012–13 season to join the Capital Athletic Conference in all sports except for football which remained a USA South affiliate member through the 2015 season.

On May 10, 2012, Covenant College and Huntingdon College announced plans to leave the Great South and join USA South Athletic Conference beginning in the 2013–14 season.

On May 6, 2015, the USA South announced that Agnes Scott College, Salem College, and Wesleyan College would leave the Great South Athletic Conference and join the USA South beginning in the 2016–17 school year.^[3] The conference announced the future arrival of three more schools during the 2015–16 school year. First, it announced on December 9, 2015, that Brevard College, transitioning from the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference to Division III, would join for 2017–18 and beyond.^[4] Then, on May 4, 2016, two more incoming members were announced: Berea College, nearing completion of a transition from the NAIA to Division III, and Pfeiffer University, transitioning from the Division II Conference Carolinas to Division III. Both joined in 2017–18 as well.^[5]

On June 27, 2017, Ferrum College, a conference member since 1988, announced that it would leave for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference after the 2017–18 school year.^[6]

On December 11, 2019, the USA South announced the addition of Southern Virginia University who joined in the 2021–22 academic year.^[7]

Later changes to the USA South membership came on March 8, 2021, when Averett University revealed its intention to leave the USA South and join Ferrum College in the ODAC as a full member in the 2022–23 academic year,^[8] and on November 22, when Belhaven University, then a member of the American Southwest Conference, was at first accepted for membership in the conference also for 2022–23.^[9]

On February 18, 2022, the USA South Conference presidents announced a restructuring of the conference, resulting in all of its members outside North Carolina and Virginia—Agnes Scott, Berea, Covenant, Huntingdon, LaGrange, Maryville, Piedmont, and Wesleyan—leaving the USA South to form the new Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) for the 2022-23 academic year. They were joined by incoming member Belhaven. CCS members sponsoring football, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, and women's golf remain in the USA South as associate members for those sports.^[10]

