'It already feels like home': Shorter Feels Like Alignment With Conference Carolinas is Ideal

This is the continuation of a series of Body, Mind & Soul stories that highlights member student-athletes, coaches and administrators of Conference Carolinas.

ROME, Ga. - Rome wasn’t built in a day, so they say. And neither was Shorter University, which coincidentally celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. 

Yet, this small, private Baptist college campus, perched among the seven hills that surround the southern town of Rome, Georgia, recently took a brand-new path in its storied history. It’s one that promises to reap immediate dividends.

Shorter has joined Conference Carolinas and the school will officially become a new member in fall of 2024.

“We're exhilarated about this opportunity and our future,” said Richard Hendricks, the Shorter Hawks’ third-year athletic director. “Conference Carolinas has been around for a long time with schools that have a rich history of excellence in the classroom and accomplishments on the playing field. It’s also a conference of similar institutions who understand the challenges of (mostly) being private schools. We are just a great fit.”

Shorter joins Young Harris College as the second Georgia-based school to partner with Conference Carolina in the past few months, increasing the league’s membership to 15 institutions by the 2024-25 academic year. The new additions have also continued to facilitate a move to a three-division model in the sports of men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and women’s volleyball.

As part of the Jan. 26 announcement that Shorter had been awarded new membership, Conference Carolinas’ Commissioner Chris Colvin has revealed that football will be sponsored as a new conference sport beginning in 2025. It marks the first time the conference has fielded football since 1974-75. Shorter will join Barton, Chowan, Erskine, UNC Pembroke and North Greenville in re-launching the sport.

Those future plans served as added enticement for Shorter to join forces with the conference. While the Hawks endured a 3-8 record this past season, the school reached the pinnacle of NAIA football in 2008 when it captured the national championship. The school did not transition to NCAA Division II competition until 2013, competing in the Gulf South Conference during the past 10 years.

“It certainly influenced our decision to join Conference Carolinas when we learned of their plans to add football,” said Hendricks. “Our football coach (Zach Morrison) has been doing a great job, really turning up the recruiting with a goal to return to national prominence remaining the same. By competing in Conference Carolinas, we will be able to find a more level playing field with private, smaller enrollment schools with similar tuition and budgets.”

Wes Timmons, the Hawks’ long-time baseball coach, is particularly excited about facing a new set of opponents offered by Conference Carolinas, which is universally regarded as one of the toughest NCAA Division II baseball leagues in the nation.

Timmons, who enjoyed a 10-year minor league playing career prior to pursuing college coaching, guided Shorter to a 29-22 record in 2022 and a 27-17 mark in 2021 when the Hawks finished third among 13 teams in the rugged Gulf South Conference.

He is well aware that Conference Carolinas features defending NCAA Division II Champion North Greenville among its membership. And if he ever needs a reminder, all Timmons needs to do is call his old friend Landon Powell, the head coach and chief architect of that North Greenville juggernaut.

After playing behind future Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones in the Atlanta Braves organization for several years, Timmons signed with the Oakland A’s in 2010. The following season, he and Powell were teammates for the A’s Triple-A Sacramento affiliate.

“I batted in the two hole and Landon hit third in the lineup,” Timmons recalled. “So, I’ve known him for a long time. He’s just a phenomenal human being. We’ve had a few conversations over the years of coaching. North Greenville has done a great job supporting his program with upgraded facilities and equipment and he’s built them into a real powerhouse.”

Now entering his eighth season at Shorter, Timmons was first introduced to Rome in 2003 when he was a member of the Rome Braves’ High-A minor league team. 

 “I love Rome,” he added. “I’m a family man. We have a couple of acres and my kids play in the front yard all the time. It doesn’t matter if the sun goes down. It’s a safe place to raise a family and coach at Shorter.”

Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome was founded in 1834. Early European-American settlers were inspired to name the town Rome, the long-time capital of Italy that was also built on seven hills. The town features a rich Civil War history. 

In more recent times, scenes from such iconic movies as “Remember the Titans,” “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Black Widow” have been filmed in Rome. 

Shorter occupies 155 acres in the town, with athletics competing in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports. Prior to moving up to NCAA Division II status, the school ranked second in the 2011 final NAIA Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings – the highest in Shorter history. 

Besides baseball, other sports that have flourished in the Gulf South Conference in recent years include: 

• Softball was a perennial winner during a five-year period from 2013-2017 with a cumulative record of 189-83, including earning the Gulf South crown in 2014.
• Women’s tennis posted a second-place (9-1) showing in 2015 and back-to-back third-place finishes in 2013-14.
• Women’s volleyball has enjoyed a full decade of winning teams, including first-place performances in 2014 (18-2) and 2016 (17-3) and runner-up finishes in 2012 (12-4) and 2013 (13-5).
• Men’s soccer finished in fourth place or higher in the Gulf South during the period of 2013-2016.
• Women’s basketball etched a 20-8 overall record as the conference’s runner-up in 2015-16.

