Southern Conference Announces Plan in Anticipation of NCAA Settlement
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Following a formal vote by The Southern Conference’s Council of Presidents, its regulatory approach to the NCAA settlement was announced today. These actions position the SoCon to thrive competitively while maintaining an education-centric college athletics model.
"In this evolving landscape of collegiate athletics, the Southern Conference remains committed to our founding principles that focus on educationally-based competitive excellence, while adapting to new NCAA realities," said Michael Cross, Commissioner of the Southern Conference. "The Council of Presidents action provides macro-level institutional freedom regarding the decision to offer newly permissible benefits as part of the anticipated NCAA settlement, while also establishing boundaries that preserve the SoCon’s commitment to student-athlete development within a community of institutions that share common values and want to maintain fiscal and budgetary sanity."
The conference's approach includes the following key components:
Institutional Autonomy: The determination to opt in or out of the opportunity to offer new benefits under the terms of the anticipated NCAA settlement shall be left to the discretion of each member institution. Each institution will have the freedom to make this decision based on their individual circumstances and priorities.
Ability to Offer Extra Benefits: Institutions that choose to offer additional financial benefits to student-athletes through revenue sharing, licensing payments for name image and likeness, and enhanced academic benefits (Alston payments) may do so consistent with the terms of the NCAA settlement.
Reinforce Existing and Distinctive Policies: The SoCon will maintain policies to distinguish its place in the collegiate landscape:
Member institutions shall continue to adhere to the current NCAA Division I grant-in-aid maximums for all conference sports.
A student-athlete transferring between conference members is required to serve an academic year in residence prior to competing for their new institution. Immediate competitive eligibility is provided for graduate transfers and student athletes who did not receive athletics aid at their previous institution.
Universal postseason eligibility, ensuring every SoCon team will participate in conference championships.
Participation in conference championships is the competitive highlight for most Division I student-athletes. As access to NCAA Championships narrows, the importance and primacy of conference championships will grow. The opportunity for all Southern Conference teams to participate in post-season conference play provides a pathway for all SoCon student-athletes to an NCAA championship, regardless of an institution’s investment in a sport.
"In the changing NCAA environment, conference championships will likely be the defining competitive experience for the vast majority of student-athletes in their collegiate careers," said Cross. "We're committed to investing in these opportunities for all student-athletes, and to do so at neutral sites where possible, regardless of the changing national landscape."
The Southern Conference's "It's All Here" brand builds on numerous strengths. The SoCon’s cohesive geographic footprint concentrated in six Southeastern states, consistent national competitiveness, academic and educational excellence, strong principled leadership, and collegial relationships create a student-athlete experience that honors collegiate traditions and historic practices while adapting to a changing competitive landscape.
"For over a century, the Southern Conference has been a leader in collegiate athletics," said Cross. "As we have throughout our history, we're establishing a forward-thinking and creative approach to maintaining a coherent environment for our member institutions. These actions reinforce that our athletics programs are part of, not separate from, their sponsoring institutions, and do so with legally defensible boundaries that address relentless competitive and financial pressures occurring not only in athletics, but across higher education."
The conference’s membership is unchanged over the past eleven years with competitive balance on full display throughout that period. Over the past ten years, the SoCon has seen eight different football champions, six different men’s basketball tournament champions, and five different women’s basketball regular season champions. In the last four years alone, every SoCon member institution has won at least one team championship.
“The SoCon’s leadership identified meaningful ways to build on our strong sense of conference community through very productive, candid, and collegial discussions. I anticipate these thoughtful debates will continue as institutional approaches to the settlement evolve. Examination of our policies to support the student-athlete experience and competitive equity will be on-going.”
Established in 1921, the Southern Conference is headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C. and includes ten member institutions across six states: The Citadel, East Tennessee State University, Furman University, Mercer University, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Samford University, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Virginia Military Institute, Western Carolina University, and Wofford College.