Chronological timeline

• 1963 - The USA South was founded as the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Charter members included Charlotte College (now the University of North Carolina at Charlotte), the College of Charleston, Lynchburg College (now the University of Lynchburg), Methodist College (now Methodist University), North Carolina Wesleyan College (now North Carolina Wesleyan University), and St. Andrews Presbyterian College (now St. Andrews University), effective beginning the 1963-64 academic year.
• 1966 - Greensboro College joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 1966-67 academic year.
• 1968 - The University of North Carolina at Greensboro joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 1968-69 academic year.
• 1970
  • UNC Charlotte and the College of Charleston left the Dixie Conference, effective after the 1969-70 academic year.
  • Virginia Wesleyan College (now Virginia Wesleyan University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 1970-71 academic year.
• 1972 - Christopher Newport College (now Christopher Newport University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 1972-73 academic year.
• 1973 - The Dixie Conference left the NAIA to join the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), effective in the 1973-74 academic year.
• 1976 - Lynchburg left the Dixie Conference to join the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), effective after the 1975-76 academic year.
• 1978 - Averett College (now Averett University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 1978-79 academic year.
• 1988
  • UNC Greensboro and St. Andrews Presbyterian left the Dixie Conference, effective in the 1987-88 academic year.
  • Ferrum College joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 1988-89 academic year.
• 1989 - Virginia Wesleyan left the Dixie Conference to join the ODAC, effective after the 1988-89 academic year.
• 1992 - Shenandoah College (now Shenandoah University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 1992-93 academic year.
• 2000 - Chowan College (now Chowan University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 2000-01 academic year.
• 2003
  • Peace College (now William Peace University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 2003-04 academic year.
  • The Dixie Conference was rebranded as the USA South Athletic Conference (USA South), effective in the 2003-04 academic year.
• 2004 - Chowan left the USA South to join the NCAA Division II ranks as an NCAA D-II Independent, effective after the 2003-04 academic year. (Chowan would eventually join the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in 2009.)
• 2005 - Maryville College joined the USA South as an associate member for football, effective in the 2005 fall season (2005-06 academic year).
• 2007 - Mary Baldwin College (now Mary Baldwin University) and Meredith College joined the USA South, effective in the 2007-08 academic year.
• 2009 - Agnes Scott College and LaGrange College joined the USA South as associate members for women's lacrosse, effective in the 2010 spring season (2009-10 academic year).
• 2012
  • Shenandoah left the USA South to join the ODAC, effective after the 2011-12 academic year.
  • Piedmont College joined the USA South (with LaGrange and Maryville adding the rest of their sports for full member status), effective in the 2012-13 academic year.
• 2013
  • Christopher Newport left the USA South to join the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), effective after the 2012-13 academic year.
  • Covenant College and Huntingdon College joined the USA South, effective in the 2013-14 academic year.
• 2014 - Agnes Scott left the USA South as an associate member for women's lacrosse, effective after the 2014 spring season (2013-14 academic year).
• 2016
  • Christopher Newport left the USA South as an associate member for football, effective after the 2015 fall season (2015-16 academic year).
  • Salem College and Wesleyan College joined the USA South (with Agnes Scott re-joining, but for all sports), effective in the 2016-17 academic year.
• 2017 - Berea College, Brevard College and Pfeiffer University joined the USA South, effective in the 2017-18 academic year.
• 2018 - Ferrum left the USA South to join the ODAC, effective after the 2017-18 academic year.
• 2021 - Southern Virginia University joined the USA South, effective in the 2021-22 academic year.
• 2022
  • In an amicable conference split, Agnes Scott, Berea, Covenant, Huntingdon, LaGrange, Maryville, Piedmont, and Wesleyan left the USA South at the end of the 2021–22 academic year to form the new Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS). With the CCS not sponsoring football, women's golf, or men's or women's lacrosse, all CCS members that sponsored those sports remained in the USA South as associate members.
  • At the same time, Averett left the USA South to join the ODAC.
  • Also at that time, Belhaven University joined the USA South as an associate member for football. Belhaven was initially slated to join for all sports, but was admitted to the CCS as a full member instead. The three other CCS members that sponsor football (Huntingdon, LaGrange, and Maryville) became USA South football associates. Huntingdon and non-football Piedmont also became associates in women's golf and men's and women's lacrosse; LaGrange also became an associate in men's lacrosse; and Maryville became an associate in women's golf.
• 2025 - Maryville will leave the USA South as an associate member for football and women's golf, effective after the 2024-25 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The USA South currently has 10 full members, all private schools, with Meredith as the league's only secular institution.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Football?
Brevard College	Brevard, North Carolina	1853	United Methodist	708	Tornados	2017	Yes
Greensboro College	Greensboro, North Carolina	1838	United Methodist	1,233	Pride	1966	Yes
Mary Baldwin University	Staunton, Virginia	1842	Presbyterian (PCUSA)	2,242	Fighting Squirrels	2007	No
Meredith College	Raleigh, North Carolina	1891	Nonsectarian	1,990	Avenging Angels	2007	No
Methodist University	Fayetteville, North Carolina	1956	United Methodist	2,215	Monarchs	1963	Yes
North Carolina Wesleyan University	Rocky Mount, North Carolina	1956	United Methodist	900	Battling Bishops	1963	Yes
Pfeiffer University	Misenheimer, North Carolina	1885	United Methodist	1,200	Falcons	2017	No
Salem College	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	1772	Moravian	565	Spirits	2016	No
Southern Virginia University	Buena Vista, Virginia	1867	LDS Church	1,053	Knights	2021	Yes
William Peace University	Raleigh, North Carolina	1857	Presbyterian (PCUSA)	950	Pacers	2003	No

Notes:

Associate members

The USA South has five associate members, all private and faith-based schools that are full CCS members. All became charter CCS members in the 2022 conference split. Belhaven had been originally announced as an incoming USA South member for 2022, but instead opted to join the CCS for that school year.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	USA South Sport(s)
Belhaven University	Jackson, Mississippi	1883	Presbyterian	3,245	Blazers	2022	football
Huntingdon College	Montgomery, Alabama	1854	United Methodist	900	Hawks	2022	football, men's lacrosse, women's golf, women's lacrosse
LaGrange College	LaGrange, Georgia	1831	United Methodist	1,137	Panthers	2022	football, men's lacrosse
Maryville College	Maryville, Tennessee	1819	Presbyterian	1,103	Scots	2022	football, women's golf
Piedmont University	Demorest, Georgia	1897	United Church of Christ &<br />Congregationalist	2,640	Lions	2022	men's lacrosse, women's golf, women's lacrosse

