FERRUM, Virginia – Ferrum College held a watch party on campus Wednesday afternoon, February 12, in anticipation of the College's official acceptance into provisional year one of the NCAA Division II expedited membership process. School officials received word at approximately 1:15 p.m. EST that the NCAA had approved Ferrum's request.
 
With today's announcement, Ferrum will be in a two year probationary period as the NCAA continues to assess the College's readiness for Division II membership over the course of the next two years. There will be continued on-site visits and other documentation milestones required over the next two years prior to full membership.
 
Ferrum first joined the NCAA in 1985 as a Division III school. The College joined the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1988, and remained with the league, which would eventually become the USA South Athletic Conference, through the 2017-18 school year.
 
After 30 years in the USA South, Ferrum was offered and accepted membership in the Old Dominion Athletics Conference (ODAC) in the summer of 2018. The Panthers are completing their seventh full year in the ODAC.
 
When the College administration announced its intention to pursue membership in the NCAA Div. II in the spring of 2024, Ferrum was offered membership in the Conference Carolinas. Conference Carolinas dates back to 1930 and was originally named the North State Intercollegiate Conference, but it was known informally as the Old North State Conference. The league currently includes 15 schools from North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Ferrum will be the 16th school.
 
Ferrum will compete in Conference Carolinas in football, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, men's wrestling, baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, women's flag football and women's lacrosse.