South Atlantic Conference
The South Atlantic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a football-only conference and became an all-sports conference beginning with the 1989–90 season.
The league currently sponsors 11 sports for men and 13 sports for women.
History
The distant forerunner of the South Atlantic Conference was the North State Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The NSIAC was formed when the "Little Six", as it was called, broke from the North Carolina Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1930. The charter members included Appalachian State Teachers College, Lenoir–Rhyne College, Atlantic Christian College, Catawba College, Guilford College, Elon College, and High Point College.The North State continued to grow over the next 30 years, adding Western Carolina University, East Carolina University and Pfeiffer College. A name change became necessary when the league accepted Newberry College as its first member from the state of South Carolina in 1961. The league took on the name Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on May 20 of that year.
The CIAC saw several changes in the following years as East Carolina withdrew from the league in 1962. Appalachian State and Western Carolina followed in 1971 and 1976. All three landed in the Southern Conference.
The South Atlantic Conference was founded in 1975 solely as a football conference. The league received its name from a contest in which Kurt Brenneman of Greensboro, North Carolina became the first to submit the SAC-8 moniker.
The SAC-8 consisted of Carson–Newman College, Catawba College, Elon College, Gardner–Webb College, Lenoir–Rhyne College, Mars Hill College, Newberry College, and Presbyterian College. Dr. Fred Bentley, of Mars Hill College, was named league president for its inaugural year, by a vote of the member institutions.
After the first season of play in the SAC-8, the Bears of Lenoir–Rhyne College captured the first football title.
In 1989, the league's 15th year of operation, the South Atlantic Conference became a comprehensive, multi-sport conference. Doug Echols was named the league's first Commissioner. That year the South Atlantic Conference sponsored 10 sports – football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's soccer, volleyball, men's golf, men's and women's tennis. Later the conference grew to 14 championship sports by adding women's soccer, men's and women's cross country and women's golf. In 2013, the sports of men's and women's lacrosse and men's and women's track and field were added, increasing the number of championship sports to 18.
The South Atlantic Conference was composed of the same eight member institutions from 1975–76 until 1988–89, when Wingate College replaced Newberry College as the eighth member institution. Newberry College later re-joined the conference in the 1996–97 season.
In July 1998, Tusculum College was admitted as a member of the league, and Lincoln Memorial University began play in the conference in the 2006–07 academic year. Brevard College was admitted to the SAC as a provisional member in 2007 and a full member in 2008.
In 2008, Echols retired after serving as Commissioner for 19 years and Patrick Britz was hired as the new Commissioner.
In July 2010, Anderson University became the league's 10th member. Three years later in July 2013, Coker College and Queens University of Charlotte joined the conference. On April 13, 2018, UVA Wise announced that it was joining the South Atlantic Conference for the 2019-20 season. A more recent change to the conference membership was announced on April 5, 2019, when Limestone College, which had joined as a football-only member in 2017 and added field hockey to its SAC membership the next year, was announced as a new full member effective in 2020–21, the same time it became Limestone University.
The SAC and Conference Carolinas entered into a partnership in the 2018–19 school year by which the two leagues would operate as a single conference in field hockey and men's wrestling, with championships immediately conducted in both sports. The leagues agreed that the SAC would coordinate the field hockey championship, while CC would fill the same role for men's wrestling. Accordingly, all CC field hockey programs became SAC affiliates, and all SAC men's wrestling programs became CC affiliates. The SAC–CC alliance is officially branded as "South Atlantic Conference Carolinas".
A more recent change in conference membership was announced on November 17, 2020. Emory & Henry College, now a university, then in the Division III Old Dominion Athletic Conference, started a transition to Division II in July 2021 and began SAC competition in 2022.
In December 2021, the SAC and CC jointly announced that they would extend their existing partnership to include two women's sports, triathlon and wrestling, with triathlon competition starting in 2022–23 and wrestling in 2023–24. At the same time, both conferences agreed that after the 2021–22 school year, the SAC would become the only one of the two conferences to sponsor field hockey. The joint men's wrestling league will continue to operate through the 2022–23 season, after which both conferences will establish their own men's wrestling leagues.
