Conference Carolinas has a collegiate athletics history dating back nearly a century.
East Carolina, Appalachian State, Western Carolina and Elon have each been among its football-playing members. Lenoir-Rhyne, Catawba, Guilford and Mars Hill, too.
What’s old will become new again this fall as the now-NCAA Division II conference relaunches football for the first time since Elon won the league championship in 1974.
The new iteration of Conference Carolinas football will debut with seven D2 programs, including three from the Old North State: Barton, Chowan and UNC Pembroke. The other four schools hail from South Carolina (Erskine and North Greenville), Georgia (Shorter) and Virginia (Ferrum). Ferrum will make the transition from Division III to Division II as it moves into Conference Carolinas.
“Football is such a popular sport and such a driver of interest in college athletics,” said Chris Colvin, who has been commissioner of Conference Carolinas since 2019. “We’ve always had full members that were playing football. But to be able to have those full members play football under the Conference Carolinas umbrella just creates even more name recognition, more stability and more prestige for the conference.
“It’s going to be a big deal and we are excited about it.”
The reboot of football in Conference Carolinas has been several years in the making. The NCAA requires that a league have at least six schools playing a sport to sponsor it as an official conference. When Colvin came to Conference Carolinas, the league was short by multiple teams.
Then Barton and Erskine both announced they were bringing back their football programs for the 2020 season. Then Shorter was announced as a new member for the conference in January 2023, effective for the 2024-25 academic year. That brought Conference Carolinas to the six necessary football-playing schools.
On January 26, 2023, the league made it official with a press announcement: Football was back!
Before even playing a snap, the league’s football footprint has expanded to seven. Conference Carolinas voted in April 2024 to add Ferrum. That move brought the league to 16 total members – and now seven with football programs. The Panthers have been playing in the D3 Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
“It’s been about 51 years since we’ve sponsored football,” Colvin said. “But there is a lot of football history in the conference.”
Early History: Elon, Lenoir-Rhyne, App State, Catawba Leave Their Mark
Barton College is the only remaining charter member of Conference Carolinas, which debuted in 1930. Barton was known then as Atlantic Christian College, and the league went by the name North State Intercollegiate Conference or North State Conference for short (sometimes Old North State Conference).
Alas, Atlantic Christian didn’t fare all that well during the 1930 season, posting an 0-5 conference record. Catawba captured the championship with a 5-0 league tally, followed by Elon 4-1, Guilford 2-2, High Point 1-2-1, Lenoir-Rhyne 1-3-1 and then winless ACC.
Atlantic Christian didn’t field a team from 1931 until 1945, but the conference played on (skipping only the 1943 and 1944 seasons due to the war). Appalachian State, Elon and Catawba topped the league every season until High Point won the 1945 title. Atlantic Christian rejoined in 1946 and stayed near the bottom until dropping football after the 1950 campaign.
East Carolina won its first North State title in 1953. Lenoir-Rhyne went undefeated in conference play (6-0) and overall (10-0) in 1955, besting East Carolina, App State, Elon and WCU along the way. Imagine that.
The 1956 season brought a shift to the NAIA ranks. The name changed to Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (or Carolinas Conference) in 1961 when Newberry College from South Carolina joined. Lenoir-Rhyne continued to flex among its conference peers, winning every football title from 1955-62. Catawba finally broke the spell in ‘63.
East Carolina left the league in 1962 to become members of the Southern Conference. Appalachian State and Western Carolina followed, and we know how that move worked for App State, which won multiple national titles in the SoCon at what is now known as the NCAA Division I FCS level in the early 2000s.
The Carolinas Conference played in NAIA Division I from 1970-74. The league dropped football after ’74 when Lenoir-Rhyne, Newberry, Presbyterian and Mars Hill elected to join the South Atlantic Conference.
Elon can rightfully still be considered the reigning Conference Carolinas champion, having finished 4-0 in league play in that final 1974 season (10-2 overall and nationally ranked).
The conference, of course, will have a new champion in 2025. And, thanks to a recent NCAA decision, will be assured of an automatic bid for one of its teams into the Division II playoffs.
Barton Bulldogs: New Name, New Football Legacy Loading
Barton (formerly Atlantic Christian) started football, per Wikipedia, in 1920. Win-loss records appear to be unknown from 1921-26 but the 1927 team went 6-1-1 under coach Peahead Walker. From there it was tough sledding. The school went 4-18-1 from 1928-30, then posted a combined record of 6-33-3 after restarting its program in 1946 until disbanding in 1950.
