Academics-Oriented
•    The SoCon has consistently ranked in the NCAA’s top 10 in the Academic Progress Rate (APR), the NCAA’s best indicator of graduation rates.
•    Nearly 50 percent of all SoCon student-athletes earn all-academic honors (3.0 GPA or better).

Community-Based
•    Our student-athletes have a presence in the community and participate in many local charities, youth and educational initiatives.
•    The SoCon and the Asheville-Buncombe Regional Sports Commission support a number of programs aimed at providing individuals and groups in the Western North Carolina area with assistance and allowing them to attend designated sessions of the Ingles SoCon Basketball Championships presented by General Shale free of charge. Community initiatives at the basketball tournaments include: Education Days; the Downtown Dribble and KidsFest presented by Champion Credit Union; SoCon Morning/Afternoon Out; the Teddy Bear Toss; Hometown Heroes Night; and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Competitive Athletics
•    SoCon teams are highly competitive regionally and nationally.
•    In the past nine years, football, volleyball, baseball, men’s soccer and men’s golf have all earned at-large team selections to NCAA postseason tournaments in addition to the league’s automatic berths.
•    SoCon teams have won eight FCS football titles, second-most in NCAA history.

Diversity
•    This is a conference that takes great pride in the diversity of its institutions.
•    The SoCon consists of 10 members in six states, including four private institutions and six state institutions, two of which are military colleges.

Geographic Integrity
•    The SoCon believes in the value of a geographic footprint that minimizes missed class time and maximizes fan travel to away contests.
•    The league extends across six contiguous states but still has a footprint that permits bus trips from one end of the conference to the other.

History & Tradition
•    The SoCon is the fifth-oldest Division I conference in America.
•    Great coaches and athletes from different eras have competed in the Southern Conference, from Bear Bryant to Lou Holtz, from Sam Huff to Terrell Owens, from Jerry West to Stephen Curry.
 
Sportsmanship
•    For more than 30 years, the SoCon has presented an annual award to the program that displays the finest level of sportsmanship in the conference as voted upon by its peers.

Student-Athlete Experience
•    SoCon championships are conducted in a way to provide a memorable and positive experience for all participants.
•    Scheduling decisions and tournament bracket formats determined by administrators and coaches consistently factor in the effect on the individual student-athlete and avoidance of missed class time.