Former members

The USA South has twenty former full members, all but four were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
Agnes Scott College	Decatur, Georgia	1889	Presbyterian	914	Scotties	2016	2022	C.C. of the South (CCS)
Averett University	Danville, Virginia	1859	Baptist	2,719	Cougars	1978	2022	Old Dominion (ODAC)
Berea College	Berea, Kentucky	1855	Christian	1,613	Mountaineers	2017	2022	C.C. of the South (CCS)
Chowan College	Murfreesboro, North Carolina	1848	Baptist	1,260	Hawks	2000	2004	Carolinas (CC)
Christopher Newport University	Newport News, Virginia	1960	Public	4,793	Captains	1972	2013	Coast to Coast (C2C)
College of Charleston	Charleston, South Carolina	1770	Public	11,320	Cougars	1963	1970	Colonial (CAA)
Covenant College	Lookout Mountain, Georgia	1955	Presbyterian	1,282	Scots &<br />Lady Scots	2013	2022	C.C. of the South (CCS)
Ferrum College	Ferrum, Virginia	1913	United Methodist	1,100	Panthers	1988	2018	Old Dominion (ODAC)
Huntingdon College	Montgomery, Alabama	1854	United Methodist	900	Hawks	2013	2022	C.C. of the South (CCS)
LaGrange College	LaGrange, Georgia	1831	United Methodist	1,137	Panthers	2012	2022	C.C. of the South (CCS)
Lynchburg College	Lynchburg, Virginia	1903	Disciples of Christ	2,500	Fighting Hornets	1963	1976	Old Dominion (ODAC)
Maryville College	Maryville, Tennessee	1819	Presbyterian	1,103	Scots	2012	2022	C.C. of the South (CCS)
Piedmont University	Demorest, Georgia	1897	United Church of Christ &<br>Congregationalist	2,640	Lions	2012	2022	C.C. of the South (CCS)
Shenandoah University	Winchester, Virginia	1875	United Methodist	1,767	Hornets	1992	2012	Old Dominion (ODAC)
St. Andrews Presbyterian University	Laurinburg, North Carolina	1958	Presbyterian	600	Knights	1963	1988	Appalachian (AAC)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte, North Carolina	1961	Public	25,227	49ers	1963	1970	The American (AAC)
University of North Carolina at Greensboro	Greensboro, North Carolina	1891	Public	18,502	Spartans	1968	1988	Southern (SoCon)
Virginia Wesleyan College	Norfolk, Virginia	1961	United Methodist	1,446	Marlins	1970	1989	Old Dominion (ODAC)
Wesleyan College	Macon, Georgia	1836	United Methodist	550	Wolves	2016	2022	C.C. of the South (CCS)

Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:1963 till:2045

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#

Colors =

id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two

PlotData=

width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1970 text:College of Charleston (1963–1970)

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1970 text:UNC Charlotte (1963–1970)

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1976 text:Lynchburg (1963–1976)

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1963 till:2001 text:Methodist (N.C.) (1963–present) bar:4 color:Full from:2001 till:end

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1988 text:St. Andrews Presbyterian (1963–1988)

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1963 till:2001 text:North Carolina Wesleyan (1963–present) bar:6 color:Full from:2001 till:end

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1966 till:2001 text:Greensboro (1966–present) bar:7 color:Full from:2001 till:end

bar:8 color:FullxF from:1968 till:1988 text:UNC Greensboro (1968–1988)

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1970 till:1989 text:Virginia Wesleyan (1970–1989)

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1972 till:2001 text:Christopher Newport (1972–2013) bar:10 color:Full from:2001 till:2013

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1978 till:2001 text:Averett (1978–2022) bar:11 color:Full from:2001 till:2022

bar:12 color:FullxF from:1988 till:2001 text:Ferrum (1988–2018) bar:12 color:Full from:2001 till:2018

bar:13 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2001 text:Shenandoah (1992–2012) bar:13 color:Full from:2001 till:2012

bar:14 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2001 text:Chowan (2000–2004) bar:14 color:Full from:2001 till:2004

bar:15 color:FullxF from:2003 till:end text:William Peace (2003–present)

bar:16 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end text:Mary Baldwin (2007–present)

bar:17 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end text:Meredith (2007–present)

bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2014 text:Agnes Scott (2009–2014, women's lacrosse; 2016–2022, full) bar:18 color:FullxF from:2016 till:2022 text:

bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2012 bar:19 color:Full from:2012 till:2022 text:LaGrange (2012–2022) bar:19 color:AssocF from:2022 till:end text: (2022–present, football & men's lacrosse)

bar:20 color:AssocF from:2005 till:2012 bar:20 color:Full from:2012 till:2022 text:Maryville (2012–2022) bar:20 color:AssocF from:2022 till:2025 text: (2022–2025, football & women's golf)

bar:21 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2022 text:Piedmont (2012–2022) bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text: (2022–present, lacrosse, women's golf)

bar:22 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2022 text:Covenant (2013–2022)

bar:23 color:Full from:2013 till:2022 text:Huntingdon (2013–2022) bar:23 color:AssocF from:2022 till:end text: (2022–present, football, lacrosse, women's golf)

bar:24 color:FullxF from:2016 till:end text:Salem (2016–present)

bar:25 color:FullxF from:2016 till:2022 text:Wesleyan (2016–2022)

bar:26 color:FullxF from:2017 till:2022 text:Berea (2017–2022)

bar:27 color:Full from:2017 till:end text:Brevard (2017–present)

bar:28 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text:Pfeiffer (2017–present)

bar:29 shift:(-30) color:Full from:2021 till:end text:Southern Virginia (2021–present)

bar:30 color:AssocF from:2022 till:end text:Belhaven (2022–present; football)

bar:N color:powderblue from:1963 till:2003 text:Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (DIAC) bar:N color:blue from:2003 till:end text:USA South Athletic Conference (USA South)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1965

