USA South Athletic Conference

USA South Athletic Conference
Established	1963
Association	NCAA
Division	Division III
Members	19
Sports fielded	18 men's: 9 women's: 9
Region	South
Former names	Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Dixie Conference
Headquarters	Rome, Georgia
Commissioner	Dr. Tom Hart
Website	usasouth.net
Locations

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

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.^[1] 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.^[1]

On June 30, 2003, the conference changed to its name to the USA South Athletic Conference.^[2]

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 will depart the league. Piedmont College,^[3] LaGrange College,^[4] 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 2012–2013 season to join the Capital Athletic Conference in all sports except for football which will remain 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 2013–2014 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.^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

On December 11, 2019, the USA South announced the addition of Southern Virginia University who will join in the 2021–22 academic year.^[9]

The most recent 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,^[10] and on November 22, when Belhaven University was accepted for membership in the conference also for 2022–23. Belhaven is leaving the American Southwest Conference.^[11]

Member schools[]

Current members[]

Notes

† - Women's college, therefore not competing in men's sports.
^ - Football-playing member

• Departing member in pink

Future members[]

Former members[]

Membership timeline[]

Sports[]

The conference sponsors championships in the following sports:

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
Averett	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	8
Berea	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	5
Brevard	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Covenant	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	7
Greensboro	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	7
Huntingdon	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
LaGrange	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	8
Mary Baldwin	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	6
Maryville	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	7
Methodist	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
North Carolina Wesleyan	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	8
Pfeiffer	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Piedmont	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Southern Virginia	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
William Peace	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Totals	14	15	14	9	11	10	15	15	10	114
Belhaven	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	8

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
Agnes Scott	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	6
Averett	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	7
Berea	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	6
Brevard	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Covenant	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Greensboro	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	5
Huntingdon	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
LaGrange	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	6
Mary Baldwin	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Maryville	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	7
Meredith	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Methodist	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
North Carolina Wesleyan	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Pfeiffer	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Piedmont	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Salem	Y	N	N	N	Y	N	Y	N	Y	4
Southern Virginia	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Wesleyan	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
William Peace	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Totals	19	17	7	9	19	17	19	13	19	139
Belhaven	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7

Conference facilities[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website