Conference Carolinas Officially Welcomes Young Harris College
GREENVILLE, S.C. – July 1, 2023 will always be a historic day for Conference Carolinas with the day serving as the official welcome of Young Harris College.
The Conference Carolinas Board of Directors originally voted unanimously in favor of adding Young Harris College as the 14th member of the NCAA Division II conference in November of 2022.
“The excitement from all involved in Conference Carolinas when we unveiled the addition of Young Harris in November of 2022 was truly special,” Commissioner Chris Colvin said. “Since that point in time, we also announced our addition of Shorter as a member institution in January of 2023 and that we would once again begin sponsoring football in the fall of 2025. These huge announcements were also celebrated. The future of Conference Carolinas is extremely bright and it’s thrilling that Young Harris is officially one of us today.”
Colvin knows that Young Harris makes Conference Carolinas stronger.
“Young Harris aligns tremendously with our conference beliefs and values, while also being a first-class institution with a commitment to a strong athletics program,” Colvin reiterated. “We are thrilled to have them join to help us continue to lead the way in the classroom, in the community and at the highest levels of competition as we continue to strive daily to work with our member institutions to help develop champions in body, mind and soul.”
Young Harris knows that the conference partnership will also be a tremendous alignment in all areas for their athletics department.
“Young Harris College is excited to join Conference Carolinas,” Young Harris President Drew Van Horn, Ph.D. said. “The conference has a long history of athletic and academic success and is one of the most innovative conferences in NCAA Division II. The Mountain Lions look forward to a long association with the other institutions in Conference Carolinas.”
Young Harris has an enrollment of 1,205 and was founded in 1886 in Young Harris, Georgia. The Mountain Lions sponsor 15 varsity sports, which includes seven men’s sports and eight women’s sports. They also sponsor the co-ed sport of spirit cheerleading.
“Young Harris College is thrilled to become official members of Conference Carolinas,” Young Harris Director of Athletics Jennifer Rushton said. “This is a new era for YHC athletics and we cannot wait to compete and form new rivalries with current Conference Carolinas institutions.”
With the official addition of Young Harris College, Conference Carolinas will 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.
“Taking advantage of the geographic alignment of our membership and regionalizing scheduling has been a goal of the Conference Carolinas Board of Directors for some time,” added Colvin. “This three-division concept will promote regional rivalries and provide additional opportunities for institutions to strive for regular-season division championships. The addition of Young Harris will allow us to begin implementing this concept in several sports immediately.”
Conference Carolinas will unveil more about the new divisions ahead of the start of the regular season for men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball in late August.
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 upcoming 2023-24 academic year are Barton, Belmont Abbey, Chowan, Converse, Emmanuel, Erskine, Francis Marion, King, Lees-McRae, Mount Olive, UNC Pembroke, North Greenville, Southern Wesleyan and Young Harris.
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.
Conference Carolinas is a sole sponsor of 24 sports and also collaborates with two other conferences (South Atlantic Conference and Great Midwest Athletic Conference) to offer opportunities in four additional sports for a total of 28 (27 in 2023-24) in the 2024-25 academic year. Conference Carolinas will be a sole sponsor of 25 sports and offer opportunities for a total of 29 sports with the official addition of football in the 2025-26 academic year.
The ability to provide its membership sports sponsorship in 29 sports is the most in all of NCAA Division II. In addition, Conference Carolinas also provides championship opportunities for its member institutions in esports and spirit.
This is all in addition to hosting developmental championships in various sports for its member institutions. Conference Carolinas is believed to be the first NCAA conference to offer sub-varsity championships to its members.
Current Conference Carolinas Membership
*Atlantic Christian/Barton: 1930-31--
present
Belmont Abbey: 1989-90--present
Chowan: 2019-20--present
Converse: 2008-09--present
Emmanuel: 2018-19--present
Erskine: 1995-96--present
Francis Marion: 2021--present
King: 2011-12--present
Lees-McRae: 1993-94--present
Mount Olive: 1988-89--present
UNC Pembroke: 1976-92; 2021-22--present
North Greenville: 2011-12—present
Shorter: 2024-25
Southern Wesleyan: 2016-17--present
Young Harris: 2023-24--present
*Charter Member