Southern Virginia Knights
The Southern Virginia Knights are the athletic teams that represent Southern Virginia University, located in Buena Vista, Virginia, in NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports. The Knights compete as a member of the Capital Athletic Conference. Altogether, Southern Virginia sponsors 26 sports: 13 for men and 13 for women. In July 2021, Southern Virginia will leave the Capital Athletic Conference and Old Dominion Athletic Conference for the USA South Athletic Conference.
| Southern Virginia Knights | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Southern Virginia University |
| Conference | Capital Athletic Conference Old Dominion Athletic Conference (football only) Continental Volleyball Conference (men's volleyball) |
| NCAA | Division III |
| Athletic director | Deidra Dryden |
| Location | Buena Vista, Virginia |
| Varsity teams | 26 (13 men's and 13 women's)[1] |
| Football stadium | Knight Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Knight Sports Arena |
| Baseball stadium | Parry McCluer HS |
| Softball stadium | Harvey-Dryden Field |
| Soccer stadium | Knight Stadium |
| Other arenas | Stoddard Center |
| Nickname | Knights |
| Colors | Crimson and White |
| Website | athletics |
History
The school's athletics programs historically competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and also competed in national tournaments of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). Southern Virginia began its athletic program in the fall of 1997, one year after it became a four-year liberal arts college with an LDS environment. In 1998, the Knights joined the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. The 2012–13 school year was SVU's first year as a provisional NCAA Division III member; it joined the Capital Athletic Conference on July 1, 2013, and became eligible for conference championships in 2014–15.[2] Since the Capital Athletic Conference does not offer football, Southern Virginia joined the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football effective July 2014. After four successful provisional years, the Knights became a full NCAA Division III member on September 1, 2016. On August 9, 2017 Southern Virginia University officially changed its school colors from green and white back to its original colors of crimson and white. Two months later on October 16, 2017 Southern Virginia University announced its football program would switch over to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference starting in the 2019–20 season. On February 20, 2018 the men's volleyball team became the first Southern Virginia program to be nationally ranked; ranking in at number eight in the AVCA and NCAA DIII poll.[3] On July 12, 2018 Southern Virginia announced Women's Field Hockey as a varsity sport becoming the 23rd varsity sport offered at the school.[4] On April 4, 2019 Southern Virginia added men's rugby as a varsity sport to be offered.[5] One week after announcing the addition of men's rugby, on April 11, 2019 Southern Virginia announced the addition of men's and women's swimming and diving.[6] On December 11, 2019, Southern Virginia announced it will join the USA South Athletic Conference in the 2021–22 academic year.[7]
Sports sponsored
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cheer |
| Cross Country | Cross Country |
| Football | Dance |
| Golf | Field Hockey |
| Lacrosse | Golf |
| Rugby | Lacrosse |
| Soccer | Soccer |
| Swimming | Softball |
| Tennis | Swimming |
| Track and field† | Tennis |
| Volleyball | Track and field† |
| Wrestling | Volleyball |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
A member of the Capital Athletic Conference, Southern Virginia University sponsors teams in thirteen men's and thirteen women's varsity sports.
Men’s basketball
Football
Men’s Volleyball
On March 30, 2019 the Southern Virginia Men's Volleyball team clinched the Continental Volleyball Conference regular season championship for the 2018–19 season. This was Southern Virginia's first ever conference championship as a member of the NCAA Division III.[8][9] On April 13, 2019 Southern Virginia men's volleyball program captured the University's first conference tournament title and first NCAA DIII Tournament appearance after defeating Juniata College in five-sets.[10]
Wrestling
In 2017–18 Nico Ramirez became the first NCAA National Qualifier in Southern Virginia's school history and made it to the second round of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships.[11]
National Championships
Team
| Team | ||
| Year | Athletic Association | Sport |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | NSCAA | Women's Soccer |
| 1998 | Women's Cross Country | |
| 1998 | Men's Cross Country | |
| 1999 | Softball | |
| 1999 | Women's Soccer | |
| 1999 | Women's Cross Country | |
| 2000 | Men's Soccer | |
| 2000 | Men's Basketball | |
| 2001 | Women's Cross Country | |
| 2001 | USCAA | Men's Soccer |
| 2002 | Women's Cross Country | |
| 2002 | Women's Volleyball | |
| 2002 | Women's Track & Field | |
| 2002 | Men's Track & Field | |
| 2002 | Women's Basketball | |
| 2003 | Women's Cross Country | |
| 2003 | Women's Track & Field | |
| 2004 | Women's Track & Field | |
| 2004 | Women's Volleyball | |
| 2004 | Women's Cross Country | |
| 2005 | Women's Track & Field | |
| 2005 | Women's Soccer | |
| 2005 | Women's Cross Country | |
| 2006 | Women's Basketball | |
| 2006 | Women's Soccer | |
| 2006 | Women's Cross Country | |
| 2007 | Women's Cross Country | |
| 2008 | Women's Soccer | |
| 2011 | Men's Basketball | |
| 2011 | Women's Cross Country | |
| 2012 | Women's Cross Country | |
— (NCSAA) National Small College Athletic Association
— (USCAA) United States Collegiate Athletic Association
Athletic facilities
Current facilities
- Harvey-Dryden Field — Softball
- Knight Stadium — Football, Men's and women's soccer, Men's and women's lacrosse, Field hockey
- Knight Arena — Men's and women's basketball, Men's and women's volleyball, Wrestling
- Tennis Complex — Men's and women's tennis
- Vista Links Golf Course — Men's and women's golf
For baseball, Southern Virginia plays at local high school Parry McCluer High School. And for track and field and swimming Southern Virginia uses Washington and Lee University facilities.[12]
References
- "Athletics". Southern Virginia University. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- "Capital Athletic Conference Adds Penn State-Harrisburg; The Lions Join CNU & SVU As New Full Members in 2013–14" (Press release). Capital Athletic Conference. July 26, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- "AVCA DIVISION III MEN'S WEEK #5 COACHES POLL: FEBRUARY 20, 2018" (Press release). American Volleyball Coaches Association. February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- "Southern Virginia Adds Field Hockey For 2018-19 Season" (Press release). Southern Virginia Athletics. July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- "Lamb Announces Smyth as School's First Rugby Head Coach" (Press release). Southern Virginia Athletics. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- "Southern Virginia University to Add Men's and Women's Swim Teams" (Press release). Southern Virginia Athletics. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
- "Southern Virginia University Set to Join USA South" (Press release). USA South Athletic Conference. December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- "Knights Knock Off Kean For CVC Regular Season Title" (Press release). Continental Volleyball Conference. March 31, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- "No.11 Knights Upset No. 3 Cougars in Five-Set Thriller" (Press release). Southern Virginia Athletics. March 31, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- "Men's Volleyball Earns Program's First CVC Championship Over Juniata 3-2" (Press release). Southern Virginia Athletics. April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
- "Nico Ramirez Wins in First Round, Falls in Second at National Tournament" (Press release). Southern Virginia Athletics. January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
- "Facilities and Directions" (Press release). Southern Virginia Athletics. December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.