Celebrating 90 Years of Success - Southern Wesleyan's Dr. Todd Voss Helps Progress Conference Carolinas
The 90th anniversary of the formation of Conference Carolinas is on Dec. 6, 2020.
CENTRAL, S.C. - June 30, 2021 will be a bittersweet day for Southern Wesleyan University.
That is when President Dr. Todd Voss officially retires from the university. While Dr. Voss, 65, looks forward to his next chapter in life, there will be an unquestionable void left on the Central, S.C. campus.
However, news of Voss’ retirement reaches beyond Southern Wesleyan. The affable university executive is also stepping down as a vital leader for Conference Carolinas. As the former head of the Presidents’ Committee, Dr. Voss played an invaluable role in hiring the conference’s new Commissioner, Chris Colvin, last year and helped shape a promising future for Conference Carolinas.
“Todd is just a tremendous person and a tremendous human being,” said Commissioner Colvin recently. “He will be significantly missed within our conference. He’s such a wise man and a great listener. It’s hard to find someone who truly excels as a consensus builder and an advocate for athletics.”
Dr. Voss joined Southern Wesleyan University in 2011. He enjoyed a 10-year presidency in a time in which the school’s athletic program was elevated from NAIA to NCAA Division II status in 2016-17, the same year that SWU officially joined Conference Carolinas.
“The first thing I noticed about Conference Carolinas was the other college Presidents were very connected and worked in the same direction,” Voss shared. “They had created a family feel. As soon as we were accepted as a member, several of the Presidents asked how they could help us assimilate into the conference. It was pretty amazing.”
Looking back, Dr. Voss has to shake his head when recounting the bumpy path Southern Wesleyan traveled in becoming a certified NCAA Division II school. Prior to accepting the SWU position, Voss had served as Executive Vice President at Indiana Wesleyan University, a school which contemplated a move from NAIA to NCAA Division II. He extensively researched the pros and cons of transitioning to NCAA Division II, which proved invaluable when he joined Southern Wesleyan.
“Southern Wesleyan had become the only NAIA school left in their conference in the state and our student-athletes were traveling an average of 325 miles one way for road games,” he recalled. “It was clear we needed to join NCAA Division II.”
The Voss team completed a 700-page application that was submitted to the NCAA national office in Indianapolis. Their application was initially denied by the membership committee.
“It was a risky situation for us because the NAIA automatically drops colleges who apply to another association. We appealed their (NCAA) decision, even though they told us no school had ever won an appeal.”
In true form, the Membership Committee denied their appeal, dashing high hopes for Voss and Southern Wesleyan. Yet, Voss wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.
“Patient persistence has been my life,” he said with a smile. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s never ‘No.’ It’s just ‘not now.’”
After a final appeal to the Management Council in Indianapolis, the NCAA allowed the school to at least enter the provisional membership status, which is the first year of the three-year transition process. Southern Wesleyan wasn’t out of the woods yet, however. After the first year of that period, its application to move to year two was denied yet again.
“The NCAA is a big machine and we were such a small cog,” said Voss. “I think we just wore them down, and the Membership Committee overturned their first decision and we were eventually accepted. We went to our first national convention with a big target removed from our backs, and then discovered many members had heard of us because we were the first school to join NCAA by appeal. That was pretty cool.”
Through all the adversity and unexpected hurdles, Conference Carolinas provided full support to SWU and readily accepted them as a new member once the school was a full NCAA member.
Two years later, Voss found himself as the leader of the Presidents’ Committee (now named the Board of Directors starting with the 2020-21 academic year) for the conference.
“It’s kind of a rotational thing where each President serves for a term,” he said. “In my first meeting as the committee head, I learned that (former Commissioner) Alan Patterson was retiring as Commissioner. So clearly my top priority was launching a search for his replacement.”
After gathering feedback from member Presidents and Athletic Directors, Voss made a list of criteria for hiring the new Commissioner and then contracted with a search firm to coordinate the process.
“It was almost unanimous what all the schools were looking for. We wanted a planner who was strategic about our future. We wanted someone who could move the needle for Conference Carolinas and get us to where we wanted to be. The person also needed to have fundraising ability and could also connect with people. Also someone who had an eye to adding schools to the conference in the future, and someone who was thorough, responsible and a ‘doer.’ We also wanted to see the level of professionalism rise even further in the conference operation.”
While there were several qualified candidates, including six finalists, Voss said it was clear that Colvin was the right person for the job.
“While many of the candidates had some of the qualities we were looking for, Chris had every one of them. Plus he was a hometown professional who already understood the landscape.”
Colvin, who previously served as Athletic Director at Nichols College and Associate AD at Furman University, heaped unsolicited praise on Dr. Voss for his hands-on support during Colvin’s year of acclimation and adjustment as the new conference chief.
