The first Southern Conference Championship was the league basketball tournament held in Atlanta in 1922. The

Atlanta City Auditorium, home of the first SoCon Championship

North Carolina Tar Heels won the tournament to become the first recognized league champion in any sport. The Southern Conference Tournament remains the oldest of its kind in college basketball.

 

Not only was the Southern Conference Tournament the first of its kind, the league also originated tradition...the net cutting by the champions. According to USA Today, the practice of net cutting originated in 1947 with North Carolina State head coach Everett Case who led the Wolfpack to the SoCon Tournament title in his first year as head coach. To commemorate the event, Case celebrated by claiming the nets as a souvenir of the win.

           

West Virginia’s 10 tournament championships are still the most in league history, including the play of the legendary Jerry West from 1958-60. The Mountaineers won six straight from 1955-60, only the second team to do so in SoCon history. The first was North Carolina State in 1947-1952. Among the current league members, Chattanooga and Davidson tie for the most titles with nine each, followed by Furman who has six to its credit. The last Furman title came in 1980. Appalachian State has won two and UNC Greensboro, College of Charleston and Western Carolina all have won the tournament once.

In 2005, WCU head coach Kellie Harper became the first rookie head coach to win the women's tournament title

Women’s basketball competition began in the Southern Conference in 1983-84 with seven teams. In the sport’s history, seven schools have won the league’s tournament at least once with Chattanooga winning nine and Appalachian State owning six titles. UNC Greensboro won the 1998 tournament as head coach Lynne Agee became the first coach to take a team to the NCAA Tournament in all three Divisions - I, II and III. In 2001, Chattanooga head coach Wes Moore became the first coach in NCAA history to take three different teams to the NCAA Tournament in all three Divisions. Western Carolina’s Kellie Harper became the first head coach in SoCon history to win the tournament in her rookie year. The Lady Catamounts captured their title in 2005.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Past Men’s Basketball Brackets

Past Women’s Basketball Brackets

 

Men’s Basketball Tournament Series Results

Women’s Basketball Tournament Series Results

 

Men’s Basketball Tournament Results

Women’s Basketball Tournament Results

 

PHOTOS of basketball championships (more to be added as they are available)