GREENVILLE, S.C. – Conference Carolinas announced plans today to add the sport of women’s triathlon in the fall of 2026, becoming the first NCAA conference to sponsor the emerging sport.
Women’s triathlon, which is part of the NCAA’s emerging sports for women’s program, will be the 31st sport sponsored by Conference Carolinas.
"Conference Carolinas is excited to lead the way and become the first conference to sponsor women's triathlon," Conference Carolinas Commissioner Chris Colvin said. "Conference Carolinas has a long history of helping to grow emerging sports and we are excited for this additional opportunity to give females across the country another phenomenal competitive opportunity."
The conference also announced the addition of four associate members that will join league members Barton College, Emmanuel University and King University in the inaugural season. Concord University, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Newberry College and Wingate University will join Conference Carolinas as an associate member in women’s triathlon bringing the total membership in 2026-27 to seven institutions.
“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with Lenoir-Rhyne, Newberry and Wingate as an associate member of Conference Carolinas and welcome Concord University to the conference as an associate member,” said Colvin. “All four institutions will be great additions to help us grow this sport and create a tremendous championship experience for our student-athletes.”
Lenoir-Rhyne is also an associate member of Conference Carolinas in swimming. Newberry is also an associate member of Conference Carolinas in men’s wrestling, acrobatics & tumbling, and women’s flag football. Wingate is also an associate member of Conference Carolinas in swimming, women’s flag football and acrobatics & tumbling. This is the first associate membership partnership with Concord University.
The conference's addition of women's triathlon has been coordinated with USA Triathlon.
"We are incredibly appreciative of Conference Carolinas and Commissioner Chris Colvin for their vision and leadership in establishing the first NCAA Division II Conference Championship in women’s triathlon,” said Tim Yount, Chief of Sport Development of USA Triathlon. “It’s a landmark step that validates the growth of our sport and creates a meaningful championship pathway for our student-athletes.”
“This is great news for triathlon. We’re very excited to have a conference championship opportunity for our triathletes. They have been a great addition to our campus and the athletic department here at Emmanuel,” said Emmanuel University Vice President of Athletics Nate Moorman. “We’re all very thankful for Chris Colvin’s vision and leadership and Conference Carolinas.”
Women's triathlon is an
NCAA emerging sport with 42 institutions sponsoring the sport in 2025-26, including 14 at the Division II level.
In addition to women’s flag football, Conference Carolinas now sponsors two sports that are currently a part of the NCAA emerging sports for women program. The conference also sponsors four sports that were formerly in the emerging sports for women and are now NCAA championship sports; beach volleyball, women’s bowling, women’s wrestling, and acrobatics and tumbling. The sports of women’s wrestling beach volleyball are in collaboration with the South Atlantic Conference.
About Conference Carolinas
Conference Carolinas has a rich tradition 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, Tennessee, and Virginia. Conference Carolinas member institutions in the 2025-26 academic year are Barton, Belmont Abbey, Chowan, Converse, Emmanuel, Erskine, Francis Marion, Ferrum, King, Lees-McRae, Mount Olive, UNC Pembroke, North Greenville, Shorter, 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 a sole sponsor of 27 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 31 in the 2026-27 academic year.
The ability to provide its membership sports sponsorship in 31 sports is the most in all of NCAA Division II. In addition, Conference Carolinas also provides championship opportunities for its member institutions in spirit during the basketball championship annually.
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.
About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon, paratriathlon, and indoor and virtual multisport events in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 3,500 events and races and connects with and supports more than 300,000 unique active members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Triathlon Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of World Triathlon and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).