US NCAA Division III athletic conference of small private colleges
The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Of its 11 member schools, all private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning, nine are located in Western Pennsylvania. The other two are located in adjacent areas, historically tied to Western Pennsylvania—Appalachian Ohio and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.
History
The PAC was founded in 1955 by the presidents of Western Reserve University (1955–1967, operating athletically as Adelbert College from 1967 to 1970), Case Institute of Technology (1955–1970), John Carroll University (1955–1989) and Wayne State University (1955–1967).[1] Unlike other conferences of the time, the PAC was designed to be supervised by the presidents of the institutions rather than the athletic directors.[1] Member institutions were to admit athletes on the same academic standards as other students and award scholarships based only on academic achievement or need.[1]
By 1958, the PAC expanded east to include Allegheny College (1958–1984, 2022–), Bethany College (1958–), Thiel College (1958–) and Washington & Jefferson College (1958–).[1] Eventually, many other member institutions joined the PAC, like Chatham University (2007–), Geneva College (2007–), Grove City College (1984–), Saint Vincent College (2006–), Thomas More College (2005–2018), Waynesburg University (1990–) and Westminster College (2000–).[2]
Some former PAC member institutions are Alfred University (1996–1998), Carnegie Mellon University (1968–1990), Eastern Michigan University (1962–1967) and Hiram College (1971–1989, returning in 2025).[2] On May 31, 2017, Thomas More College (University), announced its withdrawal from the PAC at the conclusion of the 2017–18 school year.[3]
In April 2019, Franciscan University, which had joined the PAC as an associate member in the newly launched conference sports of men's and women's lacrosse for the 2018–19 school year, was unveiled as the effective replacement for Thomas More. Franciscan added five sports to its PAC membership for 2019–20—women's golf, men's and women's indoor track & field, and men's and women's outdoor track & field, and became a full conference member in 2020–21.[4]
Effective July 1, 2022, Allegheny College rejoined the PAC after a 38-year absence spent in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Allegheny remains an affiliate member of the NCAC in the sport of field hockey as the PAC does not sponsor the sport.[5]
On April 23, 2024, the PAC announced that Hiram would return to full PAC membership after an absence of 35 years. It will join for administrative purposes on July 1 of that year, coinciding with its becoming a men's volleyball associate member, but will not start conference competition in other sports until 2025–26.[6]
The headquarters is located in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.[7]
Timeline[2]
Presidents' Athletic Conference
50km
30miles
Bethany
Hiram
Allegheny
Case Western
Carnegie Mellon
Franciscan
Geneva
Chatham
Saint Vincent
Westminster
Waynesburg
Grove City
Wash. & Jeff.
Thiel
Location of PAC members:
full,
affiliate, and
future
- 1955 – Charter members Western Reserve University, John Carroll University, and Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, along with Wayne State University in Detroit, come together to form the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).
- 1958 – The PAC adds four additional members - Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa.; Bethany College in Bethany, W.Va.; Thiel College in Greenville, Pa.; and Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa., bringing the total number of conference members to eight.
- 1962 – The PAC accepted the University of Ypsilanti (Eastern Michigan) as its ninth member.
- 1966 – Wayne State and Eastern Michigan withdrew from the PAC following the 1966–67 academic year, leaving the conference with seven members.
- 1967 – Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University federated into a new institution known as Case Western Reserve University. The undergraduate student bodies remained separate, however, and both Case Tech and Adelbert College (the male undergraduate school of the former Western Reserve University) continued to field separate teams.
- 1968 – Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh is accepted into the PAC.
- 1970 – Case Western Reserve University begins to compete as one program, no longer fielding teams as Case Tech and Adelbert.
- 1972 – Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio is accepted into the PAC.
- 1983 – Allegheny College and Case Western Reserve University leave the PAC following the 1983–84 academic year.
- 1984 – Grove City College in Grove City, Pa., is accepted into the PAC.
- 1984–85 – The PAC sponsors women's athletic championships for the first time.
- 1989 – John Carroll University and Hiram College leave the PAC.
- 1990 – Carnegie Mellon University leaves the PAC, and Waynesburg College (University) in Waynesburg, Pa., is accepted into the PAC.
- 1996 – Alfred College in Alfred, N.Y., is accepted into the PAC.
- 1998 – Alfred College leaves the PAC.
- 2000 – Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., is accepted into the PAC.
- 2005 – Thomas More College (now University) in Crestview Hills, Ky., is accepted into the PAC.
- 2006 – Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., is accepted into the PAC
- 2007 – Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pa., and Chatham University in Pittsburgh are both accepted into the PAC, bringing the conference to 10 full-time members.
- 2011 – Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Case Western Reserve in Cleveland are both admitted to the PAC as affiliate members in the sport of football beginning in the 2014–15 academic year.
- 2018
- Thomas More left the PAC for the American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA); it was an ACAA member for only one year, as it returned to the NAIA in 2019 as a member of the Mid-South Conference.
- Franciscan University of Steubenville, in the Ohio city of that name, joined the PAC for men's and women's lacrosse.
