SOUTHERN CONFERENCE HISTORY

Entering its 76th year, the Southern Conference continues to thrive as one of the nation's most historic athletic conferences. The Southern Conference is the nation's fourth oldest collegiate athletic association. Only the Big Ten (founded in 1906), Big 12 (formerly the Big Eight), and Missouri Valley conferences are older in terms of origination.

Many present-day observers aren't aware of the Southern Conference's rich heritage.

For example, it is the league that gave birth to the three-point shot in college basketball and helped form two of today's so-called "super conferences". It also was the home of greats such as Arnold Palmer, Jerry West and Charlie "Choo Choo" justice during their collegiate careers.

The Southern Conference was born on February 25, 1921 at a meeting in Atlanta, Ga. The schools of Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State' Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Washington & Lee were the league's charter members. Athletic competition began in the fall of 1921.

In 1922, seven more schools - Florida, Louisiana State, Mississippi, South Carolina, the University of the South, Tulane and Vanderbilt - joined the fold.

Since then, membership has changed drastically. A total of 40 schools have been affiliated with the league and the conference has undergone two major transitions during its history.

The first occurred when the Southeastern Conference was formed out of the then 23-school Southern Conference in December of 1932. The split came about when the league's 13 members west and south other Appalachian Mountains reorganized to help reduce the extensive travel demands that were present in the league at that time.

The second major shift happened in 1953 when Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest officially withdrew from the league to form the Atlantic Coast Conference. This change was brought about due to the desire of many of those schools to schedule a greater number of regular season basketball games against their local rivals.

The Southern Conference's evolution continued after the departure of the ACC schools. Today, the league continues to thrive with a membership that spans five southeastern states. Current league members are Appalachian State, The Citadel, Davidson, East Tennessee State, Furman, Georgia Southern, UNC Greensboro, UT-Chattanooga, Virginia Military Institute, Western Carolina, and Wofford. UNC Greensboro and Wofford, two of the three schools added in December 1995, begin competing in the league this season. The third school in that expansion, the College of Charleston, joins the league in 1998-99.

The first Southern Conference championship event was the league basketball tournament held in Atlanta, Ga., in 1922. The North Carolina Tar Heels won the tournament to become the first recognized champions in any Southern Conference sport. The Southern Conference Tournament is the oldest tournament of its kind in college basketball.

In May of 1923, the league held its first outdoor track and field championship in Montgomery, Ala. Mississippi A&M, now Mississippi State, captured six individual titles on the way to winning the team championship. Two other sports - cross country and tennis - held their first championship events during the 1920s. North Caroli na won the initial cross country championship in 1926 in Athens, Ga. Tennis, meanwhile, crowned its first singles and doubles champions in New Orleans, La. in 1928. Donald Cram of Vanderbilt was the league's first singles titleist, while Leonard Chamberlin and Maurie Bayon of Tulane won the doubles title.

The 1920's saw four more sports - wrestling, indoor track and field, swimming and golf - celebrate their first conference championships. VMI played host to and won the first league wrestling championship in 1930. Washington & Lee won the first indoor track championship, which also took place in 1930 and was held at Chapel Hill, N.C. The University of Virginia hosted and won the first league swimming championship in 1933, while Duke captured the first conference golf title at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., later that same year.

Baseball was introduced as a Southern Conference sport in 1947 and Clemson captured the league championship that year. Rifle held its first conference championship in 1956, while soccer was the most recently added men's sport in 1967.

The first three sports to hold Southern Conference women's championships were volleyball, basketball and tennis during the 1983-84 academic year. Cross country joined the mix in 1985 and the league began holding indoor and outdoor track championships in 1988. Women's sports have been added at a rapid pace in the past year. The conference instituted golf and softball championships in the spring of 1994 and sponsored soccer for the first time in the fall of 1994.

The Southern Conference currently declares champions in 10 men's sports -football, soccer, cross country, basketball, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, wrestling, baseball, tennis and golf - and nine women's sports - soccer, volleyball, cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, tennis, golf and softball.

In 75 years of existence, the conference has been and continues to be the home of great student-athletes, coaches and teams.

There are currently 27 former Southern Conference players in the College Football Hall of Fame. The most recognizable of these names is probably former North Carolina running back Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice. During his four years as a Tar Heel, Justice helped guide North Carolina to three major bowl appearances. He was a first team All-America selection in 1948 and 1949. In 1949, justice earned first team all-conference honors for the fourth consecutive season, becoming the first player in league history to achieve that feat. Only two other football players have earned all-conference honors four times since justice did so.

