South Carolina Little Three

Defunct intercollegiate athletic conference

The South Carolina Little Three (known as the South Carolina Little Four from 1946 to 1951) was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1946 to 1964. The conference's three main members, Newberry College, Presbyterian College, and Wofford College, were located in the state of South Carolina.[1] All three teams now play in different leagues: Newberry in the South Atlantic (Division II), Presbyterian in the Big South (FCS), and Wofford in the SoCon (FCS). Erskine College was also a member from 1946 to 1951 when it dropped its football program. Erskine has announced that their football program is returning for the 2020 season. The College of Charleston was also a member of the South Carolina Little Five in basketball, now playing in the Colonial Athletic Association, but the post-season basketball tournament was always for the South Carolina Little Four and the College of Charleston was not invited.

Members

  • The following is an incomplete list of the membership of the South Carolina Little Four Conference.
Institution Location Founded Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
College of Charleston Charleston, South Carolina 1770 Cougars 1946 1953 Colonial Athletic Association
Erskine College Due West, South Carolina 1839 Flying Fleet 1946 1951 (football)
1962 		Conference Carolinas
Newberry College Newberry, South Carolina 1856 Wolves 1946 1964 South Atlantic
Presbyterian College Clinton, South Carolina 1851 Blue Hose 1946 1964 Big South
Wofford College Spartanburg, South Carolina 1854 Terriers 1946 1964 Southern

Football champions

  • 1946 – Presbyterian
  • 1947 – Presbyterian and Newberry
  • 1948 – Wofford
  • 1949 – Wofford
  • 1950 – Wofford
  • 1951 – Wofford
  • 1952 – Wofford
  • 1953 – Newberry and Presbyterian
  • 1954 – Wofford
  • 1955 – Newberry
  • 1956 – Wofford
  • 1957 – Wofford
  • 1958 – Presbyterian
  • 1959 – Presbyterian
  • 1960 – Presbyterian
  • 1961 – Wofford
  • 1962 – Newberry, Presbyterian, and Wofford
  • 1963 – Wofford
  • 1964 – Wofford

Basketball champions

Season Regular season champion
1947 Wofford[2]
1948 Wofford[3]
1949 Erskine[4]†
1950 Erskine[5]
1951 Presbyterian[6]
1952 Wofford[7]
1953 Wofford[8]
1954 Erskine
1955 Presbyterian
1956 Erskine
1957 Erskine and Presbyterian
1958 Newberry
1959 Newberry, Presbyterian, and Wofford
1960 Wofford†
1961 Newberry†
1962 Erskine
Season Postseason tournament champion
1947 No postseason tournament
1948 No postseason tournament
1949 No postseason tournament
1950 Erskine
1951 Presbyterian
1952 Presbyterian
1953 Wofford
1954 Erskine
1955 Presbyterian
1956 Presbyterian
1957 Erskine
1958 Erskine
1959 Wofford
1960 Wofford†
1961 Newberry†
1962 Newberry

† = Qualified to the NAIA Men's Basketball Championships

See also

References

  1. ^ South Carolina Little Three Archived 2015-09-06 at the Wayback Machine, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved October 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "Birds, Terriers on Top as State Cage Year Ends", Times and Democrat, Orangeburg, SC, p. 11, March 3, 1947
  3. ^ "Carolina and Wofford Lead in Basketball", Greenville News, Greenville, SC, p. 6, March 1, 1948
  4. ^ "Fleet to Play Lenoir-Rhyne For K.C. Bid", Greenville News, Greenville, SC, p. 8, February 28, 1949
  5. ^ "Carolina Gains Laurels as Top State Quintet", Florence Morning News, Florence, SC, p. 8, March 1, 1950
  6. ^ "PC Has State's Best Over-all Season Record", Florence Morning News, Florence, SC, p. 5, February 26, 1951
  7. ^ "State Cagers Have 3 Games Left on Slate", Greenville News, Greenville, SC, p. 7, February 25, 1952
  8. ^ "Furman Cops Big 4 Honors", Greenville News, Greenville, SC, p. 8, March 2, 1953