The most recent change was officially announced on May 10, 2022, when the Division I Atlantic Sun Conference announced that Queens would leave the SAC to start a transition to D-I on July 1 as a new ASUN member.
Starting in 2023–24, the SACC men's wrestling league was dissolved. Originally the intent was for the SAC and CC to each begin their own wrestling league; however, all the SAC schools that sponsored wrestling instead became CC affiliates in that sport. At the same time, the SACC partnership added beach volleyball and women's wrestling.
Chronological timeline
- 1975 – The South Atlantic Conference was founded as a football-only conference. Charter members included Carson–Newman College, Catawba College, Elon College, Gardner–Webb College, Lenoir–Rhyne College, Mars Hill College, Newberry College and Presbyterian College, beginning the 1975 fall season.
- 1989:
- * Newberry left the SAC-8 after the 1988 fall season.
- * The SAC-8 added more sports to be a full-fledged multi-sport athletic conference, beginning the 1989–90 academic year.
- * Wingate College joined the SAC in the 1989–90 academic year.
- 1996 – Newberry returned to the SAC as an all-sports member in the 1996–97 academic year.
- 1997 – Elon left the SAC to join the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as an NCAA D-I Independent after the 1996–97 academic year.
- 1998 – Tusculum College joined the SAC in the 1998–99 academic year.
- 2000 – Gardner–Webb left the SAC to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an NCAA D-I Independent after the 1999–2000 academic year.
- 2006 – Lincoln Memorial University joined the SAC effective in the 2006–07 academic year.
- 2007:
- * Presbyterian left the SAC to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the Big South after the 2006–07 academic year.
- * Brevard College joined the SAC in the 2007–08 academic year.
- 2010 – Anderson University joined the SAC in the 2010–11 academic year.
- 2013 – Coker College and Queens University joined the SAC in the 2013–14 academic year.
- 2017:
- * Brevard left the SAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the USA South Athletic Conference after the 2016–17 academic year.
- * Limestone College joined the SAC as an affiliate member for football in the 2017 fall season.
- 2018 – Effective with the 2018–19 academic year, the SAC and Conference Carolinas established a partnership known as "South Atlantic Conference Carolinas" for field hockey and men's wrestling. Under the partnership, the SAC operated the joint field hockey championship, with CC filling the same role for men's wrestling. Accordingly, Belmont Abbey College and Converse College joined the SAC as affiliate members for field hockey at that time. Limestone added that sport to its SAC affiliate membership.
- 2019:
- * The University of Virginia's College at Wise joined the SAC in the 2019–20 academic year.
- * The University of Mount Olive joined the SAC as an affiliate member for field hockey in the 2019 fall season, while under the SACC partnership.
- 2020 – Limestone upgraded to become a full SAC member for all sports in the 2020–21 academic year.
- 2022:
- * Queens left the SAC to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the Atlantic Sun Conference after the 2021–22 academic year.
- * Emory and Henry College joined the SAC as a full member in the 2022–23 academic year.
- * Barton College and Erskine College joined the SAC as affiliates members for football in the 2022 fall season.
- * Effective with the 2022–23 academic year, field hockey became no longer part of the SACC partnership, with that sport now being fully governed by the SAC. The existing CC field hockey schools continued to compete as SAC affiliates. At the same time, women's triathlon was placed under the SACC umbrella.
- 2023 – Effective with the 2023–24 academic year, the SACC men's wrestling league was dissolved. Originally the intent was for the SAC and CC to each begin their own wrestling league; however, all the SAC schools that sponsored wrestling instead became CC affiliates in that sport. At the same time, the SACC partnership added beach volleyball and women's wrestling.
