Charleston Southern Buccaneers Explained

The Charleston Southern Buccaneers are the athletic teams that represent Charleston Southern University, located in North Charleston, South Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Big South Conference since the 1983–84 academic year. The football program competes in the FCS, formerly known as I-AA.

Charleston Southern competes in sixteen intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, and track and field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor), and volleyball. Women's flag football will be added in the 2027–28 school year.^[1] Other sports formerly offered by the Buccaneers include men's soccer and men's tennis.

Conference affiliations

NCAA

• Big South Conference (1983–present)

Varsity teams

CSU competes in the NCAA in the following sports:^[2]

	Basketball
	Cross country
Cross country	Flag football (2027–28)
	Golf
Golf	Soccer
Track and field†	Softball
	Tennis
	Track and field†
	Volleyball

In 2008, CSU closed its highly successful men's tennis program to reallocate funds to other sports.^[3] CSU formerly fielded a men's soccer team.

Cross Country

Beginning in 2020, Charleston Southern has won six consecutive Big South Conference titles in Men’s Cross Country. The Buccaneer men won the title in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Football

See main article: Charleston Southern Buccaneers football.

Rivalry with Coastal Carolina

These two schools first met on the football field in 2003 and it has been a rivalry since Charleston Southern defeated Coastal Carolina 34–27 in 2005 to win a share of the Big South Championship that Coastal had already clinched. CSU got the first shutout of the series with their 24–0 win in 2008. Currently, Charleston Southern has a two-game winning streak over Coastal Carolina with Charleston Southern winning 59–58 in 2016. Charleston Southern won a share of the 2016 Big South Championship and got the automatic berth into the NCAA Playoffs.

Coastal Carolina leads the series 8–6.

• 2016 – CSU @ Coastal – W, 59–58
• 2015 – Coastal @ CSU – W, 33–25
• 2014 – CSU @ Coastal – L, 43–22
• 2013 – Coastal @ CSU – W, 31–26
• 2012 – CSU @ Coastal – L, 41–20
• 2011 – Coastal @ CSU – L, 45–38
• 2010 – CSU @ Coastal – L, 70–3
• 2009 – Coastal @ CSU – W, 30–23
• 2008 – CSU @ Coastal – W, 24–0
• 2007 – Coastal @ CSU – L, 41–2
• 2006 – CSU @ Coastal – L, 31–17
• 2005 – Coastal @ CSU – W, 34–27 (2 OT)
• 2004 – CSU @ Coastal – L, 56–28
• 2003 – Coastal @ CSU – L, 48–14 (First Meeting)

Charleston Southern vs FBS Schools

Year	FBS Opponent	Result	Opponent's Conference	Opponent's Head Coach	Charleston Southern's Head Coach
2022		L, 3–55			Autry Denson
2021		L, 7–56			Autry Denson
2021		L, 28–31			Autry Denson
2019		L, 10–72	SEC		Autry Denson
2018		L, 6–53	SEC		Mark Tucker
2017		L, 0–27			Mark Tucker
2017		L, 0–49	SEC	Dan Mullen	Mark Tucker
2016		L, 8–52	ACC		Jamey Chadwell
2015		L, 6–56	SEC		Jamey Chadwell
2015		L, 16–44			Jamey Chadwell
2014		L, 9–55	SEC		Jamey Chadwell
2014		L, 20–21	SEC		Jamey Chadwell
2013		L, 10–43			Jamey Chadwell
2012		L, 0–44	Big Ten		Jay Mills
2011		L, 0–62			Jay Mills
2011		L, 10–62	ACC	Jimbo Fisher	Jay Mills
2010		L, 21–49	SEC		Jay Mills
2010		L, 7–66			Jay Mills
2009		L, 0–59			Jay Mills
2009		L, 3–62	SEC		Jay Mills
2008		L, 27–38			Jay Mills
2008		L, 7–52	ACC		Jay Mills
2007		L, 10–66	WAC		Jay Mills
2003		L, 7–55	Big East	Jim Leavitt	Jay Mills
2002		L, 6–56	Big East	Jim Leavitt	David Dowd
Charleston Southern 0 – FBS Schools 25

Men's basketball

See main article: Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball.

Women's basketball

See main article: Charleston Southern Buccaneers women's basketball.

Facilities

• Buccaneer Ballpark – home of the baseball program. It has a capacity of 1,500 spectators.
• Buccaneer Field – home of the football program. It opened in 1970 and has a capacity of 4,000 spectators.
• CSU Field House – home of the Men's and Women's Basketball teams. It has a capacity of 881 spectators. It is the 2nd smallest arena in Division I basketball.

Notable alumni

Baseball

• Stuart Lake
• Bobby Parnell
• George Schaefer
• Tyler Thornburg

Men's basketball

• Rolando Hourruitiner

Men's soccer

• John Patrick Devereux

Men’s cross country

• Fearghal Curtin

Notes and References

1. Charleston Southern Announces Addition of Women's Flag Football as Varsity Program . Charleston Southern Buccaneers . January 27, 2026 . February 3, 2026.
2. Web site: Charleston Southern University - Official Athletics Website . https://web.archive.org/web/20221128124926/http://csusports.com/ . 28 November 2022 . 2022-12-01 . Charleston Southern University . en.
3. Web site: Charleston Southern Discontinues Men's Tennis Program :: CSUsports.com . 2011-01-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212401/http://www.csusports.com/article.asp?articleID=2558 . 2011-07-08 .