The school’s relaunch in 2020 under coach Chip Hester has played to much better results. Despite battling through COVID issues at the outset, Barton has already established a winning culture and unique football identity.
The Bulldogs went 6-5 in 2021 as an independent. They posted the same winning record in the ultra competitive South Atlantic Conference in 2023 (where Lenoir-Rhyne still plays the heavy most years).
Former Barton standout wide receiver Kameron Johnson garnered national attention this past fall when he made the roster for the Tampa Bay Bucs. Running back Jordan Terrell, one of the leading rushers in the nation in 2023, joined the CFL’s BC Lions at the same time.
“Starting this program here has been an adventure,” Hester said in a recent interview with NC Football News. “The guys on the team and our coaches, we’ve been a part of some historic things, some historic wins. In the grand scheme of things, our guys have accomplished a lot in a small amount of time. And now we want to take the next step.”
There is a sense that Barton football is home – fully – now that the program can join its other sports teams in Conference Carolinas. Hester says he likes having two league opponents – Chowan and UNC Pembroke – “right down the road.”
He is familiar with both, as well as Erskine. Chowan has been the season’s opening opponent the past two years. Erskine has been a fellow SAC member and on the schedule in 2022 and 2023. UNC Pembroke is coached by former Chowan boss Mark Hall, who led the Hawks to the 2022 CIAA title game before taking the Braves job.
“Coach Hall knows what he is doing and he’s going to create a great challenge for us,” Hester said. “North Greenville and Shorter have been playing in the Gulf South. That’s a tough league right there. It’s going to be a very competitive league and I’m looking forward to it.”
Chowan’s Nomadic Football Journey Leads To Conference Carolinas
Think it’s tough keeping up with who’s playing in the ACC, SEC or Big Ten these days? Try following Chowan football’s winding conference path. The Hawks will play in their third conference in four years this fall. Chowan was an affiliate member of the CIAA from 2007-22 (football only). The school moved the rest of its sports teams to Conference Carolinas in 2018.
The past two seasons, Chowan played in the Gulf South Conference — just passing through, thank you — while waiting for Conference Carolinas to come together as a football league. The Gulf South seemed an awkward fit, especially from a travel perspective. The Hawks spent a lot of time on busses – 12 to 16 hours to destinations like Valdosta State (Georgia), West Alabama and West Florida. Conference road games against South Carolina teams felt like a luxury.
“That took a toll,” Chowan coach Paul Johnson said. “That’s a lot of travel, so we’re excited as a program just to be able to have closer games, like a road game could actually be a day trip. Barton’s just an hour down the road, right? And UNC Pembroke is like only three hours?”
Who’s The Way-Too-Early Favorite To Win The Title?
It doesn’t appear that any one team will come in and dominate the way a Florida State program used to rule the ACC in the 1990s.
UNC Pembroke had an impressive close to the 2024 campaign and its final season in the Mountain East Conference. The Braves started 0-4, but the offense caught fire — often scoring in the 50s, 60s and even 70s — to forge a 6-5 final overall record.
Barton (3-8) went through a rebuilding phase after many of the key members of its “founding fathers” recruiting class moved on. But the Bulldogs have a strong nucleus, Hester said.
“We fought through the year,” he said. “We were able to get some really young guys some good opportunities.”
Johnson’s Chowan squad did not win a game in his first season in 2023. Understandably that year was a struggle — new staff, new conference, a roster gutted by transfers. The 2024 campaign saw the program on much more solid footing, with three wins and closer games as a reward.
“We’ve got a chance to put it together and keep taking steps forward, building off the 2024 season” Johnson said. “I’m bringing the entire staff back, which is great. We are working hard in the weight room. We’ve got the right culture, the right environment for growth and I expect us to have a pretty good football team in 2025.”
North Greenville posted a 6-5 record last season, including a 4-3 mark against Gulf South foes. The Trailblazers beat Delta State in four overtimes and pushed eventual D2 runner-up Valdosta State (L, 32-24) and Gulf South runner-up West Alabama (L, 17-14). North Greenville edged Chowan 31-27 late in the season.
Ferrum posted solid numbers in the D3 Old Dominion Athletic Conference in 2024. The Panthers went 5-5, including wins over North Carolina Wesleyan (28-24) and Guilford (20-7).
Erskine was 1-8 in 2024. Shorter went 3-7 as an independent. Chowan earned wins over both Erskine (21-3) and Shorter (31-27) last season.