Another of the league's football products that made it to the College Football Hall of Fame was Sam Huff of West Virginia. Huff was a three-year starter on both the offensive and defensive lines for the Mountaineers. In 1955, Huff earned first team All-America honors on the field and was a first team Academic All-America for his work in the classroom. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. He was a five-time all-pro defensive lineman and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Southern Conference football teams appeared in a total of 33 bowl games from 1926-71. Today, the league competes at the NCAA I-AA level in football, where it has become that division's dominant conference. The Southern Conference has placed league members in the I-AA national championship game on 14 occasions. Seven different times a current conference team has won the championship and seven times one has been the runner-up.

Georgia Southern, a member of the Southern Conference since 1991, has won more national I-AA football championships than any other school. The Eagles have won four titles since 1985. Georgia Southern won back-to-back national championships in 1985-86 and 1989-90.

In 1988, Furman won the I-AA national championship in its second trip to the title game. The Paladins defeated Georgia Southern 17-12, avenging a loss to the Eagles in the 1985 championship game.

Most recently, Marshall ended its I-AA career with its second national title. The Thundering Herd advanced to the national championship game five times during the 1990s, winning the title over Youngstown State in 1992 and Montana in 1996.

In men's basketball, Chattanooga has captured a league-most 12 conference championships, eight of which were outright. West Virginia's nine outright conference championships is still the most in league history. The Mountaineers were led by the incomparable Jerry West in the 1958-60 seasons. West, a two-time All-America selection, spurred West Virginia to the Final Four in 1959. The Mountaineers lost in the championship game that season to California, 71-70 but West earned Final Four Most Valuable Player Honors. West was a three-time Southern Conference tournament MVP, a two-time league regular season MVP, and was twice named the conference's Athlete-of-the-Year. He went on to a spectacular career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. He was a 14-time NBA All-Star while with the Lakers. It is West's silhouette that comprises the NBA's globally recognized logo.

Frank Selvy set the NCAA record for points in a game while at Furman. As a Paladin senior in 1954, Selvy lit up Newberry College for 100 points, a record that still stands. Selvy was the Southern Conference Most Valuable Player in 1953 and 1954 and the league's Athlete of the Year in 1954. He went on to a 10-year career in the NBA with seven different teams.

Rod Hundley was another West Virginia star during the 1950s. "Hot Rod" made a name for himself as one of the most spectacular players to tour the league during his era. Hundley averaged 24.5 points per game in his three seasons as a Mountaineer and was an all-conference and all-tournament performer in those three years. He was the Southern Conference Most Valuable Player and Athlete-of-the-Year as a senior in 1957. He was the first player selected in the 1957 NBA draft and enjoyed a six-year career in that league. The flamboyant Hundley is recognized today as the radio voice of the NBA's Utah jazz.

More recently, East Tennessee's Keith "Mister" Jennings made his mark on the college basketball world. Despite standing under six feet tall, Jennings was a two-time all-conference choice and the league's Player-of-the-Year and Athlete-of-the-Year in 1991. Jennings played with the Golden State Warriors of the NBA.

Besides West Virginia's team in 1959, the Southern Conference has been represented in the Final Four on two other occasions. North Carolina advanced to the NCAA championship game in 1943 before falling 43-40 to Oklahoma State. North Carolina State finished third in the tournament in 1950.

The Southern Conference has been and continues to be one of the most innovative leagues in the nation. The conference helped change the face of college basketball in 1980. At the request of the NCAA Rules Committee, the league began a season-long experiment with a 22-foot three-point field goal. Ronnie Carr of Western Carolina made the first three-point field goal in college basketball history in a game against Middle Tennessee.

In baseball, Wake Forest advanced to the championship game of the NCAA College World Series in 1949 before falling to Texas. Demon Deacon second baseman Charles Teague was named the CWS Most Valuable Player. The Citadel made history in 1990 by becoming the first military school to make an appearance at the College World Series. The Bulldogs were joined that season at the CWS by current conference member Georgia Southern.

One of the Southern Conference's more famous baseball alums is Duke's Dick Groat. The Blue Devil shortstop, who was also a basketball standout, was the conference's Athlete-of-the-Year in 1951 and 1952. He went on to a 14-year career in the major leagues. In 1960, he was named the National League MVP after he led the league in batting with a .325 average for the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.

