Expanded Big South-OVC football alliance approved

GARDNER-WEBB ATHLETICS

Gardner-Webb, which earned the first Big South-OVC automatic berth to the FCS football playoffs last year, will try to make it two straight in 2024.

The Big South and Ohio Valley conferences are extending an alliance that keeps them viable for the FCS playoffs.

Chancellors and presidents of schools in both conferences voted to move forward with joint access to the postseason by extending the Big South-OVC Football Association to at least 2030. The association includes nine schools in five states. Two schools – Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs near Charlotte and Charleston Southern – are Big South members. The association also includes Tennessee State, an HBCU.

The original deal, which was signed in 2022, created the association tie-in through 2026. The new pact adds a “look-in” provision that enables the football schools to extend the deal’s length even further as well as the potential introduction of additional members to the association.

The agreement gives both conferences access to an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs as well as scheduling clarity. All teams will play eight association games in 2024.  

“Football will always, always be part of our core athletic identity at Gardner-Webb,” said GWU President William Downs, who is also the Big South’s president. “We have a rich and storied gridiron history, and our recent championship successes only fuel our hunger and drive our next-level ambitions. By strengthening the Big South’s partnership with the OVC, GWU has deftly secured an annual pathway to the FCS Playoffs. We now have clarity. We now have certainty. We now have stability amidst the nationwide tumult of conference realignment. All that remains is the execution.”

Gardner-Webb earned consecutive league titles the last two seasons, beating North Carolina A&T for the Big South title in 2022 and Charleston Southern last year to clinch the automatic playoff bid.

“This enhanced partnership demonstrates our united commitment to continue the growth and advancement of the FCS,” Big South Commissioner Sherika Montgomery said. “I am confident the reaffirmation of this agreement will continue to elevate football student–athlete experiences while strengthening brand exposure and recognition both regionally and nationally.”

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