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45-1007: The conference is an offshoot of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC), another Division II conference that had operated primarily in West Virginia since 1924. In June 2012, the nine football -playing schools in that conference announced plans to break away and form a new all-sports conference. The schools that made the initial announcement were the University of Charleston , Concord University , Fairmont State University , Glenville State College , Seton Hill University , Shepherd University , West Liberty University , West Virginia State University , and West Virginia Wesleyan College . All of these schools were in West Virginia, except for Seton Hill, located in Pennsylvania . According to regional media,

90-527: A new Division II conference at the end of the 2012–13 season; this led to a chain of conference moves that saw all but one of the WVIAC's members find new conference homes. The conference was one of the oldest in intercollegiate athletics, dating back to its founding in 1924 by the West Virginia Department of Education. In its final school year of 2012–13, the WVIAC offered championships in 16 sports and

135-683: A new all-sports conference, the Mountain East Conference . Seton Hill and Pitt-Johnstown joined the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference . Three of the remaining non-football members (Alderson–Broaddus, Davis & Elkins, and Ohio Valley) accepted invitations to join the Great Midwest Athletic Conference . The final remaining member, Bluefield State, competed as a D-II independent for 9 years before being invited to rejoin its former conference in

180-520: A new era as Catawba, Elon, Lenoir–Rhyne and Wingate all withdrew to compete in the first year that the South Atlantic Conference provided championships in all sports, not just football. The Carolinas Conference then added Belmont Abbey in 1989, Coker College (now Coker University) in 1991, and Lees-McRae in 1993. Pembroke State left in 1992. The 1993–94 academic year brought a change to the conference national affiliation. The conference began

225-631: A policy of expansion for a period of time. Western Carolina became a member in 1933, East Carolina in 1947, Pfeiffer in 1960, Newberry in 1961, and Presbyterian in 1964, followed closely by Mars Hill. With the acceptance of the first member from South Carolina in Newberry College, a name change became necessary. Thus on May 20, 1961 the official name of the conference was changed to the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ( CIAC ) but commonly known less formally as

270-496: A scholarship sport, and is also the first men's volleyball conference to consist solely of Division II members. No D-I all-sports conference sponsored the sport until the Big West Conference launched a men's volleyball league in the 2018 season (2017–18 school year). Conference Carolinas sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in the following sports: In men's wrestling and women's triathlon, Conference Carolinas and

315-568: A transition from Division III to Division II, joining the SAC (although it did not start full SAC competition until 2022–23); and Mars Hill University became an associate member in acrobatics & tumbling. Emory & Henry and Lincoln Memorial became de facto CC affiliates as part of South Atlantic Conference Carolinas. Also for the 2021–22 season, CC announced a partnership with the Great Midwest Athletic Conference to conduct joint men's and women's bowling championship events (even though men's bowling

360-606: Is not considered a varsity sport by the NCAA). Each conference organizes its regular season independently, but the postseason is called Conference Carolinas/Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Bowling Championships. CC also announced Lincoln Memorial and Tusculum as new affiliate members for bowling. In December 2021, CC and the SAC jointly announced that they would extend their existing partnership to include two women's sports, triathlon and wrestling, with triathlon competition starting in 2022–23 and wrestling in 2023–24. At

405-479: Is officially branded as "South Atlantic Conference Carolinas". After the completion of the 2018–19 athletic year, former Commissioner Alan Patterson retired and was replaced by Chris Colvin. One of the first moves made by Colvin was to move the league headquarters to Greenville, South Carolina to be more centrally located to all member institutions. The league now has 13 members, with the most recent changes taking place in 2021. Francis Marion University joined for

450-535: Is the only remaining charter member followed in longevity by Mount Olive's joining in 1988. For the 2020–21 school year, CC added acrobatics and tumbling , newly added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program in that same school year, as its newest sport. Initially, five full members and one associate were to start competition, but two more associates were added before competition began. The arrival of Francis Marion and return of UNC Pembroke were not

495-934: The Carolinas Conference . East Carolina resigned in 1962 to join the Southern Conference and Appalachian and Western Carolina followed. Football sponsorship in the Carolinas Conference was dropped in 1973 when Lenoir–Rhyne, Newberry, Presbyterian, and Mars Hill joined the South Atlantic Conference . Pembroke State University, now the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, became a first-time member in 1976 followed by Wingate College in 1979, and Lenoir–Rhyne re-joined in 1984. While Guilford College withdrew in 1988, St. Andrews and Mount Olive were added that same year. The 1989–90 academic year started