Arnold Palmer, perhaps the most famous golfer to have ever lived, competed under the Southern Conference umbrella as a collegian at Wake Forest. He took medalist honors at the Southern Conference Tournament in 1948 and 1949 and was the tournament's runner-up in 1950. Palmer was the medalist at the NCAA Golf Championships in 1949 and 1950. He went on to become one of the most accomplished golfers to play on the professional tour. Palmer won 60 tournaments while competing on the PGA Tour and has added 10 more victories as a member of the Senior PGA Tour. He has also won eight major championships - four Masters, two British Opens, one US Open and one US Amateur.

The Southern Conference has also been a breeding ground for some of college athletics' most recognized coaches and administrators.

Legendary basketball coaches Adolph Rupp of Kentucky and Everette Case of North Carolina State both worked the sidelines in the Southern Conference. Rupp guided the Wildcats to a 30-5 mark during the 1931 and 1932 seasons. Yet, for all his coaching accomplishments, Rupp never led Kentucky to a Southern Conference tournament championship.

Case mentored the Wolfpack to six consecutive Southern Conference Tournament championships from 1947 through 1952. In North Carolina State's final season in the league, the Wolfpack won the regular season title but fell in the tournament championship game to Wake Forest, 71-70. Despite coaching in the conference for just seven season, Case is the ninth winningest coach in league history and averaged 26.7 wins per year during his tenure, the best mark in conference history. Case was named Southern Conference Coach-of-the-Year three times.

Lefty Driesell, currently the head coach at Georgia State, coached Davidson to three Southern Conference Tournament championships in 1966, 1968, and 1969. Driesell also won the league's Coach-of-the-Year award four straight times from 1963 through 1966.

Current Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins earned league Coach-of-the-Year honors three times in the late '70s and early '80s while at Appalachian State.

Terry Holland saw his basketball coaching career take off at Davidson when he returned to his alma mater in 1970. Holland was honored as the Southern Conference Coach-of-the-Year for three consecutive seasons from 1970-73 and led the Wildcats to the conference tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1970. Holland later led Virginia to the Final Four in 1984. After his coaching career concluded, Holland returned to the Southern Conference as the athletic director at Davidson from 1990-1995. He is now the athletic director at Virginia.

A former Southern Conference football coach who has reached "folk legend" status is the late Frank Howard of Clemson, who guided the Tigers as a league member from 1940-52. The incomparable Howard won 69 Southern Conference games to rank third on the league's all-time coaching victories list.

The Southern Conference has been represented on the sidelines at five of the last seven Super Bowls. Bobby Ross, who piloted the San Diego Chargers to the 1996 Super Bowl, was the head coach at The Citadel from 1973-77. Buffalo Bills Head Coach Marv Levy directed William & Mary from 1964-68. He was succeeded at William & Mary by former Notre Dame Head Coach Lou Holtz. William & Mary competed in the Southern Conference from 1936-77.

Wallace Wade coached the Duke football program to six Southern Conference championships in his 16 year-term as the Blue Devils head coach. Wade still reigns as the league's all-time winningest gridiron coach with 110 victories. He made a successful transition from the coaching profession to athletic administration in 1950. Wade was named the first commissioner of the Southern Conference in December of that year and served until his retirement in 1960.

Lloyd Jordan replaced Wade as the commissioner in 1960 and served a 14-year term until Ken Germann became the league head in 1974. Germann was the commissioner for 13 years and was succeeded by Dave Hart in 1987. Hart oversaw the league office's move to its present home of Asheville, N.C. Hart retired in 1991 and was replaced by current commissioner Wright Waters.

Under Waters' leadership, the Southern Conference has continued its steady growth and development. The league is in the middle of a contract with the city of Greensboro, N.C., to serve as the host city for the conference basketball tournament from 1996-2000. Waters' has also expanded league support of women's athletics.

The Southern Conference celebrated its 10th Anniversary of women's athletics during the 1992-93 athletic year. Furman golfer Dottie Mochrie was named the Southern Conference Women's Athlete-of-the-Decade in conjunction with that event.

Academic excellence has been a major part of the Southern Conference's storied tradition. League athletes have been recognized countless times on NCAA Academic All-America teams. The conference has produced 18 Rhodes-Scholar winners. Last season, over 20 percent of all athletes participating in the Southern Conference carried grade point averages of 3.0 or better.

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