Conference Carolinas

Conference Carolinas
Conference Carolinas logo
Established	1930
Association	NCAA
Division	Division II
Members	12 (11 in 2017)
Sports fielded	20 (men's: 10; women's: 10)
Region	The Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia
Former names	North State Conference (1930–1961) Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1961–1995) Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (1995–2007)
Headquarters	High Point, North Carolina
Commissioner	Alan Patterson
Website	conferencecarolinas.com
Locations

Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC), is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) primarily in Division II, and as one of the four Division I conferences for men's volleyball. Conference Carolinas reached its modern incarnation in 1994. Member institutions are located in the southeastern United States in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Conference Carolinas officially changed its name on June 1, 2007. The conference currently has 12 members.

History

Conference Carolinas dates to its inception on December 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 known informally as the Old North State Conference. The birthplace was the Washington Duke Hotel in Durham, North Carolina, and the seven charter members were Appalachian, 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. Thus on May 20, 1961 the official name of the conference was changed to the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAC) but commonly known less formerly as the Carolinas Conference.

East Carolina resigned in 1962 to join the Southern Conference and Appalachian and Western Carolina followed. Football sponsorship in the 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, and 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 South Atlantic Conference would provide championships in all sports, not just football.

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 national affiliation. The conference began the process of transferring membership to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) after years as an National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) member. During the transition, it was a dual member of the NCAA's Division II and the NAIA's Division I.

The 1995–96 year brought dramatic change to the conference. First, full membership into NCAA Division II was acquired and NAIA affiliation dropped. Thus, this was the first official year of full competition and championship play for the conference in NCAA DII status. Secondly, this was also the same year that Erskine, Longwood, & 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 DI ranks while in 1998 Limestone soon joined and 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 before becoming 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.

In 2014, Emmanuel College (Georgia) and Southern Wesleyan University became official members of the conference and opened the conference to its first Georgia member in Emmanuel. With both schools joining, the league now has 12 member institutions and currently remains one of the elite NCAA D-II conferences in the nation.

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

Barton is the only remaining charter member followed in longevity by Pfeiffer's membership in 1960 and then Mount Olive's joining in 1988.

Member schools

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joined
Barton College	Wilson, North Carolina	1902	1,200	Bulldogs		1930
Belmont Abbey College	Belmont, North Carolina	1876	1,320	Crusaders		1989
Converse College	Spartanburg, South Carolina	1889	750	Valkyries		2007
Emmanuel College	Franklin Springs, Georgia	1919	760	Lions		2014
Erskine College	Due West, South Carolina	1839	920	Flying Fleet		1995
King University	Bristol, Tennessee	1867	1,800	Tornado		2011
Lees–McRae College	Banner Elk, North Carolina	1899	800	Bobcats		1993
Limestone College	Gaffney, South Carolina	1845	3,300	Saints		1998
University of Mount Olive	Mount Olive, North Carolina	1951	2,500	Trojans		1988
North Greenville University	Tigerville, South Carolina	1891	2,100	Crusaders		2011
Pfeiffer University	Misenheimer, North Carolina	1885	1,100	Falcons		1960
Southern Wesleyan University	Central, South Carolina	1906	2,000	Warriors		2014

• Converse College — women's institution, does not field men's sports; cross country (W), soccer (W), tennis (W), and volleyball was an affiliate member from 2005–2007.
• Pfeiffer — will join the NCAA Division III USA South Athletic Conference in 2017.
• Reclassifying member in yellow.

