This is Conference Carolinas (2023-24)

2023-24

THIS IS CONFERENCE CAROLINAS

Current Conference Carolinas Membership

*Atlantic Christian/Barton: 1930-31--present

Belmont Abbey: 1989-90--present

Chowan: 2019-20--present

Converse: 2008-09--present

Emmanuel: 2018-19--present

Erskine: 1995-96--present

Francis Marion: 2021--present

King: 2011-12--present

Lees-McRae: 1993-94--present

Mount Olive: 1988-89--present

UNC Pembroke: 1976-92; 2021-22--present

North Greenville: 2011-12—present

Shorter: 2024-25

Southern Wesleyan: 2016-17--present

Young Harris: 2023-24

LEADING THE WAY

Conference Carolinas believes in the development and formation of the whole person in body, mind, and soul. Our students are nationally recognized for their extraordinary success in the classroom, in the community, and at the highest levels of NCAA competition.

2023-24

CONFERENCE CAROLINAS

STAFF

Chris Colvin Commissioner

Kit Alewine

Associate Commissioner

Brian Hand

Associate Commissioner

Jill Robbins

Assistant Commissioner

Zachary Shore

Assistant Commissioner

Anna Schwieger Coordinator of Sport Administration and Governance

Kayla Green Conference Officer

ConferenceCarolinas.com

Twitter/X: @ConfCarolinas

Instagram: @ConfCarolinas

Facebook: Facebook.com/ConferenceCarolinas

#LeadingTheWay

#BodyMindSoul

SINCE 1930

Conference Carolinas has a rich tradition in roots that dates back to its inception on Dec. 6, 1930. The conference was formed then as an athletic association "for the greater advantage of the small colleges in North Carolina."

The official name given back then was the North State Intercollegiate Conference, but it was known informally as the Old North State Conference.

The birthplace was the Washington Duke Hotel in Durham, North Carolina and the seven charter and founding members were Appalachian State, Atlantic Christian (now Barton College), Catawba, Guilford, Elon, High Point, and Lenoir-Rhyne.

The conference followed a policy of expansion for a period of time. Western Carolina became a member in 1933, East Carolina in 1947, Pfeiffer in 1960, Newberry in 1961, and Presbyterian in 1964, followed closely by Mars Hill.

With the acceptance of the first member from South Carolina in Newberry College, a name change became necessary. On May 20, 1961 the official name of the conference was changed to the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAC), but it was commonly known less formerly as the Carolinas Conference.

East Carolina resigned in 1962 to join the NCAA Division I Southern Conference and Appalachian State and Western Carolina followed. Football sponsorship in Carolinas Conference was dropped at the time when Lenoir-Rhyne, Newberry, Presbyterian, and Mars Hill joined the South Atlantic Conference.

Pembroke State University (now UNC Pembroke) became a first-time member in 1976 followed by Wingate College in 1979. Lenoir-Rhyne rejoined in 1984. While Guilford College withdrew in 1988, St. Andrews and Mount Olive were added that same year.

The 1989-90 academic year started a new era as Catawba, Elon, Lenoir-Rhyne

and Wingate all withdrew to compete in the first year that the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference would provide championships in all sports.

The Carolinas Conference then added Belmont Abbey in 1989, Coker College in 1991, and Lees-McRae in 1993.

The 1993-94 academic year brought a change to the conference's national affiliation. The conference entered dual membership into both the NAIA and NCAA Division II.

The 1995-96 year brought dramatic change to the conference. First, full membership into NCAA Division II was acquired. The 1995-96 academic year was the first official year of full competition and championship play for the conference in NCAA Division II status. Secondly, this was also the same year that Erskine, Longwood, and Queens were accepted as full members of the conference.

With Longwood becoming the first Virginia member, another name change occurred and the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (known more universally as the "CVAC") was born.

Following the 1997 academic year High Point resigned to join the NCAA Division I ranks while in 1998 Limestone soon joined. They were quickly followed by Anderson in 1999.

In 2003, Longwood University left the conference to explore possibilities in NCAA Division I. Then in 2005 the CVAC added Converse as an associate member. Converse became a full member starting in the 2007-08 season.

With the lone Virginia school in Longwood leaving, the league decided to go back to their roots and change their name to Conference Carolinas in 2007.

On June 1, 2011, King College and North Greenville University

became official members of the conference and opened the conference to its first Tennessee member in King.

