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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A hardcover book detailing the history of the Southern Conference and written by former Commissioner John Iamarino and published by Mercer University Press is now available for purchase. “A Proud Athletic History: 100 Years of the Southern Conference” can be purchased at SoConSports.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Mercer University Press and other retailers.
 
The book includes more than 200 pages of history, stories and photos chronicling the league's first century of athletic and academic excellence. For a limited time, it can be purchased at SoConSports.com for $49.95, which includes shipping. The order form can be found by clicking this link or by visiting the 100th Anniversary tab or the Shop tab at SoConSports.com.
 
“This is a beautiful, comprehensive and insightful presentation of the rich and storied history of the Southern Conference by our former commissioner John Iamarino,” current SoCon Commissioner Jim Schaus said. “It is a true collector’s item for any fan of the Southern Conference and any of the schools that has been a member. It’s a book that’s hard to put down.”

Founded in 1921, the Southern Conference will celebrate its 100th anniversary throughout the 2021 calendar year. Home to 44 full-time members over the course of its first century of existence, including the schools that went on to form the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, the SoCon has been a pioneer, holding the first-ever collegiate conference basketball tournament (1921), tackling issues around freshman eligibility in the early 1920s and becoming the first collegiate league to adopt the 3-point field goal in 1980-81.
 
The league has been home to some of the biggest names in sports throughout its history, from Arnold Palmer (Wake Forest) and Jerry West (West Virginia) to Steph Curry (Davidson) and Clint Dempsey (Furman). Among the league’s recent accomplishments, Samford’s Karisa Nelson won the mile at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Wofford’s Fletcher Magee set the Division I record for career 3-pointers (2019), Furman women’s golf Natalie Srinivasan was named the 2019-20 national player of the year by multiple organizations and Mercer’s Kyle Lewis was named the American League Rookie of the Year in a unanimous vote earlier this month after a spectacular season in center field for the Seattle Mariners.
 
The eighth commissioner in SoCon history, Iamarino, an amateur baseball historian and former sports writer, retired in 2019 after a 40-year career in college athletics, the last 13 of which were spent at the Southern Conference. “A Proud History: 100 Years of the Southern Conference” is his first book.