“First, he was so heavily invested and instrumental in the process in which I was hired,” said Colvin. “He had done a lot of research. Then once I was hired, he really helped me navigate the maze as a new Commissioner. We changed many aspects of the operation. Whether it was hiring a new staff, changing protocols and procedures or even things like securing medical insurance for our staff, he was always available to me. His leadership and guidance were critical. I will personally be forever indebted to him, both for seeing my vision and also helping me implement that vision.”
“My goal was success from start to finish,” said Voss. “Since I ran the search, I felt I owed it to him. It’s kind of my style anyway. We could not afford a fumble. This was an important hire and It was a really critical time for us. I know you can feel alone sometimes when you’re new, so I wanted him to have a backup and immediate sounding board.”
Voss also played a key role in relocating the league office from High Point, N.C. to Greenville, S.C.
“Through the interview process, Todd and the other Presidents were open to moving the conference office to Greenville where I planned to live with our family,” said Colvin. “I felt it was a logical location with the footprint of the conference schools. Thanks to Todd’s graciousness, we were able to utilize office space leased by Southern Wesleyan which was no longer needed when their adult classes were converted to solely online courses.”
Colvin said that the dynamics of Greenville also helped attract top-flight staff and made it easier for school members to travel to the league office.
Dr. Voss concurred, but also credits the new Commissioner’s people skills for recruiting such qualified people.
“Look at the team Chris has assembled,” Voss said. "Everyone is doing such great work. Chris Colvin is an amazing Commissioner. He’s everything you would want in a Commissioner and more. I would work for Chris Colvin! He’s that kind of person. Very passionate, professional and efficient. And you trust him.”
It also helps that Colvin and Voss share the same philosophy of educating the “Body, Mind, and Soul” of each and every student-athlete that competes in Conference Carolinas.
“I think it’s what makes our conference unique,” said Voss. “We believe in character development of the whole person and that colleges need to highlight that a student-athlete has a mind and spirit.”
Voss also sees how valuable the teaching moments are in athletics.
“My background was in student life for 30 years, so I have always had a perspective that athletics is one of the great higher education tools for developing students. Athletics can become a mini-laboratory, where a students’ mentor is a coach. There are additional risks and rewards in athletics that do not exist in other areas of the university. If you want to learn leadership, you need to be involved in a group where you learn responsibility and sacrifice, where you may win or lose. There have been studies that have shown that leaders in athletics tend to become leaders after they graduate. When they graduate they impact every area of life, including education, business, non-profits, health care, church ministry and on and on.”
Voss, who plans to spend more time with his wife, two children and four grandchildren in the coming years, will remain in the area near the Southern Wesleyan campus when he retires.
“I still feel I owe the university,” he confided. “This place has poured itself into me. Now Southern Wesleyan is part of my DNA and I want to stay connected.”
During Voss’ tenure, Southern Wesleyan went through many historic changes, developing new opportunities for students, including spiritual development, academic programs, student life and facility projects. He spearheaded the acquisition of the old First Wesleyan Church on campus to convert it to a state-of-the-art Christian Ministry Center, was the driving force behind the building of many new athletic facilities, built a large new living/learning residence hall and spurred the creation of the Sheriff Memorial Flag Plaza and Military Monument to honor those who have served and sacrificed.
In addition, SWU achieved level-five higher education academic status under Voss’ watch in offering their first doctoral programs, with the student-athlete population earning a collective 3.17 GPA this past academic year. Those same student-athletes excelled in Conference Carolinas in 2019-20, as Southern Wesleyan was awarded the highest honor given by the conference, the Body, Mind & Soul Dr. Alan Patterson Cup for academic and athletic excellence.
As for his view of the current and future prospects of Conference Carolinas, the departing Dr. Voss could not be more bullish.
“The first thing that comes to mind is how Chris and his team have impacted the perspective of Conference Carolinas among other NCAA conferences and the NCAA headquarters. We’re beginning to be recognized for doing some good things and doing them well. If I look back, I find it incredible how many positive changes have been made in such a short time. Other conferences are now beginning to refer to Conference Carolinas as an example.”
He also sees a seismic shift on how student-athletes view the conference.
“From a student perspective on their athletic experience, I think our athletes see a wider view. It’s no longer just a Southern Wesleyan experience. It’s a Conference Carolinas experience. They seem to compete harder, jump higher and run faster. The conference affiliation has become a real source of pride.”
For Commissioner Colvin and member schools, the affiliation with Dr. Todd Voss-a man whose unselfish contributions to Conference Carolinas will be felt for many years to come-is one that also will elicit great pride, not to mention appreciation.
Bob Rose is a longtime sports public relations executive who has worked for the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, the NFL Cardinals, Cal, Stanford and other organizations. Conference Carolinas’ official storyteller, Rose will incorporate unique features through his “Body, Mind, and Soul” series into the 90th anniversary celebration.