Sports

See also: USA South Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament. The conference sponsors championships in the following sports:

Men's	Women's
Baseball
Basketball
Cross country
Football
Golf
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Tennis
Track and field (outdoor)
Volleyball

Men's sponsored sports by school

Departing members are displayed in red.

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross country	Football	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Tennis	Track & field (outdoor)	Total USA South sports
Brevard										8
Greensboro										7
Mary Baldwin										6
Methodist										9
North Carolina Wesleyan										8
Pfeiffer										8
Southern Virginia										9
William Peace										7
Totals	8	8	7	5+4	5	6+3	8	8	7	63+7
Affiliate members
Belhaven										1
Huntingdon										2
LaGrange										2
Maryville										1
Piedmont										1

Women's sponsored sports by school

Departing members are displayed in red.

School	Basketball	Cross country	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & field (outdoor)	Volleyball	Total USA South sports
Brevard										8
Greensboro										5
Mary Baldwin										7
Meredith										9
Methodist										9
North Carolina Wesleyan										8
Pfeiffer										9
Salem										4
Southern Virginia										9
William Peace										7
Totals	10	8	4+3	6+2	10	9	10	8	10	75+5
Affiliate Members
Huntingdon										2
Maryville										1
Piedmont										2

Conference facilities

School	Football		Basketball
	Stadium	Capacity	Arena	Capacity
Belhaven	Belhaven Bowl	1,200	Football-only school	—
Brevard	Brevard Memorial Stadium	5,000	Boshamer Gymnasium	1,000
Greensboro	Jamieson Stadium	10,000	Hanes Gymnasium	850
Huntingdon	Charles Lee Field at Samford Stadium	2,500	Football-only school	—
LaGrange	Callaway Stadium	5,000	Football-only school	—
Maryville	Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium	3,000	Football-only school	—
Mary Baldwin	Non-football school	—	MBU Physical Activities Center	—
Meredith	Non-football school	—	Weatherspoon Gymnasium	500
Methodist	Monarch Stadium	1,500	March F. Riddle Center	1,200
North Carolina Wesleyan	Rocky Mount Athletic Stadium^[11]	5,000	Everett Gymnasium	800
Pfeiffer	Non-football school	—	Merner Gymnasium	1,500
Salem	Non-football school	—	Spirit Center	—
Southern Virginia	Knight Stadium	1,000	Knight Arena	525
William Peace	Non-football school	—	Hermann Center	1,000

Notes and References

1. News: McCormack. Timmy. Piedmont College Announces Plan To Join USA South Athletic Conference. April 25, 2011. Piedmont College Athletics. April 11, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110824113650/http://piedmontlions.com/sports/2011/4/11/GEN_0411110855.aspx?id=122. August 24, 2011.
2. News: LaGrange College accepts invitation to join USA South Athletic Conference. April 25, 2011. LaGrange Panthers. April 21, 2011.
3. News: Agnes Scott, Salem and Wesleyan Set to Join USA South. May 18, 2015. May 6, 2015.
4. Brevard College Set to Join USA South . USA South Athletic Conference . December 9, 2015 . May 7, 2016.
5. Berea College and Pfeiffer University Set to Join USA South . USA South Athletic Conference . May 4, 2016 . May 6, 2016.
6. ODAC Membership Set to Expand with Inclusion of Ferrum College . Old Dominion Athletic Conference . June 27, 2017 . September 27, 2017.
7. Southern Virginia Set to Join USA South. Southern Virginia University Athletics. December 11, 2019. December 11, 2019.
8. Web site: March 8, 2021. Averett University to Join the ODAC as a Full-Time Member. March 9, 2021. ODAC. en.
9. Web site: November 22, 2021. Belhaven University Set to Join USA South. December 14, 2021. USA South Athletic Conference. en.
10. News: USA South Announces Conference Restructuring . February 26, 2022 . USA South Athletic Conference . February 18, 2022.
11. News: Bishops to Return to Rocky Mount Athletic Stadium. NC Wesleyan Battling Bishops. July 31, 2013. September 16, 2013.