[Sly Fox]

Chris referenced this in his blog, but here is the deal the league is using to celebrate its 25th anniversary ...

Big South Conference 25th Anniversary Top 25 “Best of the Best”

• 1986-1996 Radford Women’s Basketball

• Dante Washington, Radford men’s soccer (1988-92)

• 1987-1989 UNC Asheville Women’s Tennis

• Tony Dunkin, Coastal Carolina men’s basketball (1989-93)

• Ilona Fekete, UNC Asheville volleyball (1990-92)

• 1997-2006 Liberty Women’s Basketball

• Amber Campbell, Coastal Carolina women’s track & field (2000-04)

• 2001-2008 Coastal Carolina Baseball

• 2002-2006 Winthrop Women’s Tennis

• Katie Feenstra, Liberty women’s basketball (2002-05)

• Mary Hock (2002-05) and Winthrop Volleyball

• 2003 UNC Asheville Men’s Basketball

• 2003 Coastal Carolina Men’s Soccer and Joseph Ngwenya

• Dustin Johnson, Coastal Carolina men’s golf (2003-07)

• Danny Gathings, High Point men’s basketball (2003-05)

• 2005 Charleston Southern Football

• Josh McDougal, Liberty cross country/track (2004-08)

• Arizona Reid, High Point men’s basketball (2004-08)

• Reggie Williams, VMI men’s basketball (2004-08)

• Martin Sayer, Radford men’s tennis (2005-present)

• 2006 Coastal Carolina Football

• 2006-07 Winthrop Men’s Basketball

• 2006-07 Coastal Carolina Men’s Golf

• 2006-08 VMI Men’s Basketball

• Liberty’s Track & Field Programs and Heather Sagan

Obviously they had trouble filling up 25 slots since so many of the above are repeating each other. Here is what they intend to do with this list ...

Beginning August 25 and continuing approximately 25 weeks through March 25, the Big South Conference will feature each “Best of the Best” moment in greater detail on a weekly basis -- including a video vignette series around each moment that will be available for viewing on the Big South’s website, www.BigSouthSports.com, and on the League’s television package during football and basketball season.

Click Here for Full Story & to Vote

[sweetnahmah1]

cool beanth

[flameshaw]

Admit to some prejudice but what about Eric Green, number 10 pick overall in NFL draft and Pro Bowl (I think). Maybe we were not BSC then?

[Sly Fox]

Allegedly this is for accomplishments in the Big South. But clearly several of the nominees had marginal credentials until their pro careers. And you are correct that we weren't a football member of the Big South until 2002.

[Fumblerooskies]

They are obviously referencing current Big South schools, only.

[Ed Dantes]

Ummmm... Are they seriously putting Danny Gathings in there, but not Larry Blair (heck, not even Peter Aluma?) Or are they just trying to find something for everyone (like why 2005 CSU Football made it -- but 2007 LU Football didn't).

[Sly Fox]

It is a great deal like the All-Star reserves where everybody must be represented. And yes if this really were about the 25 years then there would certainly be UNCG, Elon, Wofford & Campbell moments as well as some of the other old schools long gone.

[olldflame]

Ummmm... Are they seriously putting Danny Gathings in there, but not Larry Blair (heck, not even Peter Aluma?) Or are they just trying to find something for everyone (like why 2005 CSU Football made it -- but 2007 LU Football didn't).

This one would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Although they changed the voting procedure immediatly, the conference never acknowledged their screw-up in voting Gathings 04 tournament MVP over Blair or Gathing's gesture in coming to LU to give the trophy to Larry. Gathings is in the books as the MVP. I wonder if they will include something about it in the video as a way of showing what a sportsman he was?

[ATrain]

It is a great deal like the All-Star reserves where everybody must be represented. And yes if this really were about the 25 years then there would certainly be UNCG, Elon, Wofford & Campbell moments as well as some of the other old schools long gone.

When was Wofford a member of the Big South? I know Davidson came in and went out again, but Wofford?

[ToTheLeft]

Former members

Armstrong Atlantic State Peach Belt 1983 1987
Augusta State Peach Belt 1983 1990
Birmingham-Southern SCAC, Division III 2000 2007
Campbell Atlantic Sun 1983 1994
Davidson SoCon 1990 1992
Elon SoCon 1999 2003
UM-Baltimore County America East 1992 1998
UNC Greensboro SoCon 1992 1997
Towson Colonial 1992 1995

[Sly Fox]

I guess it was just because we scheduled them like a conference member is why I had it in my head they were actually a member of the Big South. They joined the SoCon just a decade ago.

[Realist]

When I saw the poll my first thought was WU basketball 99-08, but it wasn't a choice. Yeah, their selections are quite strange in some instances.

And I must preface this with saying that Gathings giving Blair the trophy was a nice gesture, but giving Gathings any sort of sportsmanship award, or award based on that is ridiculous. Gathings was notoriously a poor sport--I think he garnered more techs in league games than any player that I can remember, even spitting on a ref's face intentionally in one game after telling the ref to go to do something to himself. You get the idea.

And yes, other schools that have left would have been on there, although I'm not sure what Elon would be included for, I think the only championship they ever won was one year in women's soccer.