SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A pair of Big South Conference rivals separated by 65 miles will embark on a journey to hoist college athletics' newest trophy this year as USC Upstate and UNC Asheville compete in the inaugural installment of the Ingles I-26 Rivalry.

The Spartans and Bulldogs will compete throughout the year utilizing a point system awarding on-field success, providing each program the opportunity for bonus points, and providing the community an opportunity to help each program score points while helping battle food insecurity in both Spartanburg, S.C., and Asheville, N.C.

The Ingles I-26 Rivalry begins Saturday, September 23 as the schools compete on the volleyball court and women's soccer pitch.

Three points will be awarded per regular-season victory in the sports of men's basketball, women's basketball, women's soccer, men's soccer, volleyball, and baseball.  An additional three points will be awarded to the school with the highest finish at the Big South Championship in men's cross country, women's cross country, men's indoor track and field, women's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field, women's outdoor track and field, and women's golf.

Bonus points are also up for grabs with ties to long-standing donation programs sponsored by Ingles.  In basketball, the school with the most three-pointers made by their men's basketball and women's basketball teams earns one point per program. Ingles makes a $3 contribution to a charity supported by USC Upstate for each three-pointer made by both teams – that charity the last three seasons has been the survivorship program at the Gibbs Cancer Center and Research Institute.

On the baseball diamond, a bonus point will be awarded to the respective pitching staff with the most strikeouts during the season.  Again, Ingles makes a $1 contribution to a local charity on behalf of the Spartans and last year the baseball team strikeouts supported Kids Clubs of the Upstate.

Ingles also makes the same contribution for softball strikeouts with last year's benefactor being the Hope Center for Children.  Points are not awarded in softball as UNC Asheville does not sponsor that sport.  Additionally, USC Upstate does not sponsor men's and women's tennis and Asheville does not sponsor men's golf.

The community has the opportunity to earn their school three additional bonus points as the Universities sponsor food drives in the G. B. Hodge Center and Kimmel Arena on dates when the schools compete against each other this coming season.  Those dates will be announced soon.

Points will be tracked throughout the year and the inaugural trophy presentation will be made to the school earning the most points at the student-athlete welcome-back event in August 2024.
 
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Melissa Leavell, Director of Marketing, Ingles Markets
Ingles loves a good competition, especially between two great schools.  We think the new series rivalry between USC Upstate and UNC Asheville will live up to the outstanding program they have in each department, and both schools know how to turn up the intensity when needed!  Ingles is excited to get in the middle of it all and help our communities at the same time.

Matt Martin, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics, USC Upstate
We are excited to formalize our new rivalry series with UNC Asheville and grateful to Ingles for their support.   What makes this rivalry series extra special is that not only will it reward our student-athletes for excellence in competition against their rival, but it will bring our respective fans into the mix by making them an active participant in the results and in making an impact in our respective communities.  Special thank you to Ingles for their leadership in making the I-26 Rivalry with UNC Asheville a reality! 

Janet Cone, Senior Administrator for University Enterprises and Director of Athletics, UNC Asheville
Having a rivalry series with USC Upstate will add a little more motivation and fun for not only our student-athletes and coaches, but also for our fans.  Each competition is so important to the overall outcome. This rivalry will also allow us to support our local communities.  We are extremely thankful to Ingles and our colleagues at USC Upstate for their willingness to partner on the Ingles I-26 Rivalry.
 

Date	Event	Final	USC Upstate	UNC Asheville
9/23/23	Volleyball (at UPST)	UPST, 3-0	Leads series, 3-0
	W. Soccer (at UPST)	UPST, 2-1	Leads series, 6-0
10/28/23	W. Cross Country Champ.	UNCA 4th UPST 7th	Leads series, 6-3
10/28/23	M. Cross Country Champ.	UNCA 2nd UPST 5th	Series Tied
11/1/23	M. Soccer (at UNCA)	UNCA, 4-2		Leads series, 9-6
11/11/23	Volleyball (at UNCA)	UNCA, 3-1		Leads series, 12-6
1/3/24	W. Basketball (at UPST)	UPST 71-44		Leads series, 12-9
	M. Basketball (at UNCA)	UNCA 95-67		Leads series, 15-9
2/10/24	W. Basketball (at UNCA)	UPST 71-65		Leads series, 15-12
	M. Basketball (at UPST)	UNCA 77-64		Leads series, 18-12
2/11/24	BONUS POINT (3): Canned Food Drive Donations	UNCA 488-339		Leads series, 21-12
2/24/24	W. Indoor Track Champ.	UNCA 5th UPST 6th		Leads series, 24-12
	M. Indoor Track Champ.	UNCA 4th UPST 5th		Leads series, 27-12
3/11/24	BONUS POINT (1): Season total number of 3-point shots made (MBB)	UNCA 277 UPST 230		Leads series, 28-12
3/11/24	BONUS POINT (1): Season total number of 3-point shots made (WBB)	UPST 165 UNCA 127		Leads series, 28-13
3/28/24	Baseball (at UPST)	UPST, 14-4		Leads series, 28-16
3/29/24	Baseball (at UPST)	UPST, 10-9		Leads series, 28-19
3/30/24	Baseball (at UPST)	UPST, 7-6		Leads series, 28-22
4/14/24	W. Golf Champ.	UPST 2nd UNCA 6th		Leads series, 28-25
5/8/24	W. Outdoor Track Champ.	UNCA 4th UPST 6th		Leads series, 31-25
	M. Outdoor Track Champ.	UPST 2nd UNCA 4th		Leads series, 31-28
5/26/24	BONUS POINT (1): Season total number of strikeouts (BASE)	UPST 510 UNCA 360		Wins series,  31-29