Big South Adds Robert Morris University as Football Member
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) -- The Big South Conference has added Robert Morris University as an associate member in football effective with the 2021 season, it was announced today. Robert Morris will become the Big South’s ninth football member in 2021, which will also mark the league’s 20th season of football as well as its largest membership on the gridiron. Upon entry, the Colonials will be immediately eligible for the conference championship and automatic berth to the FCS playoffs.
“Throughout the 18-year history of Big South Conference football it has been our goal to grow membership in a smart, deliberative manner, emphasizing consistency with Big South values, commitment to success, and strong leadership,” stated Big South Commissioner Kyle Kallander. “Robert Morris University football brings all these attributes, and more. With the Colonials coming onboard, Big South football gets better, and our future shines that much brighter. We are excited to welcome Robert Morris as the Big South’s ninth football member.”
The addition of Robert Morris brings Big South football to the state of Pennsylvania for the first time, and marks the league’s second football-only member in the north along with Monmouth University (West Long Branch, N.J.). The Colonials, who began football at the FCS level in 1994 and have competed as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) since 1996, will make the necessary upgrades to meet the requirements of being a full scholarship FCS program in 2021. RMU will compete as an Independent in 2020.
Beginning in 2021, the Big South will have five core members with football -- Campbell University (Buies Creek, N.C.), Charleston Southern University (Charleston, S.C.), Gardner-Webb University (Boiling Springs, N.C.), Hampton University (Hampton, Va.) and North Carolina A&T University (Greensboro, N.C.), plus four associate football-only institutions in Robert Morris, Monmouth, Kennesaw State University (Kennesaw, Ga.) and University of North Alabama (Florence, Ala.).
Robert Morris has won six Northeast Conference championships in football -- including the league’s first five titles from 1996-00, in addition to 2010. The Colonials claimed the NEC’s first-ever automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs in 2010, and has gone 133-141-1 ( =.485) in their 26-year football history, including 84-74 in NEC games in that span ( =.532). Robert Morris has had 14 student-athletes earn 17 major Northeast Conference awards and 156 total All-NEC plaudits since 1996, in addition to 13 All-Americans -- including former tight end Matthew Gonzalez in 2019. Furthermore, six Colonials have been named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans a total of 11 times, with the notable selection of former defensive lineman Nolan Nearhoof three times as well as earning 2012 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete distinction.
The Colonials are coached by Bernard Clark Jr., who was introduced as the program’s third head coach on Dec. 19, 2017. In two seasons, Clark has returned RMU to its early prominence, as the squad went 7-5 in 2019 and finished second in the Northeast Conference with a 6-1 record. Former New York Jets head coach Joe Walton served as the first head coach in Robert Morris history from 1994-2013, and compiled a 114-92-1 overall record in 20 seasons with a 73-47 ledger in NEC games along with the six conference championships and trips to the ECAC Bowl (1996, 1997) and the FCS Playoffs (2010).
“This is an excellent opportunity for RMU,” said Robert Morris President Dr. Chris Howard, a former member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. “Football has had a tremendous impact at the university, and joining the Big South will allow Coach Clark, his staff and our student-athletes to take the program to even greater heights.”
“This day signifies another milestone in growth of RMU athletics,” added Robert Morris Vice President and Director of Athletics Chris King. “We’re excited to join the Big South Conference as an associate member in football and become a part of a league that has sent multiple teams annually to the FCS Playoffs in recent years. We see this move as an opportunity for the football program to build new and exciting competitors, enhance recruiting and provide a focus on football excellence. We look forward to our football program building great traditions and rivalries in the Big South and contend for a Big South Conference championship and an FCS Playoff berth. Today is a great day for the university and athletics program.”
The RMU program has had seven players drafted/signed by National Football League teams, including former running back Tim Hall (1994-95) being selected by the Raiders in the sixth round of the 1996 draft. Free agent signees include Marcels Branch (2017 with Atlanta), while former offensive lineman Hank Fraley (1996-99) started 123 of 142 career games in a 10-year career with Philadelphia, Cleveland and St. Louis.
Among the nation’s premier FCS conferences, the Big South has advanced in the FCS Playoffs eight times in the last nine years -- including five trips to the quarterfinals since 2013, and has recorded multiple postseason bids five times since the league first received an automatic bid in 2010. In addition, the Big South has had a member ranked in the FCS Top 25 national rankings in 118 of the last 121 polling weeks -- including the last 34 consecutive. The Big South had the Jerry Rice National Freshman of the Year in 2017 (Kennesaw State’s Bryson Armstrong), the Walter Payton Award Runner-Up in 2018 (Kennesaw State’s Chandler Burks in 2018), as well as another Top 3 Payton Award finalist in 2019 (Monmouth’s Pete Guerriero). Since sponsoring football in 2002, the Big South has six FBS wins to its credit (all since 2010), 10 NFL Draft selections, 242 total All-Americans and 14 total Academic All-American honorees.
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY (www.rmu.edu)
Robert Morris University is a nationally-ranked doctoral research university, enrolling approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students in more than 90 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. RMU offers fully online courses as well as a traditional residential college experience at its campus on 230 scenic acres 17 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. The Colonials compete in 16 NCAA Division I sports, including ice hockey, basketball, football, volleyball and lacrosse.