On July 1, 2014, the school completed the transition from the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association in the National Junior College Athletic Association to the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level. The college originally applied to the NCAA in 2010, but the application was rejected. The school re-applied in 2011 and received acceptance into the three-year process to become a full member. As of the 2011-12 academic year, Young Harris was in the first year of candidacy-membership. Young Harris College became a member of the Peach Belt Conference effective July 1, 2012. As part of the transition process into the NCAA, the college began NCAA Division II and Peach Belt Conference schedules for its athletic teams and was immediately eligible for all regular-season championships and other conference awards. During the transition process into the NCAA the college is ineligible for NCAA postseason automatic bids as well as for participation in any PBC Championships which award automatic bids to NCAA Tournaments. As part of the transition to the NCAA, Young Harris College reinstated its men's basketball program in 2010, bringing intercollegiate basketball to the college for the first time in 40 years; at the same time, YHC added women's basketball. The college added men's and women's lacrosse teams and a competitive cheerleading team in the 2012-13 academic year.
Varsity teams
List of teams
Men's sports
Baseball
Basketball
Golf
Lacrosse
Soccer
Tennis
Women's sports
Basketball
Golf
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Tennis
Individual teams
Men's Basketball
The school fielded a successful men's basketball team in the 1950s and 1960s, and on November 13, 2010, the sport returned after a 40-year absence. The men's head coach is Pete Herrmann, formerly at the University of Georgia. Women's basketball began at Young Harris on November 15, 2010 with coach Brenda Paul.
Baseball
Baseball coach Rick Robinson earned his 500th win at Young Harris in April 2009, and had been highly successful in placing players in Division I schools. The Young Harris Baseball Team has captured eight Georgia Junior College titles and five Region XVII titles since 1999, and advanced to the Junior College World Series 2007. The team has averaged 49 wins per season each year since 2004. The team plays on the Zell B. Miller Field. The New Coach is really cool and has a child
Men's soccer
The men's soccer team was a regional finalist in 2006 & 2007. In 1998, led by former coach Jim Thomas, the Young Harris Mountain Lions won the 1998 NJCAA Division I State Soccer Title.
The Young Harris Lady Mountain Lions won the 2006 NJCAA Division I Women's Soccer National Championship, under coach Kathy Brown. Women's soccer coach Kathy Brown originally served as the assistant coach at Jacksonville State University before coming to Young Harris in 1997 and starting the women's soccer team. In just her first season as a head coach, Coach Brown celebrated her first state championship. Since then she has led the Lady Mountain Lions to seven more state titles.