Southern Wesleyan joined the league officially as a full NCAA Division II member on July 1, 2016 after going through the national membership process with Conference Carolinas. The league opened up their sponsorship to Southern Wesleyan where the Warriors played a full conference regular season schedule for three years (2013) prior to full NCAA Division II membership.

Emmanuel joined Conference Carolinas July 13, 2018 after also going through the full NCAA Division II membership process. Within that process, the Lions played five years (2013) in which their games counted towards regular season standings without eligibility for league championships.

Chowan University became a full Conference Carolinas member starting in the 2019-20 academic year. Chowan was an associate member for the sports of men's & women's lacrosse, women's golf, men's & women's soccer, baseball, men's & women's swimming, and men's & women's tennis before joining Conference Carolinas from the CIAA.

UNC Pembroke rejoined Conference Carolinas along with first-time member Francis Marion with the start of the 2022-23 academic year.

Member institutions for the 2023-24 academic year are Barton, Belmont Abbey, Chowan, Converse, Emmanuel, Erskine, Francis Marion, King, Lees-McRae, Mount Olive, UNC Pembroke, North Greenville, Southern Wesleyan, and Young Harris.

The addition of Young Harris was officially announced in November of 2022. The Mountain Lions will compete in Conference Carolinas for the first time during the 2023-24 academic year.

Shorter accepted an invitation to join the league in January of 2023 and will officially begin competition in Conference Carolinas in the 2024-25 academic year.

The addition of Shorter will also allow Conference Carolinas to sponsor football as a conference sport for the first time since 1974-75. The conference will officially start sponsoring football in the 2025-26 academic year. Conference Carolinas football will feature Barton, Chowan, Erskine, UNC Pembroke, North Greenville, and Shorter in the 2025 season.

Many institutions have been members of the league during its rich history overall, including Anderson, Appalachian State, Barton (formerly Atlantic Christian), Belmont Abbey, Catawba, Chowan, Coker, Converse, East Carolina, Emmanuel, Erskine, Elon, Francis Marion, Guilford, High Point, King, Lees-McRae, Lenoir-Rhyne, Limestone, Longwood, Mars Hill, Mount Olive, Newberry, North Greenville, Pembroke State/UNC Pembroke, Pfeiffer, Presbyterian, Queens, Southern Wesleyan, St. Andrews, Western Carolina, and Wingate.

Barton is the only remaining charter member followed in longevity by Mount Olive joining in 1988.

Founded -- 12-6-1930 at Washington Duke Hotel in Durham, North Carolina

North State Conference: 1930-31--1960-61

Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: 1961-62--1994-95

Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference: 1995-96--2006-2007

Conference Carolinas: 2007-08--present

Conference Carolinas History (Entering 2023-24)

Conference Carolinas

NCAA Division II

National Championship Teams

Men's Lacrosse

Limestone (2017)

Limestone (2015)

Limestone (2014)

Men's Basketball

Barton (2007)

Men's Soccer

Pfeiffer (2015)

Baseball

North Greenville (2022)

Mount Olive (2008)

All-Time Conference Carolinas NCAA Division II Individual National Champions

Men's Cross Country

Michael Crouch, Queens, 2010

Men's Golf

Andrew McArthur, Pfeiffer, 2003

Men's Track & Field

Michael Crouch, Queens, 2009 –1,500 Meters

Marshawn Scott, Limestone, 2017 –60M Hurdles

Women's Track & Field

Tanya Zeferjahn, Queens, 2009 & 2010 –10,000 Meters

Men's Swimming

Joao Vitor Dos Santos Thomaz, Emmanuel, 2021 –100 Breaststroke

Alex Sobers, Emmanuel, 2019 –500 Freestyle

South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Men's Wrestling

Zeth Brower, Lander, 2022 – 141 Pounds

Isiah Royal, Newberry, 2021 – 141 Pounds

BODY, MIND, AND SOUL

DEVELOPING CHAMPIONS

Conference Carolinas believes in the development and formation of the whole person in body, mind, and soul. Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul is about the development of the whole studentathlete.

BUILDING TOMORROW'S LEADERS

Conference Carolinas and its members are committed to challenging adversity and building tomorrow's leaders.

