The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an athletic conference which competes in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

. Member schools are located in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

History

The Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was founded in 1963 as a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(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 The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...

, Methodist College,

North Carolina Wesleyan College North Carolina Wesleyan University (NCWU) is a Private college, private United Methodist Church, Methodist university in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was founded in 1956. North Carolina Wesleyan also offers evening courses at its main Rocky Mo ...

St. Andrews Presbyterian College St. Andrews University is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The university was established in 1958 as a result of a merger of Flora MacDonald College in Red Springs and Presbyterian Junior College; it wa ...

, and

Lynchburg College The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Lynchburg, Virginia. It has approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students. ...

. In 1973, when the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

divided into a three-division format, the Dixie Conference left the NAIA and moved into the non-scholarship

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

. 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 will depart the league.

Piedmont College Piedmont University is a private university in Demorest and Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1897, Piedmont's Demorest campus includes 300 acres in a traditional residential-college setting located in the foothills of the northeast Georgia Blue Rid ...

, LaGrange College, and

Maryville College Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The college is one of the ...

joined the

Great South Athletic Conference The Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) was an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions were located nationwide, but was originally based in the southeastern United States. History The G ...

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 The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) is an NCAA Division III athletic conference. Of its 15 member schools, all but one are located in Virginia; the other full member is in North Carolina. The conference also has an associate member in Nort ...

(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 The Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C; officially stylized as Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference), formerly named Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member i ...

in all sports except for football which will remain a USA South affiliate member through the 2015 season. On May 10, 2012,

Covenant College Covenant College is a private, liberal arts, Christian college in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, located near Chattanooga, Tennessee. As the college of the Presbyterian Church in America, Covenant teaches subjects from a Reformed theological wor ...

and

Huntingdon College Huntingdon College is a private Methodist college in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1854 as a women's college. History Huntingdon College was chartered on February 2, 1854, as " Tuskegee Female College" by the Alabama State Legislature ...

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 Agnes Scott College is a private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is considered one of the ...

Salem College Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772 as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational establ ...

, and

Wesleyan College Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. History The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Geo ...

would leave the

and join the USA South beginning in the 2016–17 school year. 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 Brevard College is a private college in Brevard, North Carolina. The college grants the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. History Brevard College was named for Ephraim Brevard, a teacher and one of the local leaders that produc ...

, transitioning from the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) 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 SAC was founded in 1975 as a ...

to Division III, would join for 2017–18 and beyond. Then, on May 4, 2016, two more incoming members were announced:

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every adm ...

, nearing completion of a transition from the NAIA to Division III, and

Pfeiffer University Pfeiffer University is a private university in Misenheimer, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History Pfeiffer originated from a home school operated by Miss Emily Prudden in the late 19th century. The school ...

, transitioning from the Division II

Conference Carolinas 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 Divisio ...

to Division III. Both joined in 2017–18 as well. On June 27, 2017,

Ferrum College , mottoeng = Not Self, But Others , established = , type = Private college , president = David L. Johns , city = Ferrum, Virginia , country = U.S. , c ...

, a conference member since 1988, announced that it would leave for the

after the 2017–18 school year. On December 11, 2019, the USA South announced the addition of

Southern Virginia University Southern Virginia University (SVU) is a private liberal arts college in Buena Vista, Virginia. The college, though not officially affiliated with a particular faith, embraces the values of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Ch ...

who will join in the 2021–22 academic year. 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 , mottoeng = Not Self, But Others , established = , type = Private college , president = David L. Johns , city = Ferrum, Virginia , country = U.S. , c ...

in the ODAC as a full member in the 2022–23 academic year, and on November 22, when

Belhaven University Belhaven University (Belhaven or BU) is a private evangelical Christian university in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1883, the university offers traditional majors, programs of general studies, and pre-professional programs in Christian Minis ...

, then a member of the

American Southwest Conference The American Southwest Conference (ASC) is a college athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. The schools are located in Texas and Arkansas. The conference competes in baseball, men's and wome ...

, was at first accepted for membership in the conference also for 2022–23. 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 The Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) is an athletic conference which competes in the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Member schools are located in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and K ...

(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.

Chronological timeline

* 1963 - The USA South was founded as the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It was a member of the

(NAIA). Charter members included Charlotte College (now the University of North Carolina at Charlotte), the

(now the University of Lynchburg), Methodist College (now Methodist University),

, and

(now St. Andrews University), effective beginning the 1963-64 academic year. * 1966 -

Greensboro College Greensboro College is a private college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was founded in 1838 by Rev. Peter Doub. The college enrolls about 1,000 students from 32 states, the District of Columbi ...

joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 1966-67 academic year. * 1968 - The

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

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 Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU) is a private university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university is nonsectarian but historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church. It enrolls 1,607 students annually in undergraduate and graduate ...

(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

ranks of the

(NCAA), effective in the 1973-74 academic year. * 1976 - Lynchburg left the Dixie Conference to join the

(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 , mottoeng = Not Self, But Others , established = , type = Private college , president = David L. Johns , city = Ferrum, Virginia , country = U.S. , c ...

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 Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students across more than 200 areas of study in six schools: College of Arts & Sciences (including the Division of Education and Le ...

(now Shenandoah University) joined the Dixie Conference, effective in the 1992-93 academic year. * 2000 -

Chowan College Chowan University ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Peace College William Peace University is a private college in Raleigh, North Carolina. Formerly affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, it offers undergraduate degrees in more than 30 majors and the School of Professional Studies (SPS) offers accelerated ba ...

(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

ranks as an NCAA D-II Independent, effective after the 2003-04 academic year. (Chowan would eventually join the

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. CIAA institutions mostly consist of historically black coll ...

(CIAA) in 2009.) * 2005 -

joined the USA South as an associate member for football, effective in the 2005 fall season (2005-06 academic year). * 2007 -

Mary Baldwin College Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia. It was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary. Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College for Women, a resid ...

(now Mary Baldwin University) and

Meredith College Meredith College is a private women's liberal arts college and coeducational graduate school in Raleigh, North Carolina. As of 2021 Meredith enrolls approximately 1,500 women in its undergraduate programs and 300 men and women in its graduate pr ...

joined the USA South, effective in the 2007-08 academic year. * 2009 -

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. **

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

(CAC), effective after the 2012-13 academic year. **

and

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). * 2016 -

and

joined the USA South (with Agnes Scott re-joining, but for all sports), effective in the 2016-17 academic year. * 2017 -

and

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 -

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

(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,

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.

Member schools

Current members

The USA South currently has 10 full members, all

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

schools, with Meredith as the league's only secular institution. ;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 announced as an incoming USA South member for 2022, but instead joined CCS.

Former members

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

schools: ;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:

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

UNC Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

(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 Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

(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 Christopher Newport (1561–1617) was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of the ''Susan Constant'', the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company in 1607 on the way to found the settle ...

(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 Agnes Scott College is a private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is considered one of ...

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

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

(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 Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

(2013–2022) bar:23 color:Full from:2013 till:2022 text:

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

(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 Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

(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 Southern Virginia is a region in the U.S. state of Virginia located along the border with North Carolina. The region includes the counties of Brunswick, Charlotte, Greensville, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, and Pittsylvania, and the i ...

(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

History

Chronological timeline

Member schools

Current members

Associate members

Former members

Membership timeline

Sports

Men's sponsored sports by school

Women's sponsored sports by school

Conference facilities

References

External links