Big South Conference (FCS)
Overview: The Kennesaw State University Owls were one of only two teams from the then nine-team Big South Conference to post a winning record during the traditional fall season of 2021. The Owls crushed now fellow former Big South member Monmouth (N.J.) 49-17 on November 20 to win what turned out to be their third and final Big South title. After downing Davidson 48-21 in the first round of the FCS playoffs, the Owls' season ended in the second round with a heartbreaking 32-31 loss to East Tennessee State to finish their season at 11-2 overall.
The only other team in the Big South Conference to have a winning season was Monmouth (N.J.). The Blue Hawks finished the fall 2021 season at 7-4 overall, and 6-1 in Big South action, losing non-conference contests to FBS Middle Tennessee State, the Patriot League's Holy Cross, and the Ivy League's Princeton Tigers, before falling to Kennesaw State for their lone loss in league play. The loss to KSU gave the Blue Hawks a second-place finish in their final Big South Conference season.
Like most FCS conferences, the Big South Conference finds itself in the midst of tremendous changes going into the 2022 season. Kennesaw State and North Alabama will officially join the Atlantic Sun (A-Sun) Conference on July 1, 2022, while Hampton and Monmouth will move to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) on that same date. The departure of those four aforementioned programs left the Big South with just five football-playing schools, with a sixth program, Bryant (7-4 overall in 2021) joining the fold this fall. Also, North Carolina A&T will spend one final season in the Big South before moving to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) on July 1, 2023.
As a result of those multiple departures and changes, the Big South Conference reached with the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) to have a scheduling alliance that will start with the 2023 season. This agreement could serve to help the Big South's current membership to become serious playoff contenders in future seasons.
As for this upcoming season, however, expect Bryant to make an immediate impact in the new-look Big South, while the other five schools will look to contend for a conference championship this fall. North Carolina A&T had the best overall record among the teams not named Bryant, Kennesaw State, and Monmouth at 5-6 overall and 3-4 in Big South play last fall.
2022 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)
NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2022 season. The link (s) will appear in each blog post when the team's schedule is submitted. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.
Final (Fall) 2021 Big South Conference Football Standings
NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2022 season. The link (s) will appear in each blog post when the team's schedule is submitted. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.
Final (Fall) 2021 Big South Conference Football Standings
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