Southern
10 current members, five former. Our membership records under this name start in 1978; its titles go back further. 2025 champion: Mercer.
1959 standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | Poll | Elo | Last 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–0–1 | 8–1–1 | 1601 | WWWWW | |||
| 5–1 | 8–2 | 1463 | WWWLW | |||
| 3–1 | 6–4 | 1515 | WWWWL | |||
| 3–2 | 3–7 | 1205 | LLLWL | |||
| 4–3–1 | 4–5–1 | 1426 | LLWWW | |||
| 2–2 | 3–7 | 1422 | LLLLL | |||
| 2–5 | 4–6 | 1387 | WLWWL | |||
| 0–5 | 1–8 | 1100 | LLLLL | |||
| George Washington | 0–5 | 1–8 | 1265 | LLLLL |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied. Poll: the FCS coaches’ poll (else the final AP rank). Elo is our own rating, a measure of strength, not a prediction.
Against other conferences, 1959
Southern teams are 14–24 outside the conference.
- FBS teams9–18
- Others5–6
The bar is the share of those games won. Games against teams from the FBS count together.
All-Southern teams, 1959
First team 11
| Position | Player | School |
|---|---|---|
| Back | Howard DyerVMI | VMI |
| Alger PughVirginia Tech | Virginia Tech | |
| David AmesRichmond | Richmond | |
| Sam HornerVMI | VMI | |
| End | Carroll DaleVirginia Tech | Virginia Tech |
| Paul MaguireThe Citadel | The Citadel | |
| Tackle | Mike LashleyWilliam & Mary | William & Mary |
| Pat LambertiRichmond | Richmond | |
| Guard | Bill LopaskyWest Virginia | West Virginia |
| Mike ZenoVirginia Tech | Virginia Tech | |
| Center | Ron DeMelfiGeorge Washington | George Washington |
Second team 11
| Position | Player | School |
|---|---|---|
| Back | Ed HinoGeorge Washington | George Washington |
| Ray PetersonWest Virginia | West Virginia | |
| Jerry NettlesThe Citadel | The Citadel | |
| John TraynhamVMI | VMI | |
| End | Dick EvansVMI | VMI |
| Danny HouseDavidson | Davidson | |
| Tackle | Carl DannenbergWest Virginia | West Virginia |
| Bernie VishneskiVirginia Tech | Virginia Tech | |
| Guard | Lou ShubaVMI | VMI |
| Wayne WoolwineWilliam & Mary | William & Mary | |
| Center | Chuck BooneRichmond | Richmond |
From Wikipedia’s 1959 all-conference team article (CC BY-SA): each player on the best team any selector named him to (the coaches’, the media’s or the AP’s), in the article’s order. Players link to their pages where we could match them.
Champions
Most titles
| Furman | 15 | last 2023 |
| App State | 12 | last 2012 |
| Georgia Southern | 10 | last 2012 |
| Duke | 10 | last 1952 |
| VMI | 8 | last 2020 |
| West Virginia | 8 | last 1967 |
| Wofford | 7 | last 2019 |
| Chattanooga | 7 | last 2015 |
| The Citadel | 4 | last 2016 |
| East Carolina | 4 | last 1976 |
By year
| 2025 | Mercer |
| 2024 | Mercer |
| 2023 | Furman |
| 2022 | Samford |
| 2021 | East Tennessee State |
| 2020 | VMI |
| 2019 | Wofford |
| 2018 | East Tennessee State, Furman, Wofford (shared) |
| 2017 | Wofford |
| 2016 | The Citadel |
| 2015 | Chattanooga, The Citadel (shared) |
| 2014 | Chattanooga |
90 earlier seasons, back to 1922
Conference titles as each program’s Wikipedia infobox lists them (CC BY-SA), shared titles counted for every co-champion; the conference’s earlier names count as the same conference.
Members
Every school and its years (15)
Members now
- East Tennessee State 1979–2003, 2016 on
- Chattanooga 1982 on
- Furman 1982 on
- The Citadel 1982 on
- VMI 1982–2002, 2014 on
- Western Carolina 1982 on
- Wofford 1997 on
- Samford 2008 on
- Mercer 2014 on
- Tennessee Tech 2026 on
Former members
- App State 1982–2013
- Elon 2003–2013
- Georgia Southern 1992–2013
- Marshall 1982–1996
- Davidson 1978–1986
Football membership as CollegeFootballData.com records it under this conference’s name, from 1978; a school’s separate stays are listed apart.
Who came and went
| Season | School | Move | Announced | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tennessee Tech | Joined from OVC-Big South (football only) | August 13, 2025 | |
| 2016 | East Tennessee State | Joined (independent before) (football only) | May 30, 2013 | |
| 2014 | App State | Left for Sun Belt Conference | March 27, 2013 | |
| 2014 | Elon | Left for CAA | May 23, 2013 | |
| 2014 | Georgia Southern | Left for Sun Belt Conference | March 27, 2013 | |
| 2014 | Mercer | Joined from Pioneer Conference (football only) | May 30, 2013 | |
| 2014 | VMI | Joined from Big South | May 30, 2013 | |
| 2008 | Samford | Joined from OVC | Source | |
| 2004 | East Tennessee State | Left for Dropped football (football only) | Source | |
| 2003 | Elon | Joined from Big South | May 30, 2002 | |
| 2003 | VMI | Left for Big South | Source | |
| 1997 | Marshall | Left for Mid-American Conference | Source |
Football moves from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the season is the first one played in the new conference, and the date the one the lists or their sources give for the announcement. SportsDataverse’s football memberships agree with ours in all 402 team-seasons from 1978. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); memberships: SportsDataverse.
Honors while members
NFL first-round picks 1
| Chattanooga | 1 |
Counted only in seasons a school was a member on file (from 1978); a draft pick counts for the season before the draft. Heisman and All-America lists from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), draft picks from CollegeFootballData.com.
The money
The Southern Conference is a nonprofit. Its IRS Form 990 for the year to June 2025 reports $4.5 million in revenue, $657,000 of it from bcs football promotions, and $4.6 million in expenses; it ended the year with $6.6 million in assets. Its best-paid, commissioner Michael Cross, was paid $437,000.
By year
| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Top pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | $4.5M | $4.6M | $6.6M | $437K |
| 2023-24 | $5.3M | $5.7M | $6.7M | |
| 2022-23 | $4.6M | $4.5M | $7.1M | $359K |
| 2021-22 | $4.8M | $4.4M | $8.1M | $364K |
| 2020-21 | $4.2M | $4.0M | $8.4M | $368K |
| 2019-20 | $3.9M | $3.7M | $7.0M | |
| 2018-19 | $3.7M | $4.0M | $9.9M | $377K |
| 2017-18 | $3.6M | $4.0M | $10.0M | |
| 2016-17 | $3.8M | $4.3M | $9.9M | |
| 2015-16 | $3.4M | $3.6M | $7.3M | |
| 2014-15 | $4.4M | $5.1M | $7.7M | |
| 2013-14 | $6.6M | $3.9M | $8.5M | |
| 2012-13 | $4.7M | $3.9M | $5.7M | |
| 2011-12 | $3.5M | $4.0M | $4.8M |
Best paid, 2024-25
| Michael Cross, commissioner | $437,000 |
From the organization’s IRS Form 990, via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer and the IRS’s e-file data. Fiscal years end in June; top pay is the best-paid person’s total compensation on the return, listed for e-filed years (2018 on). Grants are the ones the conference lists on Schedule I; bowl payments are the ones bowls list on theirs. See every filing at ProPublica (EIN 54-0674274).