GREENVILLE, S.C. – Conference Carolinas honored its latest Milestone award winners as part of its annual awards ceremony on Tuesday, May 20 at the Embassy Suites in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Milestone awards are presented to deserving coaches and administrators that have made a long-standing impact within Conference Carolinas.
The conference presented eight Milestone awards at the annual awards ceremony.
JASON ALLEN
He completed his 17th year at Erskine, leading both the men’s and women’s golf teams. He guided the men to NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship appearances in 2013 and 2014, winning the 2014 Conference Carolinas title. Following the 2014 season, he was named both the men’s and women’s Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year. In 2018 and 2019, the Flying Fleet won the NCCAA National Championship while the women finished second in 2018.
JASON GILLESPIE
In more than 20 years roaming the sidelines, the King head men’s basketball coach has amassed 336 career victories. In that time, his squads eclipsed the 20-win mark four times and have regularly ranked among the nation’s leaders in points per game. He has been named conference or region coach of the year four times.
JOSH THOMPSON
Now in his second stint at King, Thompson has spent more than 20 years leading women’s basketball programs and has amassed more than 300 wins. His teams have posted at least 20 wins in a season four times, including a King NCAA-era 25 wins in 2016-17 that saw the Tornado win their first Conference Carolinas Women’s Basketball Championship.
BART WALKER
Walker has spent more than 30 years in higher education, including 25 in Conference Carolinas at three different institutions. He spent time at Lees-McRae College and later at Erskine College where he served as the assistant athletic director, overseeing athletic communications and compliance. He has spent the last 10 years at King University as the assistant athletic director of compliance.
DAWN REGAN
Regan has served King University since 2008 and has served many different rolls. She was elevated to assistant athletic director for athletic operations where she oversees game day and event management as well as serving King’s Senior Woman Administrator.
ADAM SMITH
Smith completed his 17th year at Belmont Abbey, including his 15th overseeing the sports medicine department. In 2022 he was promoted to assistant athletic director of sports medicine, and he oversees a staff of seven full-time athletic trainers, a group that has grown from three under his guidance. A long-time service as Chair of the Conference Carolinas Athletic Training Subcommittee and recently selected as NCAA Division II representative on the NATA Intercollegiate Council for Sports Medicine.
MICHAEL SALOMON
He has spent the last 10 years at Belmont Abbey and has amassed more than 250 wins coaching men’s and women’s tennis. He has guided the men to four straight Conference Carolinas men’s tennis championship titles, including one regular season title in that time.
DR. JULIA BEEMAN
Beeman joined the Belmont Abbey faculty in 2006 to start the Criminal Justice program and has served as chair for the past 19 years. She was appointed as the Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) in 2007. She’s had the honor of representing conference FARs on most of the site visits for new conference members since 2012. From 2014-18, she represented Conference Carolinas on NCAA Division II Management Council, served on NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics and the NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Enhancement Graduate Scholarship Committee.