Conference Carolinas Holds Annual ‘Leading the Way - Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul’ SAAC Retreat
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Conference Carolinas held its annual "Leading the Way: Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul" SAAC Retreat sponsored by Cambria Hotel Greenville on Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17.
After introductions by the Conference Carolinas staff and the awarding of the annual Make-A-Wish Awards (
story), the student-athletes in attendance for the annual event officially kicked things off by playing games and overall having fun with the children of the Boys & Girls Club on Friday, Sept. 16 (
video, photos and story).
The student-athletes closed out the first day by competing in the annual “Minute to Win It” challenge put together by Assistant Commissioner/SWA Jill Robbins and Conference Officer Hailey Gass. Conference Carolinas Assistant Commissioner for Communications Zachary Shore served as the emcee for the fun evening. UNC Pembroke emerged as the winner in the annual “Minute to Win It” showdown.
The morning of Saturday, Sept. 17, the student-athletes participated in important meetings and breakout sessions before having the tremendous opportunity to hear from North Carolina Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Student-Athlete Development Cricket Lane and Duke Associate Director of Athletics/Director of Student-Athlete Development Leslie Barnes. Lane and Barnes provided leadership training to all in attendance.
In addition, this year the Conference Carolinas Faculty Athletic Representatives were in attendance and they held their annual business meetings while also being a part of the fun and taking advantage of all of the unique opportunities provided over the course of the special weekend.
“This weekend is always circled for us because it is one of the most important weekends on the calendar for Conference Carolinas,” Commissioner Chris Colvin said. “It’s incredibly important to us to provide leadership training to our student-athletes, but it’s also imperative that we have fun while learning. This weekend was another perfect example of our student-athletes leading the way and living our tagline of Champions in Body, Mind, and Soul.”
This is Conference Carolinas
Conference Carolinas has a rich tradition in roots that dates back to its inception on Dec. 6, 1930. The NCAA Division II athletics conference presently has member schools located in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Member institutions for the 2022-23 academic year are Barton, Belmont Abbey, Chowan, Converse, Emmanuel, Erskine, Francis Marion, King, Lees-McRae, Mount Olive, UNC Pembroke, 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.
Conference Carolinas is built upon the idea of offering challenging NCAA competition in an environment that fosters both the academic and athletic achievements of its student-athletes. Conference members offer exemplary educations and scholarships for performance in the classroom and on the field. Conference Carolinas and its members are committed to challenging adversity and building tomorrow's leaders.
Learn more at
ConferenceCarolinas.com.