Future affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joins	Sport	Primary Conference
Chowan University	Murfreesboro, North Carolina	1848	1,316	Hawks		2016 (various); 2017 (soccer)	golf (W); lacrosse (M); lacrosse (W); soccer (M); soccer (W)	Central Intercollegiate
Lincoln Memorial University	Harrogate, Tennessee	1897	2,579	Railsplitters		2016	volleyball (M)	South Atlantic

Former members

Institution	Location	Founded	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current Conference
Anderson University	Anderson, South Carolina	1911	Trojans	1998	2010	South Atlantic
Appalachian State University	Boone, North Carolina	1899	Mountaineers	1930	1968	Sun Belt (NCAA D-I)
Catawba College	Salisbury, North Carolina	1851	Indians	1930	1989	South Atlantic
Coker College	Hartsville, South Carolina	1908	Cobras	1991	2013	South Atlantic
East Carolina University	Greenville, North Carolina	1907	Pirates	1947	1962	The American (NCAA D-I)
Elon University	Elon, North Carolina	1889	Phoenix	1930	1989	Colonial Athletic (NCAA D-I)
Guilford College	Greensboro, North Carolina	1837	Quakers	1930	1988	Old Dominion (NCAA D-III)
High Point University	High Point, North Carolina	1924	Panthers	1930	1997	Big South (NCAA D-I)
Lenoir–Rhyne University	Hickory, North Carolina	1891	Bears	1930; 1984	1975; 1989	South Atlantic
Longwood University	Farmville, Virginia	1839	Lancers	1995	2003	Big South (NCAA D-I)
Mars Hill University	Mars Hill, North Carolina	1856	Lions	1972; 1987	1975; 1989	South Atlantic
Newberry College	Newberry, South Carolina	1856	Wolves	1961	1972	South Atlantic
University of North Carolina at Pembroke	Pembroke, North Carolina	1887	Braves	1976	1992	Peach Belt
Presbyterian College	Clinton, South Carolina	1880	Blue Hose	1965	1973	Big South (NCAA D-I)
Queens University of Charlotte	Charlotte, North Carolina	1857	Royals	1995	2013	South Atlantic
St. Andrews University	Laurinburg, North Carolina	1958	Knights	1988	2012	Appalachian Athletic (NAIA D-II)
Western Carolina University	Cullowhee, North Carolina	1889	Catamounts	1933	1969	Southern (NCAA D-I)
Wingate University	Wingate, North Carolina	1896	Bulldogs	1979	1989	South Atlantic

Membership timeline

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football-only)   Associate member (sport) 

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 (i.e., one that sponsors men's and women's basketball) 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.

Conference Carolinas sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in the following sports:

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Lacrosse	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & Field Indoor	Y	Y
Track & Field Outdoor	Y	Y
Volleyball	Y	Y

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Tennis	Track & Field Indoor	Track & Field Outdoor	Volleyball ‡	Total CC Sports
Barton	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Belmont Abbey	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Emmanuel	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Erskine	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y			Y	7
King	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Lees-McRae		Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Limestone	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Mount Olive	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
North Greenville	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Pfeiffer	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Southern Wesleyan	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y		8
Totals	10	11	11	10	7	11	11	10	10	10	101
Future Affiliate Members
Chowan					Y	Y					2
Lincoln Memorial										Y	1

• ^‡ — D-I sport

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & Field Indoor	Track & Field Outdoor	Volleyball	Total CC Sports
Barton	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Belmont Abbey	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Converse	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Emmanuel	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Erskine	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			Y	8
King	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Lees-McRae	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Limestone	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Mount Olive	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
North Greenville	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Pfeiffer	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Southern Wesleyan	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Totals	12	12	11	9	12	12	12	11	11	12	114
Future Affiliate Members
Chowan			Y	Y	Y						3

• Barton — Lacrosse (W) begins play in 2016.
• Southern Wesleyan — Lacrosse (W) begins play in 2017.

Other sponsored sports by school

School		Men				Women
		Football	Swimming & Diving	Wrestling		Field Hockey	Swimming & Diving
Barton			BMC				BMC
Belmont Abbey				ECAC
Converse							BMC
Emmanuel			ASC	ECAC			ASC
King			ASC	ECAC			ASC
Limestone		IND	BMC	ECAC		ECAC	BMC
North Greenville		IND

• North Greenville (GSC) — Football joins the Gulf South Conference in 2018.

See also

• NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship, in which the CC champion receives an automatic berth

External links

• Official website