Along with the school’s Presidential Council, the ultimate decision-maker in Shorter choosing to join Conference Carolina was university President Donald Dowless. An ordained minister, Dr. Dowless has served in his present capacity for 12 years and certainly understands all of the nuances in changing athletic conferences and the evaluation process.

“What we always do in these situations, whether it be academics or athletics, is evaluate if we’re in the best place to benefit our students and staff,” Dr. Dowless said. “Conference Carolinas approached us a while back about wanting to bring football back to the conference and we found that exciting. We talked with our coaches from different sports and all of the input was very positive.”

Dowless, who was familiar with Conference Carolinas due to his previous stint as vice president of academic affairs at North Greenville University, said he was particularly intrigued in joining a conference with schools of similar size and focus.

“We just seemed to align so well,” he reasoned. “Most of the members are Christian-based schools and whether it’s academics or athletics, we always strive to be true to our biblical faith.”

As part of the feeling-out process, Conference Carolinas sent member representatives for an on-site visit to Shorter. Dr. Dowless and AD Hendricks gave the group a campus tour and exchanged information. Following an evaluation, and after being unanimously agreed upon by the board, the official invitation to join the conference was offered.

“We were very pleased,” Dowless recalled. “For me, the most impressive thing was the spirit of the people who visited. I could see their desire for excellence and wanting to fulfill a common vision. I found it very encouraging and heartening.”

The Shorter president also was impressed by conference Commissioner Colvin and his staff. 

“I was very impressed with how he handled things, just the level of excitement and being so genuine. They were very up front with us, which I appreciated. He has clearly grown the conference and wants to continue to grow it. To be part of something new like the addition of football is really exciting to us.”

Laura Jordan, the Hawks’ women’s lacrosse coach who also oversees the school’s 11 women’s sports as the Senior Woman Administrator, is equally bullish about her university’s new affiliation.

 “As a coach, I am very excited,” said Jordan. “Conference Carolinas has some of the best lacrosse programs in the country, particularly Belmont Abbey and Mount Olive. The new conference has lots of schools that share the same philosophies and priorities, and the competition is going to be very good.”

Looking at the bigger picture, Jordan sees significant advantages to be associated with like-minded institutions.

“In talking with current members, it’s clear that there will be student-athlete opportunities for real growth in community projects, leadership seminars and other involvement within Student Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC). I see a real synergy because it’s a high priority within the conference.”

Shorter’s lacrosse coach also sees new advantages in recruiting across all Shorter sports. 

“There’s no doubt it’s going to help us expand our recruiting reach because we’re going to start playing schools in North Carolina and South Carolina, which are significant talent pools. I’m sure we’ll continue to recruit in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama, but this is fertile new territory.”

For Wade Anderson, the Hawks’ head men’s basketball coach, he admits that he’ll be feeling like a stranger in a strange land when Shorter joins Conference Carolina. As both an assistant and head coach, all he has known is the Gulf South Conference. 

“I think it’s great that our school is making this move,” Anderson said. “We’ll be joining similar-minded schools and it will be a nice change.” 

Anderson and Hawks’ basketball program is still trying to recover from the devastation caused by the COVID pandemic. It hit them particularly hard in the most human way.  

Ryan Dupree, one of Anderson’s assistant coaches, was pronounced dead on Sept. 5, 2021 due to complications stemming from COVID-related pneumonia. He was only 24 years old.

“It’s tough when you lose someone in any circumstance, but this is something we are still trying to recover from,” said Anderson, who coached that 2021-22 team without replacing Dupree on the staff. “Joining Conference Carolinas will give us a fresh start.”

While Shorter has been competitive in the Gulf South Conference, Anderson admits that “it’s tough to go against public schools with much bigger enrollments and resources.”

Working at a faith-based university whose mission is “Transforming Lives Through Christ,” the coach also believes there may have been some divine intervention that led Shorter to its new conference.

“I think this is how the Lord works and directs,” shared Anderson. “This is much bigger than athletics or even academics. Attending a Christian school can transform lives. It’s going to be nice to be part of a conference with a similar mission.”

Timmons, the baseball coach, agrees with Anderson’s point.           

“We’re all small, private institutions,” Timmons added. “We have barely over 1,000 students. It’s a very intimate experience. Nobody is going to get lost. You may have 20 to 25 students in your first classes and then later as upperclassmen, you may only have four or five kids in a class. The professors can truly invest in you. Not only do they know your name, they are able to serve as real mentors.” 

AD Hendricks said that the quality of people in the Conference Carolinas office, from Commissioner Colvin on down, also played in Shorter’s decision to join the new league.

“From the beginning, my impression was that Chis and his staff were just very genuine people,” he said. “They seem to think things out very well and what’s best for all the members, both short and long term.  

“You could see that when we met with them and over conference calls. They are very bright, intelligent people who want to create something very special. I could just feel it in my soul. It already feels like home.” 

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. Bob works with Assistant Commissioner for External Relations Brian Hand and the entire Conference Carolinas office to help tell the stories of the tremendous student-athletes, coaches and administrators in Conference Carolinas. All photos are courtesy of Shorter athletics.