What’s Next For The Football Roll-Out?
The league is finalizing its 2025 schedule now, and schools are planning spring practices (the Chowan spring game has tentatively been set for Saturday, April 12). The conference has a scheduling agreement for non-conference games between member schools and Gulf South programs, though one GSC school – Mississippi College – has disbanded its program.
The first Conference Carolinas football media day will be July 24 in Greenville, S.C. “We’re really going to make that a special event for the inaugural year,” Colvin said.
In the months after that, the first conference football games will be played in more than a half-century – and someone will finally dethrone Elon as the reigning league champ.
For D2 football followers in North Carolina, we’ll only have to track three conferences this fall – Conference Carolinas, the South Atlantic and the CIAA. The state no longer has outlier teams in the Mountain East or Gulf South.
While we’re still awaiting schedules, a handful of non-conference opponents have been set for Barton, Chowan and UNC Pembroke in 2025 and 2026. Conference Carolinas has entered into a schedule agreement with the Gulf South Conference for select inter-conference match-ups. The league also has entered into an agreement with the SIAC for two of its teams — not in the league championship — to play games against SIAC foes on the final weekend of the 2025 and ’26 regular seasons.
The addition of football – and women’s flag football as a conference sport in 2026 – gives Conference Carolinas 30 different sports across its college athletics landscape, Colvin said. The conference has come a long ways since 1930, but what is old is new again in the football realm.
“From our institutions’ perspective, being able to play football under the conference umbrella allows them to compete against more like-minded institutions, more similarly-resourced institutions, and do so in a geographically responsible way,” Colvin said. “We are thrilled and excited to have football as one of our sports.”
Follow Conference Carolinas at NC Football News!
We are just getting started with our coverage of this new/relaunched D2 football league! We’ll check in with Barton, Chowan and UNC Pembroke in the days ahead and get you ready for the spring ball and the 2025 season.
Who is going to win the inaugural Conference Carolinas title? Leave us a comment below or tell us about it on Twitter/X.
Check out the North Carolina college football “Master Schedule” for 2025! This page will be updated regularly when schools, like Barton, Chowan and UNCP, release their complete schedules.
Visit the official Conference Carolinas football page here, complete with the latest news, schedules, standings and more.
List of Conference Carolinas Football Champions
The conference was known as the North State Conference from 1930-60 and the Carolinas Conference from 1961-74. Source: Wikipedia/Conference Carolinas.
- 1930 – Catawba
- 1931 – Appalachian State
- 1932 – Catawba
- 1933 – Elon
- 1934 – Elon
- 1935 – Elon
- 1936 – Elon
- 1937 – Appalachian State
- 1938 – Catawba/Elon (co-champs)
- 1939 – Appalachian State/Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1940 – Catawba
- 1941 – Elon
- 1942 – Catawba
- 1945 – High Point/Catawba
- 1946 – Catawba
- 1947 – Catawba
- 1948 – Appalachian State
- 1949 – Western Carolina
- 1950 – Appalachian State
- 1951 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1952 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1953 – East Carolina
- 1954 – Appalachian State
- 1955 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1956 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1957 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1958 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1959 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1960 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1961 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1962 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1963 – Catawba/Elon
- 1964 – Elon
- 1965 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1966 – Lenoir-Rhyne/Presbyterian
- 1967 – Lenoir-Rhyne
- 1968 – Lenoir-Rhyne/Presbyterian
- 1969 – Elon
- 1970 – Presbyterian
- 1971 – Elon
- 1972 – Presbyterian/Elon
- 1973 – Elon
- 1974 – Elon
Conference Carolinas Football Membership History
- Source: Conference Carolinas
- Appalachian State 1931–1967 (No Teams 1943-44)
- Atlantic Christian/Barton 1946–1950; 2025-
- Catawba 1931–1974 (No Team 1943)
- Chowan 2025–
- East Carolina 1947–1961
- Elon 1931–1974 (No Teams 1942-45)
- Erskine 2025–
- Guilford 1931–1974 (No Teams 1943-44)
- High Point 1931–1932, 1938–1942, 1945–1950
- Lenoir-Rhyne 1931–1974 (No Teams 1942-45)
- Mars Hill 1973–1974
- UNC Pembroke 2025–
- Newberry 1961–1972
- North Greenville 2025–
- Presbyterian 1965–1972
- Shorter 2025–
- Western Carolina 1933–1968 (No Teams 1942-44)
