GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Division 2 Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) announced the 2025-26 recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards, and 1,396 Conference Carolinas student-athletes were recognized. The Academic Achievement Awards, in its 19th year, is a program that recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level.

The 1,396 Conference Carolinas student-athletes ranked as the fourth-most of all NCAA Division II conferences as the league was one of nine to eclipse 1,000 recognized student-athletes.

D2 ADA RELEASE

Emmanuel University led Conference Carolinas institutions with 365 student-athletes being recognized as they were one of 15 institutions with at least 200 honorees, along with the University of Mount Olive’s 322. Young Harris College (128) and Erskine College (121) also eclipsed 100 student-athletes honored.

Converse University (95), Ferrum College (92), Francis Marion University (98), North Greenville University (97) and UNC Pembroke (78) rounded out the Conference Carolinas student-athletes that were recognized.

Overall, a total of 21,000-plus student-athletes were recognized from 179 institutions for the 2025-26 Academic Achievement Awards. Historically, 211,256 total student-athletes have been recognized since the inception of the awards program.

In order for a student-athlete to receive an Academic Achievement Award, the athletics director of the Division II institution must be a current dues-paying member of the D2 ADA. Also, the student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college level work and have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year.