Conference Carolinas Archive Page
GAFFNEY, S.C. – Limestone College closed out an important chapter in the school's history on Tuesday, June 30 as it officially withdrew from Conference Carolinas after 22 years as a league member. Limestone University will join the South Atlantic Conference as a full member on Wednesday, July 1.
The Saints will still maintain a relationship with Conference Carolinas as an associate member in acrobatics and tumbling. The Limestone field hockey and men's wrestling teams will also continue in their respective leagues that are sponsored by Conference Carolinas and the South Atlantic Conference.
"This is a bittersweet moment for Limestone College and the athletics department," said Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Cerino. "We have had such a tremendous journey as a member of Conference Carolinas and have built wonderful relationships with the league office and the other member institutions. We will always remember our time in the conference with a sense of pride and camaraderie."
After holding dual membership in both the NAIA and NCAA, the Saints became fulltime NCAA Division II members in 1998 and found a home with Conference Carolinas – then known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC). While it took a while for the Blue and Gold to get acclimated to the higher-level competition, the Saints found their groove within the league, particularly over the past decade.
Limestone accumulated five Conference Carolinas Joby Hawn Cup Championships – the league's all-sports award based on regular season finishes and tournament championships – over a six-year span. The Saints are tied with Elon for second in Conference Carolinas history with the most Joby Hawn Cups and leave the league trailing only High Point who won the Hawn Cup 10 times.
Additionally, the Blue and Gold is tied with Anderson for the second longest Hawn Cup winning streak, claiming the conference's top award four years in a row during the 2014-15 and the 2017-18 campaigns. Limestone won the women's Joby Hawn Cup five consecutive times while claiming two men's titles.
Academically, Limestone has also set the bar in Conference Carolinas with five NCAA Elite 89/90 Award winners and 27 Scholar Athletes of the Year recipients. Over the past 10 years, the Saints have well over 620 Academic All-Conference Carolinas selections and 129 Scholar/Academic All-Americans.
Overall, Limestone has clinched 73 Conference Carolinas Regular Season Championships and 46 Conference Carolinas Tournament Titles – most of those crowns coming over the last 10 years. Men's lacrosse has won every regular season championship since the league began sponsoring the sport in 2007 while the women's lacrosse team has won 14 of the 15 league titles since 2005.
The Saints have represented Conference Carolinas at NCAA Championship Events in men's basketball, women's basketball, men's golf, women's golf, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, women's soccer, softball, men's tennis, men's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field, women's indoor track and field, women's outdoor track and field, and men's wrestling.
Limestone has played a big role in putting Conference Carolinas on the national map as the Blue and Gold has claimed three of the six national championships by league members. The Saints captured national championships in men's lacrosse in 2014, 2015, and 2017 while posting national runner-up finishes in 2012, 2016, and 2019. The women's lacrosse team has also played in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game twice over the past decade, finishing runner-up in 2011 and 2013.
Marshawn Scott is one of two Conference Carolinas athletes to win an individual national title in men's track and field, winning the 60m hurdles at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships. Additionally, Limestone is the only league member to win a women's basketball regional, twice advancing to the Elite Eight in 2014 and 2015 and the Final Four in 2015, while the women's golf team joined former member Longwood as the only other league member to qualify for nationals and advancing to the quarterfinals.
The Blue and Gold have featured seven Conference Carolinas Female Athletes of the Year and five Male Athletes of the Year since the 2008-09 season. Limestone swept the top female and male awards four times over the past decade and won both awards three consecutive years (2015, 2016, and 2017).
"I'm so very proud of our former and current student-athletes for all they accomplished and how they represented both Limestone and Conference Carolinas," concluded Cerino. "I would like to thank retired conference commissioner Dr. Alan Patterson and current commissioner Chris Colvin for their leadership over the last 22 years and for helping to put Limestone student-athletes in a position to succeed in their sport and in the classroom. We wish Conference Carolinas and its member institutions the very best moving forward and look forward to competing against those schools in nonconference action."
Limestone College will officially become Limestone University and a full member of the South Atlantic Conference on Wednesday, July 1.
