Football The Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team participates as a member of the
Sun Belt Conference and plays its home games in
M.M. Roberts Stadium. In 2008, after 17 years at the helm of the USM Football program,
Jeff Bower was replaced by
Larry Fedora. The football team won two College Division national championships (as Mississippi Southern College, in 1958 and 1962), and won three of the first four Conference USA titles. Through the 2011 season, Southern Miss has posted 16 consecutive winning seasons. The program has had three undefeated seasons overall, including a 9–0 season in 1958. Thirty All-Americans have played for Southern Miss, including 12 first-team selections, and a number of players have moved on to the
National Football League, most notably Dawg Pound creator and three time consecutive Pro-bowler
Hanford Dixon, NFL Team of the Century punter
Ray Guy and three-time
NFL MVP Brett Favre.
Rivalries • East Carolina — Southern Miss and East Carolina met 8 times between 1951–1980. The two teams then faced off every year from 1983 to 2013 when conference realignment brought an end to the series. Southern Miss leads the series 27–12. • Louisiana Tech — The rivalry between Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech spans over 40 games and originated in 1935. The Southern Miss & Louisiana Tech Rivalry, or
Rivalry in Dixie, was recently renewed in 2010. Southern Miss leads the series 35–17. • Memphis — The long-standing rivalry between Southern Miss and
Memphis dates back to October 26, 1935, and is often referred to as the
Black and Blue Bowl. This yearly classic garnered its name from the intense competitive nature of the contest, as well as the competing schools' colors: the black of Southern Miss and the blue of Memphis. From 1995 to 2012, both teams were members of Conference USA in the Eastern Division, and the teams played each other every year. The series has been on hiatus since Memphis joined the
American Athletic Conference. Southern Miss leads the series 40–22–1. • Mississippi State — The instate rivalry between the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles spans almost half a century. The two schools have played numerous contests, but a twenty-three year hiatus cooled the rivalry to some extent. The rivalry was resumed when the two teams met in August 2014 in Starkville, and again in September 2015 in Hattiesburg. State holds a 14–13–2 edge in the all-time series. • Tulane — The rivalry between Southern Miss and
Tulane Green Wave football was born on the evening of October 13, 1979, and is known as
The Battle for the Bell. As members of
Conference USA the two teams played each other every year until 2006, when the league was split into Eastern and Western Divisions. Following their 2010 meeting, Southern Miss leads the series 23–7. The rivalry in all sports has been dormant since Tulane left Conference USA for the
American Athletic Conference in 2014.
Basketball Over the years, the Golden Eagles have had three NCAA teams. The program has also had an
NIT Championship team with its run in the 1987 postseason tournament. The team has had six players drafted including
Clarence Weatherspoon. Southern Miss has won two conference championships in basketball including a share of the 2001 regular-season title. The team has appeared in three
NCAA tournaments. They have an overall 0–3 record in tournament games. Darrin Chancellor holds the Southern Miss single-tournament scoring record with 24 points in 1991. The Golden Eagles have also appeared in the
National Invitation Tournament (NIT) ten times. Their combined record is 11–9 and they were NIT Champions in 1987.
Women's basketball The Lady Eagles also have a storied history. With 10 postseason appearances, the women's program is the most proficient at Southern Miss. In those 10 appearances, they have made the NCAA Tournament 8 times advancing to the Sweet 16 in 1994. The team has had two All-Americans including Janice Felder in 1994. In 2014–2015 season the Lady Eagles advanced to the 2015 WNIT Elite 8 vs Michigan, which was the best postseason run in history. An attendance record was set in lady eagle history on March 29, 2015, when 5,480 spectators watched Southern Miss vs Michigan.
Baseball game. The Southern Miss Golden Eagles baseball team made its first ever appearance in the
College World Series in 2009.
Softball The Southern Miss Lady Eagles softball team made it to the
Women's College World Series in 1999 and 2000 behind the arm of Courtney Blades. They play their home games at Southern Miss Softball Complex at the University of Southern Mississippi. == Traditions ==