Conference Carolinas Announces Inaugural Developmental Championship Slate
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Conference Carolinas is excited to announce the addition of four inaugural developmental conference championships to be held during the 2021-22 academic year.
A developmental championship will be held in men’s and women’s soccer, men’s basketball and baseball. The developmental teams will be comprised of student-athletes that have either not competed at the varsity level in 2021-22 or have competed sparingly at the varsity level by the time of the championship.
“This is a unique concept in the NCAA and provides an opportunity for our developmental teams to compete at the conference level,” Commissioner Chris Colvin said. “These one-of-a-kind events allow us to provide more of our student-athletes with a championship experience and enhances the overall competitive experience for this group of student-athletes. We are thrilled to be able to sponsor these championships and hope to hold additional championships in the future.”
Men’s and women’s soccer will compete on Monday, October 25 in Wilson, North Carolina hosted by Barton. In the men’s event, Barton, Mount Olive, Belmont Abbey and North Greenville will compete in a four-team, blind draw tournament featuring 60-minutes games with each team playing two matches. The women will play 7-v-7, 60-minute matches in the same four-team, blind draw tournament featuring Barton, Converse, Belmont Abbey and North Greenville.
The men’s basketball tournament features 12 teams, representing 10 institutions, and will compete in two preliminary round sites on Monday, January 31 with a championship game to be held on February 7. King will host one preliminary round featuring Belmont Abbey, Converse, Emmanuel, Erskine, King and Southern Wesleyan. Barton will host the other preliminary round with Barton, Belmont Abbey (B), Chowan, Erskine (B), Francis Marion and Mount Olive. The games will be a full-length (40 min) and feature a random draw tournament. Each team will compete in a minimum of two games in the preliminary round. The winners from each preliminary round will square off at Belmont Abbey on Monday, February 7.
The baseball championship will also take place over two days with two preliminary sites hosting games on Monday, April 4 with the championship game taking place on Monday, April 11. Erskine will host Emmanuel and King while Barton will host Belmont Abbey and Francis Marion in 7-inning, round-robin formats. The winner of each preliminary round will meet at Francis Marion for a 9-inning championship game.
Conference Carolinas added the concept of developmental championships to its bylaws in 2020, but delayed the implementation of the concept until 2021-22. A minimum of four member institutions must declare interest in order for the championship to be considered.