Conference Carolinas
Conference Carolinas is an NCAA Division II athletics conference founded on Dec. 6, 1930, with member schools located in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Conference Carolinas member institutions are Barton, Belmont Abbey, Chowan, Converse, Emmanuel, Erskine, King, Lees-McRae, Mount Olive, North Greenville and Southern Wesleyan. Conference Carolinas believes in the development and formation of the whole person in body, mind and soul. Conference Carolinas students are nationally recognized for their extraordinary success in the classroom, in the community and at the highest levels of NCAA competition.
History
Conference Carolinas was founded 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, N.C. and the seven charter and founding members were Appalachian State, Atlantic Christian, 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, 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 in 1973 when Lenoir-Rhyne, Newberry, Presbyterian and Mars Hill joined the South Atlantic Conference.
Pembroke State University 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 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 College as an affiliate 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 prior to full NCAA DII membership.
Emmanuel College joined Conference Carolinas July 13, 2018 after also going through the full NCAA Division II membership process. Within that process, the Lions played fives years 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.
Conference Carolinas will feature 11 members in the 2020–21 academic year before expanding to 13 teams for the 2021–22 academic year with the addition of Francis Marion and UNC Pembroke. Francis Marion will be first-time members of Conference Carolinas, while this will be UNC Pembroke's second time as a member of Conference Carolinas.
Many institutions have been members of the league during its rich history overall, including Anderson, Appalachian State, Barton, Belmont Abbey, Catawba, Chowan, Coker, Converse, East Carolina, Emmanuel, Erskine, Guilford, Elon, 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.
Francis Marion University and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke announced that they would leave the Peach Belt Conference to join Conference Carolinas, beginning in the 2021–22 school year. Francis Marion will be first-time members of Conference Carolinas, while this will be UNC Pembroke's second time as a member of Conference Carolinas.
Member schools
Current members
Future members
Affiliate members
Former members
School names and nicknames reflect those in use during the final year each institution was a member.| Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current Conference |
| Anderson University | Anderson, South Carolina | 1911 | Private | Trojans | 1998 | 2010 | South Atlantic |
| Appalachian State University | Boone, North Carolina | 1899 | Public | Mountaineers | 1930 | 1968 | Sun Belt |
| Catawba College | Salisbury, North Carolina | 1851 | Private | Indians | 1930 | 1989 | South Atlantic |
| Coker College | Hartsville, South Carolina | 1908 | Private | Cobras | 1991 | 2013 | South Atlantic |
| East Carolina College | Greenville, North Carolina | 1907 | Public | Pirates | 1947 | 1962 | The American |
| Elon College | Elon, North Carolina | 1889 | Private | Phoenix | 1930 | 1989 | Colonial Athletic |
| Guilford College | Greensboro, North Carolina | 1837 | Private | Quakers | 1930 | 1988 | Old Dominion |
| High Point University | High Point, North Carolina | 1924 | Private | Panthers | 1930 | 1997 | Big South |
| Lenoir–Rhyne College | Hickory, North Carolina | 1891 | Private | Bears | 1930; 1984 | 1975; 1989 | South Atlantic |
| Limestone College | Gaffney, South Carolina | 1845 | Private | Saints | 1998 | 2020 | South Atlantic |
| Longwood University | Farmville, Virginia | 1839 | Public | Lancers | 1995 | 2003 | Big South |
| Mars Hill College | Mars Hill, North Carolina | 1856 | Private | Lions | 1972; 1987 | 1975; 1989 | South Atlantic |
| Newberry College | Newberry, South Carolina | 1856 | Private | Wolves | 1961 | 1972 | South Atlantic |
| Pembroke, North Carolina | 1887 | Public | Braves | 1976 | 1992 | Peach Belt | |
| Pfeiffer University | Misenheimer, North Carolina | 1885 | Private | Falcons | 1960 | 2017 | USA South |
| Presbyterian College | Clinton, South Carolina | 1880 | Private | Blue Hose | 1965 | 1973 | Big South |
| Queens University of Charlotte | Charlotte, North Carolina | 1857 | Private | Royals | 1995 | 2013 | South Atlantic |
| Laurinburg, North Carolina | 1958 | Private | Knights | 1988 | 2012 | Appalachian | |
| Western Carolina University | Cullowhee, North Carolina | 1889 | Public | Catamounts | 1933 | 1969 | Southern |
| Wingate College | Wingate, North Carolina | 1896 | Private | Bulldogs | 1979 | 1989 | South Atlantic |
Membership timeline
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1930 till:2025
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id:line value:black
id:Full value:rgb # all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # non-football
id:AssocF value:rgb # football-only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # associate
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width:15 textcolor:darkblue shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:FullxF from:1930 till:1931 text:Appalachian State
