Conference Carolinas Officially Celebrates its 90th Birthday
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Conference Carolinas officially celebrates its 90
th birthday today (Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020).
The conference was initially formed as an athletic association "for the greater advantage of the small colleges in North Carolina” on Dec. 6, 1930.
The name given back then was the North State Intercollegiate Conference, but it was known informally as the Old North State Conference. The birthplace of the league that is now known as Conference Carolinas 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.
On May 20, 1961 the name of the conference was changed to the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAC), but it was commonly known less formerly as the Carolinas Conference.
The 1995-96 year brought dramatic change to the conference. First, the conference moved from the NAIA to full membership into NCAA Division II. At the time another name change occurred and the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (known more universally as the "CVAC") was born.
The league decided to go back to its roots and change its name to Conference Carolinas in 2007.
Conference Carolinas features 11 members in the 2020-21 academic year. The league will expand to 13 members 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 (1976-92).
Conference Carolinas member institutions in the 2020-21 academic year 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. Our students are nationally recognized for their extraordinary success in the classroom, in the community and at the highest levels of NCAA competition.
Please visit
ConferenceCarolinas.com to learn more about Conference Carolinas. You can learn more about the history of Conference Carolinas at
ConferenceCarolinas.com/History.
90th Celebration Features
"Small, Special and Family" - Barton Celebrates 90-Year Affiliation With Conference Carolinas (Feature by Bob Rose)
Former Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Ashley Rogers Credits Student-Athlete Experience for Preparing Her to Work as Neurosurgical PA (Feature by Brian Hand)
Southern Wesleyan's Dr. Todd Voss Helps Progress Conference Carolinas (Feature by Bob Rose)
Celebrating 90 Years With Former King Standouts ("Conference Carolinas Chats" Episode)
Collaborating to Build Something Special (Feature by Bob Rose)
Dr. Patterson's Strong Leadership Helps Steer Conference Carolinas Into NCAA Era (Feature by Bob Rose)
Looking Back on One of the Greatest Finishes in College Basketball History (Feature on 2007 Barton Men's Basketball National Championship by Bob Rose)
Looking Back on the 2008 Mount Olive Baseball National Championship (Feature by Bob Rose)
Conference Carolinas History
Founded: 12-6-1930 at Washington Duke Hotel in Durham, N.C.
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
Keep Up With All of the Great Things Happening in Conference Carolinas
Twitter:
@ConfCarolinas
Instagram:
@ConfCarolinas
Facebook:
Facebook.com/ConferenceCarolinas
#LeadingTheWay
#BodyMindSoul
