Editor's Note: Belmont Abbey Athletics is taking a look back at some of the highlights from the 2025-26 competition season. Stories will be reposted with the headline CRUSADER REWIND. This article was originally posted on May 22, 2026.

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Belmont Abbey's women's sports earned the 2025-26 overall Messick Award, while the department finished second in the combined standings, the Conference Carolinas office announced today.

The award marks the third straight year where the school received at least one overall Messick Award and runs the all-time total to nine.

Throughout the year, Belmont Abbey won a program-record 10 individual sport Messick Awards.

The Conference Carolinas Directors of Athletics implemented the process by which the Conference Carolinas Messick Sportsmanship Awards are determined. A student-athlete and coach from each institution vote separately upon the sportsmanship of all conference competitors. Each institution then submits those votes to the conference office where the averages are then calculated to decide the winner for each conference-sponsored sport.

The Team Messick Sportsmanship Awards are named after John D. Messick, who was the President of former conference member East Carolina from 1947-59. Messick truly championed sportsmanship and even wrote a book entitled, "Personality and Character Development."
 

---

Overall Messick Standings (final top five)
1 – King
2 – Belmont Abbey
3 – Young Harris
4 – North Greenville
5 – Ferrum

Women's Messick Standings (final top five)
1 – Belmont Abbey
2 – King
3 – North Greenville
4 – Young Harris
5 – Emmanuel