- 2019 – Franciscan added women's golf plus indoor and outdoor track & field for both men and women to its PAC membership.
- 2020 – Franciscan became a full PAC member.
- 2022
- Allegheny rejoined the PAC, effective July 1.
- The PAC announced that it would add men's volleyball starting in 2024–25. At the time of announcement, the men's volleyball league was planned to start with six full members. Geneva, Saint Vincent, and Thiel were associate members of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference; Bethany and Chatham were committed to adding men's volleyball in 2023–24; and Grove City was to add men's volleyball in 2024–25.[8]
- 2023 – The PAC announced that its future men's volleyball league would also include former full member Hiram as a single-sport member.[9]
- 2024 – The PAC announced that Hiram would join for administrative purposes on July 1, 2024, and start full conference competition in 2025–26.[6]
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives
In 2021, the NCAA announced that Kate Costanzo of Allegheny College – a former NCAC staff member affiliated with the PAC – was a finalist for the NCAA Division III LGBTQ Administrator/Coach/Staff of the Year Award.[10]
Member schools
Active members
The Presidents' has 11 full members, all private schools.
- Notes
- ^ Allegheny had previously been a PAC member from 1958 to 1984.
- ^ This institution is a former women's college, which has eventually turned into a co-educational college (Chatham since 2015–16).
- ^ Franciscan joined the PAC as an associate member in seven sports before becoming a full member in effective the 2020–21 school year; men's and women's lacrosse joined during the 2018–19 school year, while women's golf, plus men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, joined during the 2019–20 school year.
- ^ Formerly affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Future member
- Notes
- ^ Hiram was a full member of the PAC from 1971–72 to 1988–89.
- ^ Hiram will join for administrative purposes, as well as men's volleyball, in 2024–25, but will not start conference competition in other sports until 2025–26.[6]
Associate members
The Presidents' has two associate members, both of which joined for football only since the 2014 fall season (2014–15 school year) and have remained in PAC football to this day. Hiram will join for men's volleyball when the PAC adds the sport in 2024–25, a year before it returns to conference competition in other sports.
Future associate member
- Notes
- ^ Carnegie Mellon was a full member of the PAC from 1968–69 to 1989–90.
- ^ Case Western Reserve was a full member of the PAC from 1970–71 to 1983–84.
- ^ Hiram was a full member of the PAC from 1971–72 to 1988–89.
Former members
The Presidents' has 10 former full members, with all but two being private schools. Hiram will rejoin the PAC for men's volleyball in 2024 and for other sports in 2025.
- Notes
- ^ Carnegie Mellon returned to the PAC as an associate member for football starting with the 2014 fall season (2014–15 school year).
- ^ Case Tech merged with Western Reserve University in 1967.
- ^ a b Case Tech and Western Reserve University merged in 1967, but the athletic programs continued to operate separately through the 1969–70 school year.
- ^ Case Western Reserve rejoined the PAC as an associate member for football starting with the 2014 fall season (2014–15 school year).
- ^ Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
- ^ Hiram will return to the PAC as an associate member for men's volleyball starting with the 2025 spring season (2024–25 school year), and return to PAC competition in all sports in 2025–26.
- ^ Thomas More was known as Thomas More College throughout its PAC tenure. It adopted its current name in October 2018, shortly after leaving the PAC.
- ^ a b Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
- ^ Wayne State joined the PAC as Wayne University. It adopted its current name in 1956 and its current nickname of Warriors in 1999.
- ^ During the first three years after the Case Western Reserve merger (1967–1970), when Case Tech and Western Reserve continued to operate separate athletic programs, Western Reserve used the athletic identity of its former undergraduate arm, Adelbert College.
- ^ Western Reserve merged with Case Institute of Technology in 1967.
Membership timeline
Sports
- ^ To be added in 2024–25.
References
- ^ a b c d E. Lee, North (1991). "Chapter 14: The Frustrating Fifties". Battling the Indians, Panthers, and Nittany Lions: The Story of Washington & Jefferson College's First Century of Football, 1890-1990. Daring Books. pp. 161–168. ISBN 978-1-878302-03-8. OCLC 24174022.
- ^ a b c http://www.pacathletics.org/links/recordbook.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Thomas More to Withdraw from PAC" (Press release). Thomas More Saints. May 31, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
- ^ "PAC adds Franciscan as full member" (Press release). Presidents' Athletic Conference. April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
- ^ "Allegheny College Announces Return to the Presidents' Athletic Conference Beginning July 1, 2022" (Press release). Allegheny Gators. August 23, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Hiram College to Return to PAC" (Press release). Presidents' Athletic Conference. April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ "Presidents' Athletic Conference on the Web". Archived from the original on 2011-01-26. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
- ^ "PAC Approves Men's Volleyball as 24th Conference Sport" (Press release). Presidents' Athletic Conference. December 14, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ "PAC Extends Affiliate Membership to Hiram College in Men's Volleyball in 2024-25" (Press release). Presidents' Athletic Conference. June 6, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ @NCAC (January 14, 2021). "NCAA LGBTQ Award 2021" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Presidents' Athletic Conference.
