From Big South and Ohio Valley Conference Media Relations
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ahead of its inaugural season, the Big South-OVC Football Association unveiled its co-branded logo today.
The logo was developed to incorporate the logos and colors of each multi-sport conference, both of which have long histories of tradition and success at the FCS level.
The new trademark also features the tagline "Stronger Together" which has been used since the partnership was formed in February 2022. This year the combined membership features 10 schools competing in one schedule for the association championship and an automatic berth in the FCS Playoffs.
In the inaugural 2023 season, conference games will be played during 10 of the 12 weeks, with the first-ever contest scheduled for Week 2 on Sept. 9 with Lindenwood at 2022 OVC Champion Southeast Missouri. The 10 combined teams in 2023 (6 – OVC, 4 – Big South) will play a six-game conference schedule, as prior scheduling commitments prevented opportunities for other Big South-OVC games in the first year. Tech will travel to Robert Morris on October 28 and host Gardner-Webb on November 11.
An official website for the Big South-OVC Football Association is in development and will be launched prior to Football Media Day, which is scheduled for July 24-25 in Nashville, Tenn. Details of the association's administration, including tiebreakers for the automatic bid to the playoffs, will be announced closer to the season.
ABOUT THE BIG SOUTH-OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE ASSOCIATION
In February 2022, the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference announced the creation of an association of their football member institutions, to begin with the 2023 NCAA Division I football season and have an initial term of at least four years. The unique agreement combines the two conferences' football membership to ensure NCAA championship access and stability for the multisport conferences. In creating the association, presidents from each of the multisport conferences pointed to the similarities of the OVC and the Big South, with their complementary geographies and intercollegiate athletic philosophies, as key to making this association possible.
This year, the conferences combined for 13 finalists for the 2022 FCS National awards (Walter Payton, Buck Buchanan, Jerry Rice, Eddie Robinson and Doris Robinson), with four individuals finishing in the Top 10 of voting.
Schools included in the association include Bryant University (Smithfield, R.I.), Charleston Southern University (Charleston, S.C.), Eastern Illinois University (Charleston, Ill.), Gardner-Webb University (Boiling Springs, N.C.), Lindenwood University (St. Charles, Mo.), Robert Morris University (Moon Township, Pa.), Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, Mo.), Tennessee State University (Nashville, Tenn.), Tennessee Tech University (Cookeville, Tenn.) and UT Martin (Martin, Tenn.). Western Illinois University (Macomb, Ill.) will join the association beginning with the 2024 season.
