Food Lion
SoCon Sponsorship
The Southern Conference (SoCon), which began its 88th season of intercollegiate competition in 2008, is a national leader in emphasizing the development of the student-athlete and in helping to build lifelong leaders and role models.
Food Lion is an Official Corporate Partners of the Southern Conference.
The Southern Conference has been on the forefront of innovation and originality in developing creative solutions to address issues facing intercollegiate athletics. From establishing the first conference basketball tournament (1921), tackling the issue of freshmen eligibility (1922), developing women’s championships (1984) and becoming the first conference to install the three-point goal in basketball (1980), the Southern Conference has been a pioneer.
The Southern Conference is the nation’s fifth-oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association. Only the Big Ten (1896), the Missouri Valley (1907), the Pacific 10 (1915) and the Southwestern Athletic (1920) conferences are older in terms of origination.
Academic excellence has been a major part of the Southern Conference’s tradition. Hundreds of Southern Conference student-athletes have been recognized on ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America and all-district teams. A total of 19 Rhodes Scholarship winners have been selected from conference institutions.
The Conference currently consists of 12 members in five states throughout the Southeast and sponsors 19 varsity sports and championships that produce participants for NCAA Division I Championships.
The Southern Conference offices are located in the historic Beaumont Mill in Spartanburg, S.C. A textile mill that was in operation from 1880 until 1999, Beaumont Mill was renovated in 2004 and today offers the league first class meeting areas and offices as well as a spacious library for storage of the conference’s historical documents.indoor/outdoor track and field, softball, tennis and volleyball.