BODY, MIND, AND SOUL

ACADEMIC & ATHLETIC SUCCESS

Conference Carolinas is built upon the idea of offering challenging NCAA competition in an environment that fosters both the academic and athletic achievements of its student-athletes.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE DAILY

Our students are nationally recognized for their extraordinary success in the classroom, in the community, and at the highest levels of NCAA competition.

Photographer by Arzu Shanza

STRATEGICALLY BUILDING CHAMPIONS

Conference Carolinas officially unveiled its strategic plan for 2022-25 in the spring of 2022. The strategic plan was part of a yearlong effort of working with Nancy Mitchell (Strategic Edge) and Kathy Turpin (K. Turpin Consulting) and the Conference Carolinas Board of Directors to put together a strategic plan that the conference could utilize from 2022-25.

“When I first arrived as Commissioner of Conference Carolinas in 2019 it became apparent that we already had a key strategy in place around building ‘Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul’ but we also needed to fine-tune what that meant to us and build a new and updated path for the present and future,” Commissioner Chris Colvin said. “I fully believe that our new strategic plan is ideal for what we are trying to accomplish as a group in Conference Carolinas. It’s always our number one priority to help our member institutions fulfill their missions, and through the efforts of Nancy and Kathy and many more, we feel like we have a plan in place that can help guide us through 2025 and beyond.”

The Conference Carolinas Strategic Plan is fully built around the belief that building “Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul” in Conference Carolinas is not just a slogan; it’s what Conference Carolinas sets out to accomplish every day.

“Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul” is about the development of the whole student-athlete. Playing sports isn’t just about winning on the scoreboard but about winning in life. That requires a commitment to excellence in all aspects of the experience, which is what is done in Conference Carolinas.

The strategic plan is built around the following priorities:

· Actualization of Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul.

· Culture of Care, Compassion, and Integrity.

· Membership and Financial Stability.

· Championships and Game-Day Experience.

· Marketing, Branding, and Strategic Communications.

These particular priorities intentionally embody Conference Carolinas’ vision to be “Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul” and its commitment to attain excellence and virtue in all that the conference does each and every day.

Please visit ConferenceCarolinas.com/StrategicPlan to learn much more.

PROVIDING UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES

Conference Carolinas, through the tireless efforts of Assistant Commissioner/ SWA Jill Robbins, continues to offer unique programming for its studentathletes, coaches, and administrators in Conference Carolinas.

Conference Carolinas continued its mentorship program where coaches and administrators throughout the conference were paired with aspiring professionals in the sports industry in the 2022-23 academic year. The program continued with Zoom meetings also paired with in-person meetings where applicable.

Conference Carolinas also continued its Professional Development Series on Zoom. The series has given Conference Carolinas the opportunity to connect with its student-athletes and member institutions on varying topics such as a leadership development event focused on emotional intelligence and a seminar focused on resume building along with much more. Associate Commissioner Kit Alewine also held NCAA compliance reviews for the second straight academic year.

Conference Carolinas held its annual “Leading the Way: Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul” SAAC Retreat sponsored by Cambria Hotel Greenville on Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022.

After introductions by the Conference Carolinas staff and the awarding of the annual Make-A-Wish Awards, the student-athletes in attendance for the annual event officially kicked things off by playing games and overall having fun with the children of the Boys & Girls Club on Friday, Sept. 16.

The student-athletes closed out the first day by competing in the annual “Minute to Win It” challenge put together by Robbins and Conference Officer Hailey Gass. Conference Carolinas Assistant Commissioner for Communications Zachary Shore served as the emcee for the fun evening. UNC Pembroke emerged as the winner in the annual “Minute to Win It” showdown.

The morning of Saturday, Sept. 17, the student-athletes participated in important meetings and breakout sessions before having the tremendous opportunity to hear from North Carolina Senior Associate Director of Athletics/ Student-Athlete Development Cricket Lane and Duke Associate Director of Athletics/Director of Student-Athlete Development Leslie Barnes. Lane and Barnes provided leadership training to all in attendance.

In addition, during the 2022-23 academic year event the Conference Carolinas Faculty Athletic Representatives were in attendance and they held their annual business meetings while also being a part of the fun and taking advantage of all of the unique opportunities provided over the course of the special weekend.

Conference Carolinas has even more new and unique programming scheduled in the 2023-24 academic year.

