The Southern Conference is holding Furman University athletics back.

Furman University is an institution that prides itself on excellence in all its endeavors and, as such, ensures that the best of the Paladin community are both recognized and supported beyond their abilities. Furman athletics should be no different, but the SoCon is holding the university back.

Bigger conferences provide universities with better coverage, a bigger national presence, more funding, guaranteed multi-year scholarships, and even long term health care and insurance for former athletes. The Southern Conference is unable to provide at the same level and the Furman Paladins are ready for more.

Furman’s success goes beyond the SoCon as well. The Learfield Director’s Cup has a similar formula to the Germann Cup and the Commissioner’s Cup, combining men’s and women’s sports to rank all NCAA schools. This past fall, the Paladins ranked 30th of all Division 1 schools and, for the second year in a row, led the SoCon by quite a margin. 

Furman’s national placing of 30th also puts Furman third out of all Non-Power 5 athletic programs. Furman did not shy from beating Power 5 schools either, outpacing 5 ACC schools: Syracuse, Miami (FL), Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and Boston College.

Additionally, a few Furman programs have proven that the SoCon is no longer a challenge. Furman’s Women’s Golf team finished 12th in the NCAA last year. They have 11 more SoCon titles, more than the second best team, and are the only team in the conference with more than one NCAA appearance (Furman has 18). Moreover, both Men’s & Women’s Cross Country won their 5th SoCon title in a row last fall with the women finishing 7th in the country and the men, 26th.

Alice Chen, 2016 SoCon Co-Player of the Year and captain of the women’s golf team, while humble, recognized the lack of SoCon teams in national-level playing fields. “I wish the SoCon was stronger. As our program has improved, we have competed in stronger fields and play the best teams in the country. Unfortunately, we do not usually see other SoCon teams there.”

Former Cross Country SoCon Freshman of the Year and 4-time All-SoCon team member Aaron Templeton agreed, “We don’t consider the SoCon to be very competitive.”

Proverbs 27:17 reads “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Furman has always been a respected name in the Southern Conference. Over the last five or so years, the athletic teams here have shown they are ready for more. It seems then, that the iron of the SoCon is no longer hard enough to sharpen the best of Furman’s athletics. Unless Furman athletics are content with the status quo, it is time to look upward and onward.

I hear the ACC is not full yet.