Member Institituions - BigSouthSports.com—Official Web Site of the Big South Conference

Big South Conference Member Institutions

	Birmingham Southern College www.bscsports.net Birmingham-Southern College is a four-year collegiate liberal arts institution founded in 1856. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. For seven straight years, Birmingham- Southern College has been ranked among the top 80 best National Liberal Arts Colleges in the country by U.S. News & World Report. Before being elevated to the National Liberal Arts College category in the magazine's annual rankings, the college was the No. 1 ranked Southern Regional Liberal Arts College. The college also has been ranked by the magazine as the most efficiently operated school in the nation and as one of the top 10 best values in America.
	Charleston Southern University http://csusports.athleticsite.com/ Charleston Southern University, one of South Carolina’s largest accredited independent universities, is a four-year liberal arts university that enrolls approximately 3,000 students. Affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, the university's mission is promoting academic excellence in a Christian environment to all faiths. The university is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees. Students can choose from more than 30 undergraduate majors and five graduate programs.
	Coastal Carolina University http://www.goccusports.com Coastal Carolina University, located nine miles west of Myrtle Beach in Conway, is a vital center for higher learning and cultural activity for South Carolina's Grand Strand region. An undergraduate, liberal arts institution, Coastal offers baccalaureate degrees in 40 programs, as well as master's degree programs in education and cooperative degree programs with other South Carolina universities. Founded in 1954, Coastal is home to more than 4,600 students from 45 states and 43 countries. In each of the Institutions' four main colleges - business, education, science and humanities - Coastal faculty involve their students in studies and research that have "real world" applications.
	High Point University http://www.highpointpanthers.com High Point University has entered an exciting new era of achievement, academic excellence, and growth. Over $110 million in new construction and campus improvements are now underway to enhance both student life and academic pursuits. Work includes four new state-of-the-art academic buildings, a new Athletic Center, new stadiums and renovated athletic fields, a new Student Activities and Wellness Center, two new private room student residence halls as well as renovation of all other campus dorm rooms, and an incredible outdoor amphitheatre and wooded park with a 15-foot waterfall. With its International Promenade, modern facilities, totally wireless campus, wooded acreage, spectacular fountains, and well-manicured gardens, High Point University provides an ideal atmosphere for teaching and learning. Located on 120 acres in the city of High Point, North Carolina, the campus is spacious and open, yet you can walk from one end to the other in under 10 minutes. The University is large enough to provide a wide variety of academic programs, yet small enough to permit individualized attention. Founded in 1924, High Point University is a four-year, coeducational, liberal arts university affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The 3,000 students at High Point hail from 44 states and 50 countries. 68 majors are offered in a traditional day format, and the University also offers non-traditional evening degree programs and six Master’s degree programs.
	Liberty University http://www.libertyflames.com Nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Lynchburg, Virginia, Liberty University is a private, Christian liberal arts university that serves approximately 10,000 students annually in its residential and distance education programs. Founded in 1971 by Dr. Jerry Falwell, Liberty's mission is to produce Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills required to impact tomorrow's world. Liberty is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) to award associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. The University offers 37 academic programs taught by an exceptional faculty representing more than 500 different colleges and universities worldwide.
	Radford University http://www.RUhiglanders.com Founded in 1910, Radford University has grown to become a coeducational, medium-size comprehensive institution of more than 9,000 students. Today, RU offers more than 140 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The University is committed to individualized instruction in small classes taught by professors. RU is a student-centered, challenging school and maintains high academic standards of excellence in teaching. The University's beautiful campus is bordered on one side by the New River, which is one of the oldest rivers in the world. Nestled in the heart of the New River Valley, the city of Radford adds a small, close-knit community component to University life. The scenic Blue Ridge Mountains provide abundant recreational opportunities as well as splendid landscape.
	UNC Asheville http://uncabulldogs.collegesports.com The University of North Carolina at Asheville is the designated liberal arts university in the 16-member University of North Carolina system. A state-supported, co-educational university enrolling 3,125 students, the university is distinctive in the UNC system in its primary mission: to offer an undergraduate liberal arts education of superior quality. More than 30 majors are available in the natural and social sciences, humanities, and pre-professional and professional areas, and interdisciplinary studies. The scenic 265-acre UNCA campus is one mile north of downtown Asheville in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. More than a million acres of national parks and forests are at our doorstep for recreational activities from mountain biking and backpacking to white-water adventures. Each year, UNC Asheville is rated a Best Buy in the college guidebooks, which praise UNC Asheville's strong academic programs, dedicated faculty, small classes and beautiful setting.
	Virginia Military Institute http://www.vmikeydets.com The Virginia Military Institute is the nation's oldest state-supported military college, founded in 1839 in Lexington, Virginia, located at the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley. VMI offers qualified young men and women a demanding combination of academic study and rigorous military training that exists nowhere else, and grants B.A. and B.S. degrees in fourteen disciplines within the general fields of engineering, science, and liberal arts. The Institute’s emphasis on qualities of honor, integrity, and responsibility, contributes to its unique educational philosophy. Professional leadership training is provided to all cadets through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs, maintained at VMI by the Department of Defense. Cadets may pursue commissions in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, or Marine Corps.
	Winthrop http://www.winthropeagles.com Winthrop University, founded in 1886, is a national-caliber, comprehensive teaching university, committed to being a model of excellence in public higher education. Winthrop's distinctive mission is to offer challenging academic programs to a high-achieving , culturally diverse, socially responsible student body. A total of 80 undergraduate and 41 graduate degree programs and options are available in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education and Visual and Performing Arts. The 100-acre main campus, complemented by a 325-acre athletics and recreation area, provides a setting of exceptional beauty in Rock Hill, S.C.

Big South Conference Associate Members

	Bucknell (Women's Golf) http://bucknellbison.collegesports.com/ Bucknell rises on a hill overlooking the Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania, a site chosen by the Philadelphia Baptists who founded the university in 1846. First called the University at Lewisburg, Bucknell was renamed for its benefactor, William Bucknell, a Philadelphian whose generosity bolstered the university during the post-Civil War depression. Like other colleges of that period, we began as a liberal arts school, but before the century was out we were listing engineering and business schools in our curriculum.
	Gardner-Webb (Football) http://www.gwusports.com
	Holy Cross (Women's Golf) http://goholycross.collegesports.com/ Holy Cross is renowned for its academic excellence and mentoring-based, liberal arts education in the Jesuit tradition. An exclusively undergraduate institution with approximately 2,700 students, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England. Founded in 1843 in Worcester, Mass., the campus occupies 174 beautifully landscaped acres, featuring traditional and contemporary architecture, state-of-the-art facilities and technology, and striking views from atop Mount St. James.