Division II softball fans and watchers know exactly how much of a gauntlet the Gulf South Conference is, and that's no different in 2023.

As the regular season winds down on college hoops, one of the deepest basketball leagues in Division II will put its automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament up for grabs starting when the Gulf South Conference Tournament tips off Feb. 28.

It was a wild final week of conference games last week in the Gulf South - one that saw the league leaders sit less than 10 minutes from an outright conference title, before a furious rally that may have kept another team's playoff hopes alive.

Following a semifinal upset of top-seeded West Florida, the Lee Flames sit just one match away from the Gulf South Conference championship. Waiting for Lee, however, is a tough Mississippi College club, primed for Sunday's title showdown.

With two weeks left in the Gulf South’s league slate, there are still a number of scenarios that could see as many as four different teams end up with a share of the league title.

The 2022 Gulf South Conference season has been full of surprises, and Week 7 was no exception. While league-leading Delta State’s undefeated run has been a shock, a team sitting just one game back of the Statesmen might be even more surprising.

Delta State helped flip the Gulf South on its head early into the conference season last week, outlasting one of the preseason favorites – West Florida – in a double-overtime classic.

The Gulf South's league slate kicked off last week with North Greenville bouncing back from an 0-2 start to earn a road win over Mississippi College by a 41-19 score and temporarily move to the top of the league standings.

The Gulf South continued its strong run of non-conference play with another 6-2 mark in Week 2 to push the league’s mark to 12-4 this season. However, the biggest news from last week came from one of the two losses.

The wait is over: College football makes its return in full force.

With a variety of the top offenses in the country, including two of the very best in Valdosta State and West Florida, it’s safe to say that the Gulf South Conference is an offensive league. But with so many standouts on offense, that does create opportunities for defensive players to make a name for themselves. Here’s a look at some of the top returning talent returning to the Gulf South Conference ahead of the 2022 season — on both sides of the ball.

The past three seasons of Gulf South football have been ruled by Valdosta State, with the Blazers going 22-1 in the league over that time.

The Gulf South Conference’s top eight teams meet at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama, beginning May 4 for an automatic bid into the 2022 Div. II NCAA Tournament.

The Gulf South Conference kicks off its 2021 men's soccer championship this weekend, with the top eight teams from the conference jostling for a chance to head to Pensacola, Florida, on Nov. 14 and play in the final.

When a team rallies from a halftime deficit in college football, among the first questions a reporter asks of a head coach is invariably, What did you say to the guys in the locker room?