CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston beach volleyball team will compete in the Sun Belt Conference as an affiliate member beginning this spring.

The Cougars will join Sun Belt schools Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Louisiana Monroe and Southern Miss and affiliate members Mercer, Stephen F. Austin and UNCW in the eight-team league. 

The Sun Belt recently added beach volleyball as its 19th sport, becoming the eighth conference to sponsor the fastest-growing sport in the NCAA. A total of 176 institutions compete in beach volleyball, including 67 on the Division I level, and 55 are located within the 10-state Sun Belt region.

"Joining the Sun Belt is the perfect step for the our beach volleyball program as we bring on a beach-only head coach and have a new facility under construction," said Damian Elder, who was tabbed to head the program after four seasons as an assistant with the Charleston indoor team.

"The quality of the teams and their leadership combined with the travel footprint is the best match for the student-athlete experience we are crafting at College of Charleston. We are excited and proud to be part of the Sun Belt."

The beach volleyball regular season begins in February and culminates April 27-29 when the Sun Belt and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association co-host the conference championship at the John Hunt Sand Volleyball Complex in Huntsville, Ala.

The winner of the conference title will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala., May 5-7, featuring teams from all three levels of NCAA competition.