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American college football conference From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Big South–OVC Football Association is an association of football members of the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Big South–OVC covers the American Midwest and South with member institutions located in Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Association | NCAA |
---|---|
Founded | 2023 |
Sports fielded |
|
Division | Division I |
Subdivision | FCS |
No. of teams | 9 |
Region | Midwestern United States Southern United States |
Official website | https://bigsouthovcfootball.com/ |
Locations | |
In the 2021–22 season, the Big South Conference was made up of nine football-playing members including full members Campbell University, Charleston Southern University, Gardner-Webb University, Hampton University, and North Carolina A&T State University, and associate members Kennesaw State University, Monmouth University, University of North Alabama, and Robert Morris University. The following changes occurred dwindling the football membership from nine members in 2021 to four members by 2023, dropping below the minimum of six members required for an automatic bid for the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs.
The Ohio Valley Conference also dropped below the number of eligible teams required for an automatic bid for the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs between the 2021 and 2023 seasons. In the 2021 season, the OVC included Austin Peay University, Eastern Illinois University, Murray State University, Southeast Missouri State University, University of Tennessee, Martin, Tennessee State University, and Tennessee Tech University. The following changes occurred to lower eligible football-playing members from seven to five by 2023.
On February 22, the conference announced its intent to combine its football membership with the Ohio Valley Conference beginning in 2023.[11] With the release of the 2023 joint football schedule, it was announced that the partnership between the two conferences would exist through the 2026–27 season. The inaugural members of the merger included Bryant University, Charleston Southern University, Gardner-Webb University, and Robert Morris University from the Big South, and Eastern Illinois University, Lindenwood University, Southeast Missouri State University, University of Tennessee, Martin, Tennessee State University, and Tennessee Tech University from the Ohio Valley.[12] The following year, in June 2024, the two conferences announced that they had agreed to extend their partnership through 2030.[13]
On May 12, 2023, the OVC added Western Illinois University from the Summit League. Western Illinois previously housed its football program in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and it was announced that the Leathernecks would play out the 2023 season in the MVFC before joining its other sports and competing under the Big South-OVC banner for 2024 and beyond.[14]
On August 10, 2023, prior to the start of the association's inaugural season, Bryant announced it would depart from the association to join CAA Football in 2024.[15] Later that year, on November 28, 2023, Robert Morris announced that it would also depart from the association to re-join the Northeast Conference as an associate member for football in 2024.[16]
Team | Location | Nickname | Stadium | Capacity | Joined | Current primary conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charleston Southern University | North Charleston, South Carolina | Buccaneers | Buccaneer Field | 4,000 | 2023 | Big South |
Eastern Illinois University | Charleston, Illinois | Panthers | O'Brien Field | 10,000 | 2023 | OVC |
Gardner–Webb University | Boiling Springs, North Carolina | Runnin' Bulldogs | Ernest W. Spangler Stadium | 7,800 | 2023 | Big South |
Lindenwood University[lower-alpha 1] | St. Charles, Missouri | Lions | Hunter Stadium | 7,450 | 2023 | OVC |
Southeast Missouri State University | Cape Girardeau, Missouri | Redhawks | Houck Stadium | 11,015 | 2023 | OVC |
Tennessee State University | Nashville, Tennessee | Tigers | Nissan Stadium Hale Stadium |
68,000 10,000 |
2023 | OVC |
Tennessee Technological University | Cookeville, Tennessee | Golden Eagles | Tucker Stadium | 16,500 | 2023 | OVC |
University of Tennessee at Martin | Martin, Tennessee | Skyhawks | Graham Stadium | 7,500 | 2023 | OVC |
Western Illinois University | Macomb, Illinois | Leathernecks | Hanson Field | 16,368 | 2024 | OVC |
Team | Location | Nickname | Stadium | Capacity | Joined | Left | Current primary conference | Current football conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bryant University | Smithfield, Rhode Island | Bulldogs | Beirne Stadium | 5,500 | 2023 | 2024 | AmEast[lower-alpha 2] | CAA Football |
Robert Morris University | Moon Township, Pennsylvania | Colonials | Joe Walton Stadium | 3,000 | 2023 | 2024 | Horizon[lower-alpha 2] | Northeast |
Full members Other conference Other conference
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