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540-779: The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 2023. Conference Carolinas Conference Carolinas , formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference ( CVAC ) or the Carolinas Conference , is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) primarily at the Division II level. It is also considered as one of the seven Division I conferences for men's volleyball. Originally formed in 1930,

585-412: The South Atlantic Conference have operated as a single league known as South Atlantic Conference Carolinas (SACC), holding joint conference tournaments in each sport. SACC will start sponsoring women's wrestling in 2023–24. SACC also operated in field hockey until the two conferences agreed that only the SAC would sponsor that sport starting in 2022–23. As noted previously, the men's wrestling championship

630-584: The South Atlantic Conference , UNC Pembroke, affiliate of the Mountain East Conference , and Chowan, up until 2022 was an affiliate of the Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association . It was also announced that Chowan will begin affiliation with the Gulf South Conference for the 2023 and 2024 seasons and that Shorter will compete as a D-II football independent for the 2024 season, with Erskine switching affiliations from

675-638: The University of Virginia's College at Wise (UVA Wise), located in Southwest Virginia . Wheeling Jesuit was a WVIAC member that had been left out of the original WVIAC split. Urbana and UVA Wise were members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) in 2012–13, while Notre Dame was a Division II independent that had housed five of its 22 sports in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference . UVA Wise, which had previously been turned down for WVIAC membership,

720-481: The 17th conference sport for the 2014–15 school year (2015 season). Men's and women's swimming and diving were added as the 18th and 19th conference sports for 2017–18, with the MEC and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) forming a swimming and diving alliance that conducts a joint conference championship meet. The following school year saw the MEC add acrobatics & tumbling as an official sport, two years before it

765-605: The 1997 academic year High Point resigned to join the NCAA D-I ranks while in 1998 Limestone soon joined and were quickly followed by Anderson in 1999. In 2003, Longwood University left the conference to explore possibilities in NCAA Division I . Then in 2005 the CVAC added Converse College (becoming Converse University in July 2021) as an affiliate member before becoming a full member starting in

810-543: The 2007–08 season. With the lone Virginia school in Longwood leaving, the league decided to go back to its roots and change its name to Conference Carolinas June 1, 2007. On June 1, 2011, King College and North Greenville University became official members of the conference and opened the conference to its first Tennessee member in King. In 2013–14, Emmanuel College (Georgia) and Southern Wesleyan University became official members of

855-991: The MEC was short-lived, as on July 31, 2023, Alderson Broaddus' authorization to grant degrees was revoked, resulting in the immediate suspension of all athletics. In 2024, charter member Notre Dame College announced it would shut down. That same year, it was announced that Point Park University would join the conference from the NAIA River States Conference . This marked the MEC’s first member in Pennsylvania. The Mountain East currently has 11 full members, with five being private and six being public schools. Reclassifying members listed in yellow. The Mountain East currently has three associate members, one public school and two private schools: The Mountain East had five former full members; three are private schools which left

900-502: The MEC when the schools closed, while two are public schools that remain in operation. Current Mountain East football associate UNC Pembroke had housed four sports in the MEC before it joined a conference that sponsored all of those sports. Full members (all sports)  Full members (non-football)  Associate members (football-only)  Associate members (other)  The MEC sponsored 16 sports in all, eight each for men and women, at its formation. Women's lacrosse became

945-585: The PSAC in 2019, becoming that league's first full member outside of Pennsylvania. The MEC would replace both members in the ensuing months. On July 5, the Mountain East Conference announced that Frostburg State University had accepted an offer of membership beginning with the 2019–20 academic year, contingent upon Frostburg State achieving active membership status in NCAA Division II (which would occur on

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990-700: The SAC to the GSC that season only to take their place, in order to accommodate programs until league play can begin. On April 5th, 2024, Ferrum College was announced as the conference's 16th member, as well as its seventh football program for CC's inaugural football season. The CC currently has 15 full members; all but two are private schools. The CC currently has thirteen affiliate members, with all but three being private schools, and two being historically African-American institutions. A total of 19 schools are former CC members, with 15 of them being private schools. School names and nicknames reflect those in use during

