The Deep South Conference (DSC) was an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division II men's lacrosse-only college athletic conference that operated in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

. It was founded in 1993 in advance of the 1994 NCAA lacrosse season, and expanded over time to as many as 10 schools. The conference dissolved after the 2013 lacrosse season.

History

The conference began in 1994 as the Deep South League with five inaugural members Catawba, Greensboro,

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, Pfeiffer, and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. In 1995 Greensboro and Virginia Tech left the conference and it added

St. Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...

. In 1997 the DSC added

Wingate Wingate may refer to: Places New Zealand * Wingate, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt United Kingdom * Wingate, County Durham * Wingate Quarry, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham * Old Wingate, County Durham * Wingates ...

and Lees-McRae in 1999 Mars Hill became the seventh member of the conference. In 2004

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

joined the Deep South followed by Belmont Abbey and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

a few seasons later in 2006. In 2006 the conference saw its largest membership, with ten member schools. Following the 2006 season,

Conference Carolinas Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) primarily at the Divisio ...

began sponsoring men's lacrosse, causing several members to leave the Deep South. In 2009

Florida Southern Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

joined the Deep South Conference and in 2011 Lenoir-Rhyne began sponsoring lacrosse and joined the DSC. The conference continued expansion in 2012, adding Florida Tech and the University of Tampa, bringing the conference to nine members. However, the continued growth of the sport soon led to the conference's demise. On July 3, 2012, the

South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a ...

, the all-sports home of four DSC members, announced that it would begin sponsoring four new sports, including men's lacrosse, in the 2013–14 school year (2014 lacrosse season). The sponsorship of men's lacrosse was made possible when Coker College, which already sponsored men's lacrosse, and former DSC member Queens were confirmed as new SAC members for 2013–14. This brought the number of SAC men's lacrosse schools to six. Five months later on December 6, the

Sunshine State Conference The Sunshine State Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its member institutions are located in the state of Florida, which is popularly kn ...

, home to the other five DSC members, announced that it would also sponsor men's lacrosse in the 2014 season. This followed the announcement by another SSC member, Lynn University, that it would start sponsoring the sport in that season. These moves meant that the 2013 season would be the last for the DSC.

Final members

All of the final members of the conference are private schools that now play men's lacrosse in their all-sports leagues.

Former members

* Greensboro College (1994-1995) NCAA Division III Independent *

(1994-1995) MCLA Division I

SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference The SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) is a lacrosse-only athletic conference affiliated with the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The SELC incorporates teams in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and is divid ...

Limestone University Limestone University, formerly Limestone College, is a private Christian university in Gaffney, South Carolina. It was established in 1845 by Thomas Curtis, a distinguished scholar born and educated in England. Limestone was the first women's ...

(1994-2006)

* Pfeiffer University (1994-2006) — Initially moved to

; later moved to the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

USA South Athletic Conference The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolina and Virginia. H ...

* St. Andrews Presbyterian College (1995-2006)

Regis University (1997-2000) *

Lees–McRae College Lees–McRae College is a private college in Banner Elk, North Carolina, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Lees–McRae College sits in the Appalachian Mountains at above sea level, the highest elevation of any American college or un ...

(1997-2006)

* Queens University of Charlotte (2004-2006)

* Belmont Abbey College (2006)

Presbyterian College Presbyterian College (PC) is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina. History Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by the William Plumer Jacobs. He had served as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cl ...

(2006-2007) NCAA Division I Independent; later dropped the sport

National Championship

National Championships

* Limestone - 2000, 2002

Appearances

* Limestone - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

References

{{Reflist

External links

Deep South Lax
Defunct NCAA Division II conferences College lacrosse leagues in the United States