Peach Belt Conference

Peach Belt Conference

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Location of Peach Belt Conference members: full, departing, future

The conference traces its roots November 1988 when 11 schools first met in Greenville, S.C. to form a Division II conference. Following a second meeting on Dec. 3, 1989, five of those 11 schools, plus two others, formed the Peach Belt Athletic Conference and began play in the fall of 1990.

The seven charter members of the conference were Armstrong Atlantic State University (now Armstrong State University), Columbus State University, Francis Marion University, Georgia College (now Georgia College & State University), Lander University, USC Aiken, and USC Upstate. The name Peach Belt Athletic Conference was adopted in January 1990 and modified to Peach Belt Conference in May 2000.

Augusta State University joined the conference as the eighth member in 1991 and UNC Pembroke became the ninth member on July 1, 1992. They were followed by Kennesaw State University on July 1, 1994, Clayton State University on July 1, 1995 and the University of North Florida on July 1, 1997. Kennesaw State and North Florida departed for the Division I ranks in 2005, USC Upstate did the same in 2007, and the conference welcomed in North Georgia College & State University in 2005 and Georgia Southwestern State University in 2006. In 2009–10, the University of Montevallo and Flagler College were added, returning a league presence to Florida and breaking new ground in Alabama. In 2012–13, the Peach Belt expanded to 14 members, the most the league has ever had, with the addition of Young Harris College. On January 8, 2013, the University System of Georgia finalized the mergers of two conference members into new institutions. Augusta State was merged into Georgia Regents University, which was renamed in 2015 as Augusta University, and NGCSU was merged into the University of North Georgia.[1][2] In both cases, the new institutions inherited the Peach Belt memberships of the older schools.

The Peach Belt was less than a year old before capturing its first of many national championships. The Columbus State men's golf team took the honor by winning the 1992 national crown, the first of three golf championships the Cougars own. One year later, the Lander men's tennis team began their record-breaking run of eight straight national titles, the first PBC dynasty. Since then, USCA men's golf won three straight national titles from 2004 to 2006 while AASU women's tennis captured four titles overall.

The 2010–11 season was one of the most memorable the league has ever had. Clayton State became the first PBC women's basketball team to capture a national championship. Montevallo watched their men's basketball team reach the Elite Eight, eventually competing in the National Championship Game. Unfortunately, their run came to an end with a loss to Western Washington University. The Columbus State men's tennis team reached the national semifinals while the Clayton State and Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis teams also played in the national semifinals. The North Georgia softball team made an unprecedented third straight appearance in the NCAA Women's College World Series, while Columbus State's Meshack Koyiaki registered a runner-up finish at the Men's Cross Country National Championships. In all, 46 Peach Belt teams made appearances in the NCAA postseason, including seven men's tennis teams and six each in the sports of men's golf and women's tennis.

David Brunk was named the second PBC commissioner in May 2007, replacing Marvin Vanover, who was the first PBC commissioner from 1991 to 2007. Brunk is charged with continuing the strong growth of the conference as its second era begins.

Dr. Kendall Blanchard, president of Georgia Southwestern State University, began the second of his two-year term as the league president in July 2011.

In April 2020, Francis Marion University and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke announced that they would leave the Peach Belt Conference starting in 2021–22, both joining Conference Carolinas.[3]

On April 14, 2021, the conference invited the NAIA's University of South Carolina Beaufort to join in 2022–23 after applying for membership in Division II and gaining acceptance into the NCAA.[4] By July 14, 2022, USCB was accepted into the NAIA's Continental Athletic Conference for its first year of provisional membership while still playing a Peach Belt schedule as part of the Sand Sharks' dual NAIA-NCAA membership. USCB is ineligible for a Peach Belt or NCAA postseason during the three-year transition.[5]

The conference currently holds championships in 16 sports, eight for men and eight for women. The championship sports are men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, baseball, softball, men's and women's track & field, and men's and women's golf.[6] Men's lacrosse was added on July 10, 2020, and its first season was in spring 2021.[7]

• Official website