1035-578: The addition of Shorter University as its 15th member for 2024–25 school year. The addition of Shorter gave the Conference Carolinas its sixth football sponsoring institution, and accordingly that same day, it was also announced that the Conference Carolinas would begin sponsoring football in 2025. Sponsoring members would include Shorter and North Greenville, whose programs played in the Gulf South Conference , Barton and Erskine, affiliates of

1080-709: The announced schedule). Finally, on August 30, the MEC announced two additional new members effective in 2019–20. Davis & Elkins College would become a full member, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNC Pembroke) would join in five sports. UNC Pembroke began MEC competition in men's and women's indoor track & field, women's swimming & diving, and wrestling in 2019, with football following in 2020. Multiple MEC membership changes were announced in 2020. On April 16, multi-sport associate member UNC Pembroke announced it would join Conference Carolinas (CC) effective in 2021–22. Because CC sponsors all of

1125-521: The conference and opened the conference to its first Georgia member in Emmanuel. Southern Wesleyan began official full NCAA D-II membership in 2016–17 while Emmanuel started in 2018–19. After 57 years as a league member Pfeiffer University moved down to the NCAA D-III ranks on June 1, 2017. Conference Carolinas and the South Atlantic Conference entered into a partnership in the 2018–19 school year by which

1170-514: The final year each institution was a member. The CC had one former affiliate member.  Full member   Associate member  When Barton became the sixth member to sponsor men's volleyball in 2011–12, Conference Carolinas became the fourth official scholarship-granting conference in NCAA men's volleyball. It also became the first all-sports conference (i.e., one that sponsors men's and women's basketball) ever to sponsor men's volleyball as

1215-399: The first in which MEC teams were eligible for automatic bids to NCAA Division II championships; before then, they were eligible only for at-large bids. In 2018, UVA Wise and the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) jointly announced on April 13 that UVA Wise would leave the MEC to join the SAC for 2019–20 and beyond. Next, Shepherd and the PSAC jointly announced on June 7 that Shepherd would join

1260-883: The first time, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke returned after an absence of nearly 30 years. They were the first public schools to join CC since Longwood's 2003 departure. The most recent departure from CC was that of Limestone College (now Limestone University), which moved to the SAC in 2020. Many institutions have been members of the league during its rich history including Anderson, Appalachian, Barton (formerly Atlantic Christian), Belmont Abbey, Catawba, Coker, Converse, East Carolina, Erskine, Emmanuel, Francis Marion, Guilford, Elon, High Point, King, Lees-McRae, Lenoir–Rhyne, Limestone, Longwood, Mars Hill, Mount Olive, Newberry, North Greenville, Pfeiffer, Presbyterian, Queens, St. Andrews, UNC Pembroke (both as Pembroke State and under its current name), Western Carolina and Wingate. Barton

1305-401: The league reached its modern incarnation in 1994. Member institutions are located in the southeastern United States in the states of Georgia , North Carolina , South Carolina , and Tennessee . The Conference Carolinas membership currently consists of 15 small colleges or universities, 13 private and two public. Conference Carolinas dates to its inception on December 6, 1930. The conference

1350-415: The nine football-playing members (Concord, Charleston, Fairmont State, Glenville State, Shepherd, West Liberty, West Virginia State, and West Virginia Wesleyan) and one non-football playing member (Wheeling Jesuit) of the conference joined a provisional D-II member from Virginia ( UVA-Wise ) and two associate Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference members from Ohio ( Notre Dame and Urbana ) to form

1395-453: The non-football sports that UNCP housed in the MEC, UNCP is now an MEC member only in football. Five days later, charter member Urbana announced it would close at the end of the 2019–20 school year. Finally, on June 5, Alderson Broaddus University , a West Virginia school left out of the WVIAC split, announced that it would leave the G-MAC to join the MEC the following month. However, their tenure in

Mountain East Conference - Misplaced Pages Continue

1440-491: The official launch of the conference on August 20, 2012, the MEC sought to add the WVIAC's other Pennsylvania member, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown ; however, both Seton Hill and Pittsburgh–Johnstown chose to join the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The MEC filled out its charter membership with another West Virginia school, Wheeling Jesuit University, today known as Wheeling University ; two Ohio schools, Notre Dame College and Urbana University ; and

1485-436: The only changes to the conference membership in 2021. Converse admitted men to its residential undergraduate program for the first time, and also added men's sports. Converse initially planned to field seven teams, but did not field the initially announced men's volleyball team. Also in 2021–22, current SAC member Lincoln Memorial University added men's wrestling; Emory & Henry College , which sponsors that sport, started

