Appalachian Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships

Kingsport, Tenn. – Visit Kingsport is thrilled to welcome the 2026 South Atlantic Conference (SAC), Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) and Conference Carolinas to the Kingsport Aquatic Center in February. Between these three conferences, there will be 11 days of swimming, 34 teams from seven different states and more than 500 athletes.

The SAC, an NCAA Division II conference, takes place from February 4 through February 7. 10 teams will be competing throughout the weekend. Preliminary races begin each day at 10 AM and finals begin at 5:00 PM. Both men’s and women’s teams are participating from Carson Newman University (TN), Catawba College (NC), Lenoir-Rhyne University (NC), Mars Hill University (NC) and Wingate University (NC). This competition is open to the public. Tickets (per session) are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5 for students.

The Appalachian Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships returns to the Kingsport Aquatic Center from Thursday, February 12 until Saturday, February 14. This Championship event brings in 122 athletes from five different states. Preliminaries begin at 9:00 AM each day. Finals are at 5:00 PM on Thursday and Friday and 4:00 PM on Saturday. Teams from Brenau University (GA), Columbia College (SC), Milligan University (TN), Pikeville University (KY), UT Southern (TN) and West Virginia Institute of Technology (WV) are set to compete. Tickets are $10 per day for adults and $5 per day for students. Milligan University has won both the men’s and women’s championships for the past three years.

Conference Carolinas takes place from February 18 through February 21. 13 teams made up of 172 athletes will be in Kingsport for the tournament. Barton College (NC), Chowan University (NC), Converse University (SC), Emmanuel University (GA), King University (TN), University of Montevallo (AL) and UNC Pembroke (NC) are competing for the top prize. On Wednesday, February 18, finals begin at 4:00 PM. Preliminary races begin at 10:00 AM and finals begin at 5:00 PM on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $10 each day for adults and students. A tournament pass can also be purchased for $30.

“As Visit Kingsport and the Kingsport Aquatic Center continue their partnership in hosting college swim meets, it brings both of us joy to not only welcome each of these conferences to the fastest pool in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia but also to our great city of Kingsport, Tennessee,” said Bradley Hoover, Director of Sports at Visit Kingsport. “We look forward to watching each competition and hope the swimmers enjoy their time in the Model City.”

More information about each of these events can be found at VisitKingsport.com.