Limestone College - Athletics

Athletics

Nickname: Saints

Colors: Blue and Gold

Affiliation: NCAA Division II

Conference Carolinas: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball

Bluegrass Mountain Conference: Swimming

Independent: Field Hockey, Wrestling, Football (2014)

Limestone plays sports in the 12-school Conference Carolinas, offering competitive opportunities at the NCAA Division II level for men in soccer, basketball, baseball, wrestling, lacrosse, golf, cross country, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball and for women in golf, volleyball, basketball, softball, tennis, soccer, swimming, cross country, lacrosse, track and field, and field hockey. Limestone has an indoor Olympic-size pool for swim team and recreational use, along with a newly constructed (2005) campus Physical Education facility containing modern classrooms, offices, locker rooms, Athletic Training Education facilities for the school's fully accredited Athletic Training program, a state of the art fitness center, and a wrestling practice facility.

Until 1997, Limestone competed for championships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Limestone gained membership in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Division II in 1991 and began competing for NCAA championships when it joined the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference in 1998. Today, 17 of Limestone’s athletic teams compete in the Conference Carolinas, while both swimming teams are affiliated with the Bluegrass Mountain Conference and wrestling competes as an independent.

Limestone helped pave the way for collegiate lacrosse, swimming. and field hockey in the South. The Saints fielded South Carolina’s first collegiate lacrosse team in 1990. The swimming teams are the only NCAA Division II swimming programs in South Carolina and among the few in the two Carolinas. The Saints' field hockey program is southernmost field hockey team in the United States and the only collegiate squad in the state.

Over the years, the Saints baseball, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, men’s soccer, and men’s and women’s tennis teams have all been ranked on the national level. Twelve student-athletes have gone on to play professionally in their sport, with seven of those signing professional baseball contracts. The Saints baseball program was started by two-time Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry, a member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Additionally, Saints athletes have earned All-American honors on over 100 occasions and over a dozen have been named Academic All-Americans.

On October 26th, 2012, Limestone announced they will add football and begin play in 2014.