GREENVILLE, S.C. – Conference Carolinas announced five institutions have accepted invitations to join the league as associate members in men's and women's swimming. Carson-Newman University, Catawba College, Mars Hill University, Lenoir-Rhyne University and Wingate University will all become associate members in 2026-27.
Mars Hill and Wingate already compete in Conference Carolinas in acrobatics & tumbling and women's flag football. The addition of five men's and women's swimming programs adds significantly to the number of Conference Carolinas institutions that sponsor the sports. In 2026-27, Conference Carolinas will have 12 women's swimming members and 11 men's swimming members.
"We are thrilled to welcome five new institutions as associate members to grow our men's and women's swimming membership," commissioner Chris Colvin said. "The addition of these institutions provide stability and strength to the conference's sponsorship of men's and women's swimming. We are excited to continue partnering with Wingate and Mars Hill and look forward to adding Carson-Newman, Catawba, and Lenoir-Rhyne to our large number of associate members.
Conference Carolinas schools that currently sponsor men's and women's swimming are Barton College, Chowan University, Converse University, Emmanuel University, and King University. UNC Pembroke sponsors women's swimming. The University of Montevallo is an associate member in both men's and women's swimming.
In addition to its 16 full member institutions, in 2026-27, Conference Carolinas will have 14 associate member institutions sponsoring 25 teams across six sports (acrobatics and tumbling, women's flag football, men's swimming, women's swimming, men's wrestling, and women's wrestling).
About Conference Carolinas
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, Tennessee and Virginia. Member institutions for the 2025-26 academic year are Barton, Belmont Abbey, Chowan, Converse, Emmanuel, Erskine, Ferrum, Francis Marion, King, Lees-McRae, Mount Olive, UNC Pembroke, North Greenville, Shorter, Southern Wesleyan and Young Harris.
Conference Carolinas is a sole sponsor of 26 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 30 in the 2025-26 academic year. The ability to provide its membership sports sponsorship in 30 sports is the most in all of NCAA Division II. In addition, Conference Carolinas also provides championship opportunities for its member institutions in spirit and in developmental sports.
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.
