American Collegiate Athletic Association

Last updated
American Collegiate Athletic Association
American Collegiate Athletic Association.jpg
Conference NCAA
Founded2017
Ceased2020
(merged with
Capital Athletic Conference)
Sports fielded
  • 8
Division Division III
No. of teams7
Region Northeastern United States, Great Lakes region, California
Locations
American Collegiate Athletic Association map.png

The American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) was an athletic conference with no regular-season competition. The ACAA competed in the NCAA's Division III. The conference was formed in 2017 primarily by Independent schools in the Northeastern United States, but also had members in Michigan, Wisconsin, and California. [1] The members of the ACAA merged with the Capital Athletic Conference in 2020.

Contents

History

The ACAA was formally announced as an NCAA Division III athletic conference in February 2017, with plans to start offering official conference championships in the 2017–18 academic year. Unofficial championships were held during the 2016–17 season. [2] Initial members were Alfred State College, Finlandia University, Mills College, State University of New York at Canton, State University of New York at Delhi, Pine Manor College, University of Maine at Presque Isle, and University of Valley Forge. Finlandia, Maine–Presque Isle, Mills, and Pine Manor were formerly members of the women's sports-sponsoring Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC), which disbanded after the 2015–16 season.

In November 2017, it was announced that SUNY Canton and UMPI departed the ACAA, effective July 1, 2018, and would join the North Atlantic Conference (NAC). [3]

In January 2018, it was announced that Mount Mary University of Wisconsin joined the ACAA, effective in the 2018–19 academic year. Mount Mary was formerly an NCAA Division III independent school. [4]

On February 16, 2018, Pratt Institute announced that the college also joined the ACAA, effective in the 2018-19 academic year. [5] Pratt was a member of the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) within the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).

On June 28, 2018, it was announced that Alfred State College was leaving the ACAA, and joined the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC), effective in the 2019–20 school year. [6]

In July 2018, it was announced that Thomas More College, now known as Thomas More University, joined the ACAA effective immediately for the 2018–19 season. Thomas More was previously a full member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Thomas More had re-joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and joined the Mid South Conference beginning the fall of 2019. [7]

On November 30, 2018, SUNY Delhi, a North Atlantic Conference associate member in six sports (men's golf, men's lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's track & field), announced that it would leave the ACAA and become a full member of the NAC effective in the fall of 2019. At that time, five additional Delhi sports—men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball—were about to begin NAC play. Three more sports—men's and women's basketball, plus softball—remained in the ACAA until starting NAC play in 2020–21. [8]

On June 6, 2019, it was announced that the University of Valley Forge was leaving the ACAA, and joined the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC), effective in the 2020–21 season. [9]

On July 11, 2019, it was announced that the University of California, Santa Cruz would be joining the ACAA in seven sports, effective 2019-20. [10]

On May 26, 2020, it was announced that the American Collegiate Athletic Association would merge with the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), later renamed the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C). The ACAA will have all of its full members join the CAC in the 2020–21 school year. Pine Manor College, which recently entered into a partnership with Boston College, will participate in the Conference for one academic year in four sports: men's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball. [11] After being acquired by Boston College, Pine Manor dissolved their athletics programs effective after the 2020-21 academic year.

Chronological timeline

Member schools

Final members

The ACAA had seven full members in the conference's final season, all but one were private schools:

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollment
(2016) [12] 		NicknameJoinedLeftSubsequent
conference		Current
conference
Finlandia University Hancock, Michigan 1896 Lutheran ELCA 507 Lions 20172020 Coast to Coast (C2C)
(2020–23)		N/A [lower-alpha 1]
Mills College [lower-alpha 2] Oakland, California 1852 Nonsectarian 1,345 Cyclones Coast to Coast (C2C)
(2020–22)		Discontinued athletics
Mount Mary University [lower-alpha 2] Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1913 Catholic
(SSND)		1,209 Blue Angels 2018 Coast to Coast (C2C)
(2020–present)
Pine Manor College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 1911Nonsectarian419 Gators 2017 Coast to Coast (C2C)
(2020–21)		N/A [lower-alpha 3]
Pratt Institute Brooklyn, New York 18774,829 Cannoneers 2018 Coast to Coast (C2C)
(2020–present)
University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California 1965Public19,700 Banana Slugs 2019
University of Valley Forge Phoenixville, Pennsylvania 1939 Assemblies of God 877 Patriots 2017 Colonial States (CSAC)
(2020–present)
Notes
  1. ↑ Finlandia closed at the end of the 2022–23 school year
  2. 1 2 This institution was a women's college, therefore it did not compete in men's sports.
  3. ↑ Pine Manor was acquired by Boston College in 2021.