Conference Carolinas is committed to aligning with businesses that share our common values and, like us, strive to attain excellence and virtue in all endeavors. We will work hard to make our corporate partnerships a truly beneficial relationship through mutually agreed upon customization that will lead to unparalleled exposure.

2023-24 Corporate Partners

Atlantic Casualty Insurance Company

AudienceRent

Barnes & Noble College

Bob McCloskey Insurance

Buffkin/Baker

Cambria Hotel Greenville

Championship Award Guys

Digital Scoreboards

Gameday Logistics

HomeTown Ticketing

Hour-A-Thon

Hudl

Spartanburg Marriott

McGriff Insurance Services

McMillan Pazdan Smith

Plus Inc.

Rocket Alumni Solutions

SCS by Floor Action, Inc.

SIDEARM Sports

Southern Recognition LLC

South State Bank

Spry

TicketSmarter

Toledo Ticket Technologies

Vernon Graphics and Promotions

FOOTBALL IS BACK!

The countdown to the fall of 2025 has officially started for all involved with Conference Carolinas. The NCAA Division II conference announced on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, with the addition of Shorter University, that they would also be sponsoring football in the 2025-26 academic year for the first time since the 1974-75 academic year.

Conference Carolinas football will feature Barton, Chowan, Erskine, UNC Pembroke, North Greenville, and Shorter in the 2025 season.

HELPING MEMBERS FULFILL THEIR MISSIONS

Conference Carolinas is a sole sponsor of 24 sports and also collaborates with two other conferences (South Atlantic Conference and Great Midwest Athletic Conference) to offer opportunities in four additional sports for a total of 28 in the 2024-25 academic year. Conference Carolinas will be a sole sponsor of 25 sports and offer opportunities for a total of 29 sports with the official addition of football in the 2025-26 academic year.

The ability to provide its membership sports sponsorship in 29 sports is the most in all of NCAA Division II. In addition, Conference Carolinas also provides championship opportunities for its member institutions in esports and spirit.

This is all in addition to hosting developmental championships in various sports for its member institutions. Conference Carolinas is believed to be the first NCAA conference to offer sub-varsity championships to its members.

AMAZING EXPERIENCES

COLLABORATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

For Conference Carolinas it’s all about telling our story uniquely. Others are taking notice too with NCAA Division II awarding Conference Carolinas a grant based on its strategic positioning as a conference in promoting its student-athletes, coaches, and administrators through its College Sports Communicators award-winning “Body, Mind, and Soul” feature series.

The Conference Carolinas “Body, Mind, and Soul" feature series was named the best in the nation in 2022-23 in one category and also received “Best in the District” honors for the third straight year in the College Sports Communicators Fred Stabley Jr. Writing Contest.

The “Body, Mind, and Soul” feature series are a collaboration between public relations legend Bob Rose, Associate Commissioner for External Relations Brian Hand, and the rest of the Conference Carolinas league office.

The series of “Body, Mind, and Soul” feature stories have led to local, regional, and national coverage with the series even featured by Sports Illustrated.

GROWTH IN NUMBERS

The commitment to complementing its members for Conference Carolinas can easily be seen in the fact that the conference has improved its Instagram followers by over 8,500 in the last four years (July 2019-July 2023). The increase, which also includes adding over 3,500 followers since August of 2021 thanks to the addition of Assistant Commissioner for Communications Zachary Shore, is the most among all of NCAA Division II conferences during the time period.

In addition, Conference Carolinas has improved by over 4,000 Twitter/X followers during the same time period, which is the second-most among all NCAA Division II conferences.

Conference Carolinas has also set record numbers on ConferenceCarolinas.com for the last four academic years with the official website for the league registering over one million unique pageviews over the course of the 2022-23 academic year.

This marked the first time in the history of ConferenceCarolinas.com that the website had registered over 1 million unique pageviews over the course of an academic year.

THIS IS CONFERENCE CAROLINAS

Please visit ConferenceCarolinas.com to learn more about Conference Carolinas.

Twitter/X: @ConfCarolinas

Instagram: @ConfCarolinas

Facebook: Facebook.com/ConferenceCarolinas

#LeadingTheWay

#BodyMindSoul

TWITTER/X: @CONFCAROLINAS

INSTAGRAM: @CONFCAROLINAS

FACEBOOK.COM/CONFERENCECAROLINAS

#LEADINGTHEWAY #BODYMINDSOUL