- 2024 – Erskine left the SAC as an affiliate member for football, but joined as an affiliate member for beach volleyball, along with Emmanuel University, both effective in the 2024–25 academic year.
- 2025:
- * Limestone left the SAC at the end of the 2024–25 academic year; as the institution announced that it will cease operations.
- * Barton left the SAC as an affiliate member for football, but joined as an affiliate member for field hockey, all beginning in the 2025–26 academic year.
Member schools
Charter members
Newberry College left the SAC in 1989 and rejoined in 1996. Wingate replaced Newberry College as the final member for the birth of the all-sports SAC in 1989. Former members Elon, Gardner–Webb, and Presbyterian were charter members of both the SAC-8 football era and the SAC all-sports era.| Carson–Newman College |
| Catawba College |
| Elon College |
| Gardner–Webb College |
| Lenoir–Rhyne College |
| Mars Hill College |
| Newberry College |
| Presbyterian College |
| Carson–Newman College |
| Catawba College |
| Elon College |
| Gardner–Webb College |
| Lenoir–Rhyne College |
| Mars Hill College |
| Presbyterian College |
| Wingate College |
Current members
The SAC currently has 12 full members, with all but one being private schools.| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Colors |
| Anderson University | Anderson, South Carolina | 1911 | Baptist | 4,519 | Trojans | 2010 | |
| Carson–Newman University | Jefferson City, Tennessee | 1851 | Baptist | 2,585 | Eagles | 1975 | |
| Catawba College | Salisbury, North Carolina | 1851 | United Church of Christ | 1,241 | Indians | 1975 | |
| Coker University | Hartsville, South Carolina | 1908 | Nonsectarian | 1,263 | Cobras | 2013 | |
| Emory & Henry University | Emory, Virginia | 1836 | United Methodist | 1,292 | Wasps | 2022 | |
| Lenoir–Rhyne University | Hickory, North Carolina | 1891 | Lutheran ELCA | 2,255 | Bears | 1975 | |
| Lincoln Memorial University | Harrogate, Tennessee | 1897 | Nonsectarian | 6,081 | Railsplitters | 2006 | |
| Mars Hill University | Mars Hill, North Carolina | 1856 | Baptist | 1,049 | Lions | 1975 | |
| Newberry College | Newberry, South Carolina | 1856 | Lutheran ELCA | 1,521 | Wolves | 1975; 1996 | |
| Tusculum University | Tusculum, Tennessee | 1794 | Presbyterian | 1,105 | Pioneers | 1998 | |
| Wise, Virginia | 1954 | Public | 2,253 | Cavaliers | 2019 | ||
| Wingate University | Wingate, North Carolina | 1896 | Baptist | 3,424 | Bulldogs | 1989 |
;Notes:
Affiliate members
The SAC currently has seven affiliate members, six private schools and one public school.| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Colors | SAC sport | Primary conference |
| Barton College | Wilson, North Carolina | 1902 | Christian Church | 1,235 | Bulldogs | 2025 | field hockey | Carolinas (CC) | |
| Belmont Abbey College | Belmont, North Carolina | 1876 | Catholic | 1,687 | Crusaders | 2018 | field hockey | Carolinas (CC) | |
| Converse University | Spartanburg, South Carolina | 1889 | Nonsectarian | 1,967 | Valkyries | 2018 | field hockey | Carolinas (CC) | |
| Emmanuel University | Franklin Springs, Georgia | 1919 | Pentecostal | 932 | Lions | 2024 | beach volleyball | Carolinas (CC) | |
| Erskine College | Due West, South Carolina | 1839 | Reformed Presbyterian | 1,132 | Flying Fleet | 2024 | beach volleyball | Carolinas (CC) | |
| Lander University | Greenwood, South Carolina | 1872 | Public | 4,423 | Bearcats | 2022 | field hockey | Peach Belt (PBC) | |
| University of Mount Olive | Mount Olive, North Carolina | 1951 | Free Will Baptist | 2,154 | Trojans | 2019 | field hockey | Carolinas (CC) |
;Notes:
Former members
The SAC has six former full members, all private schools.| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference |
| Brevard College | Brevard, North Carolina | 1934 | United Methodist | 708 | Tornados | 2007 | 2017 | USA South |
| Elon University | Elon, North Carolina | 1889 | Nonsectarian | 6,991 | Phoenix | 1975 | 1997 | Coastal (CAA) |
| Gardner–Webb University | Boiling Springs, North Carolina | 1905 | Baptist | 3,594 | Runnin' Bulldogs | 1975 | 2000 | Big South (BSC) |
