The SoCon's Place in Southern Football

The Southern Conference was created in 1921 by 14 member institutions of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Since it's inception the conference has been through many transformations and changes in membership while remaining a premier conference in both the Southeast and the Nation. The 14 orignial members of the Southern Conference were Alabama, Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn), Clemson, Georgia, Georgia School of Technology (Georgia Tech), Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi A&M (Mississippi State), North Carolina, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech) and Washington & Lee.

By the 1930s conference membership rose to 23 schools. New additions included Florida, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Sewanee, VMI, and Duke.

In 1932 at the conference's anual meeting 13 members south and west of the Appalachian Mountains reorganized as the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Play continued in the Southern Conference for 20 more years as new member institutions were added and the conference grew.

The league's second major transformation came in 1952 when 7 of the 17 schools elected to leave and reorganize as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The 10 remaining members in 1952 were The Citadel, Davidson, Furman, George Washington, Richmond, VMI, Virginia Tech, Washington & Lee, West Virginia and William & Mary.

Today the Southern Conference has 12 member institutions, of which, 9 participate in football. The SoCon's footprint has recently expanded to include the states of Tennesse, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.

Even a brief overview of the league's history shows that the roots of the Southern Conference run deep. There is a great tradition of college football in the South and the Southern Conference has always been integral part of the tradition. As SoCon fans, we have the opportunity to be a part of that great tradition and a responsibility to support our school and our league to ensure that the legacy continues. Southern football as we know it was born out of the Southern Conference.