Conference Carolinas to Add Women’s Swimming & Diving as 21st NCAA Championship Sport
HIGH POINT, NC – Conference Carolinas Commissioner Dr. Alan Patterson has announced that women's swimming & diving will be added as the league's 21st championship sport. Conference Carolinas will add women's swimming and diving for the 2017-18 academic year.
"Conference Carolinas believes in the value of high-quality competition to provide exceptional student-athlete educational experiences," said Dr. Patterson. "Swimming and diving is known for the dedication, competitive spirit and lifelong-lasting benefits. I am pleased conference members are sponsoring women's swimming and diving as an NCAA Division II sport and men's swimming and diving as an emerging sport. I am confident the inclusion will add to the conference brand and student-athlete experience."
Five Conference Carolinas members will sponsor women's swimming. Barton College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, King University and Limestone College will compete along with associate member Chowan University. In addition to women's swimming, Barton, Emmanuel, King and Limestone will compete in men's swimming as an emerging Conference Carolinas sport.
Chowan competed in their inaugural season this year and posted a winning record at 7-2 in dual and dual-dual meets. The Hawks finished 11th out of 12 teams in their first-ever Blue Grass Mountain Conference. The Blue Grass Mountain Conference features NCAA D2 National Champion, Queens University of Charlotte, and NCAA D2 runner up, Wingate University. The Hawks relay teams placed in the top five at the conference tournament in February.
"Entering the Conference Carolinas with our new women's swim team will give us a fantastic opportunity to reach new heights with the program. Competing in the Conference Carolinas will push us to be faster as we race the top," stated Matt Hood, Head Women's Swimming Coach at Chowan University.
Converse will serve as the host for the inaugural championship, which will be held February 8-10, 2018.
"We could not be more excited here at Converse to be serving as the first host of the Conference Carolinas Swimming Championship," said Corey White, Converse's head women's swimming coach. "Many colleges across the nation, including quite a few from the southeast, have added swimming over the last few years. The fact our conference now sponsors women's swimming, with the intentions of adding men's swimming, we see it as an opportunity to put on a first-class meet and really show people what the sport has to offer."
During the 2017-18 academic year, Conference Carolinas will be an 12-team, 21-sport, NCAA Division II conference with teams located in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Hood continued, "I am most excited to see how our young team will be able grow with the new conference sport. There will be a lot of close competition that will push us all towards excellence."
Chowan University's Vice President for Athletics, Ozzie McFarland, is equally as excited. "This is another major step with our swimming program and our relationship with Conference Carolinas. Next year our women will be able to compete for the first ever Conference Carolinas women's swimming championship. These are exciting times for Chowan University and the athletic department."
Conference Carolinas sponsors the following NCAA Division II Championship Sports: Baseball; Men's Basketball; Women's Basketball; Men's Cross Country; Women's Cross Country; Men's Golf; Women's Golf; Men's Lacrosse; Women's Lacrosse; Men's Soccer; Women's Soccer; Softball; Women's Swimming & Diving; Men's Tennis; Women's Tennis; Men's Indoor Track & Field; Women's Indoor Track & Field; Men's Outdoor Track & Field; Women's Outdoor Track & Field; Men's Volleyball and Women's Volleyball.