Former members

The ACAA had five other full members during the conference's tenure, one was a private school:

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedLeftSubsequent
conference		Current
conference
Alfred State College Alfred, New York 1908Public [lower-alpha 1] 3,500 Pioneers 20172019 Allegheny (AMCC)
(2019–present)
University of Maine at Presque Isle Presque Isle, Maine 1903Public [lower-alpha 2] 1,469 Owls 2018 North Atlantic (NAC)
(2018–present)
State University of New York at Canton Canton, New York 1906Public [lower-alpha 1] 3,122 Roos
State University of New York at Delhi [lower-alpha 3] Delhi, New York 19133,088 Broncos 2019 North Atlantic (NAC)
(2019–present)
Thomas More University Crestview Hills, Kentucky 1921 Catholic
(Benedictines)		1,963 Saints 2018 Mid-South (MSC) [lower-alpha 4]
(2019–23)		 Great Midwest (G-MAC) [lower-alpha 5]
(2023–present)
Notes
  1. 1 2 Part of the State University of New York System.
  2. ↑ Part of the University of Maine System.
  3. ↑ SUNY–Delhi remained in the ACAA as an affiliate member for men's & women's basketball and softball during the 2019–20 school year.
  4. ↑ Currently an NAIA athletic conference.
  5. ↑ Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.

Former associate members

The ACAA had two associate members during the conference's tenure, both were public schools:

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedLeftACAA
sport		Current
primary
conference		Conference
in former
ACAA
sport
State University of New York at Delhi [lower-alpha 1] Delhi, New York 1913 Public 3,088 Broncos 2019–202019–20men's basketball;
women's basketball;
softball		 North Atlantic (NAC)
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater Whitewater, Wisconsin 186811,722 Warhawks men's soccer Wisconsin (WIAC) Coast 2 Coast (C2C)
Notes
  1. ↑ SUNY–Delhi was a full member of the ACAA from 2017–18 to 2018–19.

Membership timeline

Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceUniversity of Wisconsin–WhitewaterCoast to Coast Athletic ConferenceUniversity of California, Santa CruzGreat Midwest Athletic ConferenceMid-South ConferenceThomas More UniversityCoast to Coast Athletic ConferencePratt InstituteCoast to Coast Athletic ConferenceMount Mary UniversityColonial States Athletic ConferenceUniversity of Valley ForgeNorth Atlantic ConferenceNorth Atlantic ConferenceState University of New York at DelhiNorth Atlantic ConferenceState University of New York at CantonCoast to Coast Athletic ConferencePine Manor CollegeCoast to Coast Athletic ConferenceMills CollegeNorth Atlantic ConferenceUniversity of Maine at Presque IsleCoast to Coast Athletic ConferenceFinlandia UniversityAllegheny Mountain Collegiate ConferenceAlfred State CollegeAmerican Collegiate Athletic Association

Sports

SchoolMen's BasketballWomen's BasketballMen's Cross CountryWomen's Cross CountryMen's SoccerWomen's SoccerSoftballWomen's VolleyballTotal sports
FinlandiaGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg8
Mills†Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg3
Mount Mary†Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg5
Pine ManorGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg8
PrattGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg7
Valley ForgeGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg8
UCSCGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg7
Totals5+16+1575+174+1746+4

† - Women's college, therefore not competing in men's sports.

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References

  1. ↑ "University of Maine at Presque Isle set to join new athletics conference". Bangor Daily News . February 15, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ "New Division III conference approved" D3Sports.com website. Accessed: July 5, 2018.
  3. ↑ "SUNY Canton to Join NAC for 2018-19" SUNY Canton Athletics website. Accessed: May 22, 2018.
  4. ↑ "ACAA Welcomes Mount Mary" American Collegiate Athletic Association website. Accessed: July 5, 2018.
  5. ↑ "NCAA approves Pratt" Archived 2018-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Pratt athletics website. Accessed: March 4, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Alfred State to Join Alleghany Mountain Collegiate Conference" American Collegiate Athletic Association website. Accessed: July 5, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Thomas More Joins ACAA Membership" American Collegiate Athletic Association website. Accessed: July 5, 2018.
  8. ↑ "SUNY Delhi to Join the NAC in 2019" (Press release). North Atlantic Conference. November 30, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Valley Forge to Join CSAC in 2020" American Collegiate Athletic Association website. Accessed: June 15, 2019.
  10. ↑ "UC Santa Cruz finds Conference, joins ACAA for 2019-20" (Press release). University of California, Santa Cruz. July 11, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  11. ↑ "ACAA and Capital Athletic Conference Join Forces" (Press release). American Collegiate Athletic Association. May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  12. ↑ "College Navigator". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
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