bar:1 color:Full from:1931 till:1943
bar:1 color:FullxF from:1943 till:1945
bar:1 color:Full from:1945 till:1968
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1930 till:1943 text:Barton
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1945 till:1946
bar:2 color:Full from:1946 till:1951
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1951 till:end
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1930 till:1931 text:Catawba
bar:3 color:Full from:1931 till:1943
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1943 till:1944
bar:3 color:Full from:1944 till:1975
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1975 till:1989
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1930 till:1931 text:Elon
bar:4 color:Full from:1931 till:1942
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1944 till:1946
bar:4 color:Full from:1946 till:1975
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1975 till:1989
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1930 till:1931 text:Guilford
bar:5 color:Full from:1931 till:1942
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1942 till:1946
bar:5 color:Full from:1946 till:1975
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1975 till:1988
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1930 till:1931 text:High Point
bar:6 color:Full from:1931 till:1933
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1933 till:1938
bar:6 color:Full from:1938 till:1943
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1943 till:1945
bar:6 color:Full from:1945 till:1951
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1951 till:1997
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1930 till:1931 text:Lenoir–Rhyne
bar:7 color:Full from:1931 till:1942
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1944 till:1946
bar:7 color:Full from:1946 till:1975
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1984 till:1989 text:
bar:8 color:Full from:1933 till:1942 text:Western Carolina
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1942 till:1945
bar:8 color:Full from:1945 till:1969
bar:9 color:Full from:1947 till:1962 text:East Carolina
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1960 till:2017 text:Pfeiffer
bar:11 color:Full from:1961 till:1972 text:Newberry
bar:11 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end
bar:12 color:Full from:1965 till:1973 text:Presbyterian
bar:13 color:Full from:1972 till:1975 text:Mars Hill
bar:13 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text:
bar:14 color:FullxF from:1976 till:1992 text:UNC Pembroke
bar:14 shift: color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text:
bar:15 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1989 text:Wingate
bar:16 color:FullxF from:1988 till:end text:Mount Olive
bar:17 color:FullxF from:1988 till:2012 text:St. Andrews
bar:18 color:FullxF from:1989 till:end text:Belmont Abbey
bar:19 color:FullxF from:1991 till:2013 text:Coker
bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end
bar:20 color:FullxF from:1993 till:end text:Lees–McRae
bar:21 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:Erskine
bar:22 color:FullxF from:1995 till:2003 text:Longwood
bar:23 color:FullxF from:1995 till:2013 text:Queens
bar:23 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end
bar:24 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2020 text:Limestone
bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2020 till:end
bar:25 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2010 text:Anderson
bar:26 color:AssocOS from:2005 till:2007 text:Converse
bar:26 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end
bar:27 shift: color:FullxF from:2011 till:end text:King
bar:28 shift: color:FullxF from:2011 till:end text:North Greenville
bar:29 shift: color:FullxF from:2016 till:end text:Southern Wesleyan
bar:30 shift: color:FullxF from:2018 till:end text:Emmanuel
bar:31 shift: color:AssocOS from:2016 till:2019 text:Chowan
bar:31 shift: color:FullxF from:2019 till:end
bar:32 shift: color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text:Francis Marion
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1930
Sports
When Barton became the sixth member to sponsor men's volleyball in 2011–12, Conference Carolinas became the fourth official scholarship-granting conference in NCAA men's volleyball. It also became the first all-sports conference ever to sponsor men's volleyball as a scholarship sport, and is also the first men's volleyball conference to consist solely of Division II members. No D-I all-sports conference sponsored the sport until the Big West Conference launched a men's volleyball league in the 2018 season.Conference Carolinas sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in the following sports:
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
| Baseball | ||
| Basketball | ||
| Cross Country | ||
| Golf | ||
| Lacrosse | ||
| Soccer | ||
| Softball | ||
| Swimming & Diving | ||
| Tennis | ||
| Track & Field Indoor | ||
| Track & Field Outdoor | ||
| Volleyball | ||
| Wrestling |
In field hockey and wrestling, Conference Carolinas and the South Atlantic Conference operate as a single league, holding joint conference tournaments in each sport. As noted previously, CC operates only the wrestling championship.