| Limestone University | Gaffney, South Carolina | 1845 | Christian | 1,786 | Saints | 2020 | 2025 | Closed in 2025 |
| Presbyterian College | Clinton, South Carolina | 1880 | Presbyterian | 1,330 | Blue Hose | 1975 | 2007 | Big South (BSC) |
| Queens University of Charlotte | Charlotte, North Carolina | 1857 | Presbyterian | 2,100 | Royals | 2013 | 2022 | Atlantic Sun (ASUN) |
;Notes:
Former affiliate members
The SAC had had two former affiliate members, both private schools.| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | SAC sport | Primary conference |
| Barton College | Wilson, North Carolina | 1902 | Christian Church | 1,200 | Bulldogs | 2022 | 2025 | football | Carolinas (CC) |
| Erskine College | Due West, South Carolina | 1839 | Presbyterian | 800 | Flying Fleet | 2022 | 2024 | football | Carolinas (CC) |
;Notes:
Membership timeline
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id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference
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bar:1 color:AssocF from:1975 till:1989 text:Carson–Newman
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bar:3 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:1999 text:D-I Ind.
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bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2003 till:2014 text:SoCon
bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text:CAA
bar:4 color:AssocF from:1975 till:1989 text:Gardner–Webb
bar:4 color:Full from:1989 till:2000 text:
bar:4 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:2002 text:D-I Ind.
bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2002 till:2008 text:ASUN
bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2008 till:end text:Big South
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bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:end text:Big South
bar:9 color:Full from:1989 till:end text:Wingate
bar:10 color:Full from:1998 till:end text:Tusculum
bar:11 color:FullxF from:2006 till:end text:Lincoln Memorial
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bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:end text:USA South
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bar:14 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:Coker
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bar:16 color:Full from:2020 till:2025
bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end text:Belmont Abbey
bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end text:Converse
bar:19 color:Full from:2019 till:end text:UVA Wise
bar:20 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Mount Olive
bar:21 shift: color:Full from:2022 till:end text:Emory & Henry
bar:22 color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text:Lander
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bar:23 color:AssocOS from:2025 till:end
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Sports
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
| Baseball | ||
| Basketball | ||
| Beach Volleyball | ||
| Cross Country | ||
| Field Hockey | ||
| Football | ||
| Golf | ||
| Lacrosse | ||
| Soccer | ||
| Softball | ||
| Swimming & Diving | ||
| Tennis | ||
| Track & Field Indoor | ||
| Track & Field Outdoor | ||
| Volleyball |
Other sponsored sports by school
In addition to the above:- Anderson and Tusculum treat their male and female cheerleaders as varsity athletes.
- Carson–Newman treats their female cheerleaders and all-female dance teams as varsity athletes.
- Catawba treats its male and female cheerleaders and all-female dance team as varsity athletes. The school also sponsors a coeducational varsity eSports team.
- Coker has a coeducational varsity eSports team.
- Emory & Henry treats its cheerleaders and dancers as varsity athletes without regard to gender. The school's equestrian program is coeducational, and has chosen to not affiliate with the NCAA emerging sport status. Instead, E&H riders compete in the Intercollegiate Dressage Association and Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA).
- Lenoir–Rhyne treats its male and female cheerleaders and all-female dance team as varsity athletes.
- Mars Hill sponsors a varsity cycling team, with separate men's and women's squads.