1530-486: The process of transferring membership to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) after years as a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) member. During the transition, it was a dual member of the NCAA's Division II and the NAIA's Division I. The 1995–96 year brought dramatic change to the conference. First, full membership into NCAA Division II was acquired and NAIA affiliation dropped. Thus, this

1575-613: The same time, both conferences agreed that after the 2021–22 school year, the SAC would become the only one of the two conferences to sponsor field hockey. The joint men's wrestling league continued to operate through the 2022–23 season. Initial plans were for both conferences to establish their own men's wrestling leagues, but this changed in 2023, when the two conferences agreed that only CC would sponsor men's wrestling from 2023–24. On June 24, 2022, CC added Wingate as an acrobatics and tumbling affiliate starting with that program's first season in 2023–24. On January 26, 2023, CC announced

1620-454: The split was "supposedly rooted in different philosophies of progressivism", and also was partially driven by a desire to expand the new conference's footprint outside West Virginia. The divisions in the WVIAC were also rooted in the split between public and private schools, although the departing schools included institutions of both types. At the time of the original announcement, the nine schools planned to expand to at least 12 members. Before

1665-431: The two leagues would operate as a single conference in field hockey and wrestling, with championships immediately conducted in both sports. The leagues agreed that CC would coordinate the wrestling championship, while the SAC would fill the same role for field hockey. Accordingly, all CC field hockey programs became de facto affiliates of the SAC, while SAC wrestling programs became de facto CC affiliates. The CC–SAC alliance

1710-733: Was a collegiate athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia , but briefly had one Kentucky member in its early years, and expanded into Pennsylvania in its final years. It participated in the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), originally affiliated in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) until 1995, but held its final athletic competitions in spring 2013, and officially disbanded on September 1 of that year. Its football-playing members announced in June 2012 that they planned to withdraw to form

1755-465: Was added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. The MEC was the first NCAA conference to establish acrobatics & tumbling as an official sport. The most recently added sports are men's and women's indoor track & field and wrestling, which debuted in 2019–20. Departing member in pink. In addition to the above: West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ( WVIAC )

1800-470: Was first conducted in 1936, was at the time of the conference's demise one of the oldest college post-season tournaments in continuous existence—only the Southern Conference men's basketball tournament , established in 1922, was older. On June 18, 2012, nine football-playing members of the WVIAC announced they would withdraw from the league to form a new regional all-sports conference. The WVIAC officially ceased to exist on September 1, 2013. Eight of

1845-813: Was formed then as an athletic association "for the greater advantage of the small colleges in North Carolina". The official name given back then was the North State Intercollegiate Conference but known informally as the Old North State Conference . The birthplace was the Washington Duke Hotel in Durham, North Carolina , and the seven charter members were Appalachian, Atlantic Christian (now Barton College), Catawba, Guilford, Elon, High Point, and Lenoir–Rhyne. The conference followed

Mountain East Conference - Misplaced Pages Continue

1890-473: Was headquartered in Princeton, West Virginia . Men's championships were offered in football, basketball, baseball, track, cross country, soccer, tennis, and golf. Women's titles were contested in volleyball, softball, basketball, cross country, soccer, track, tennis, and golf. The WVIAC moved into the NCAA Division II in 1995 after its long affiliation with the NAIA. Its post-season basketball tournament, which

1935-404: Was operated by CC through 2022–23; initially, the SAC was to establish its own men's wrestling league, but the two conferences later agreed that only CC would sponsor that sport from 2023–24. In bowling, Conferences Carolinas and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference made a partnership to make a men's and women's bowling championship (even though men's bowling is not considered a varsity sport by

1980-553: Was the first official year of full competition and championship play for the conference in NCAA D-II status. Secondly, this was also the same year that Erskine, Longwood, and Queens were accepted as full members of the conference. With Longwood becoming the first Virginia member, another name change occurred and the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (known more universally as the 'CVAC') was born. Following

2025-446: Was transitioning from the NAIA and did not officially become an active D-II member until 2015-16; all of the other charter members were already full D-II members. At its launch, the MEC had 11 football members, with Wheeling (then known as Wheeling Jesuit) being the only non-football school. On February 15, 2013, the NCAA accepted the MEC as its 25th D2 conference. The 2015–16 school year was

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