Atlantic 10 Conference
The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern Seaboard, as well as some in the Midwest – Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Ohio, and Missouri as well as in the District of Columbia. Although some of its members are state-funded, half of its membership is made up of private, Catholic institutions. Despite the name, there are 14 full-time members, and two affiliate members that participate in women's field hockey only. The current commissioner is Bernadette McGlade, who began her tenure in 2008.
Atlantic 10 Conference | |
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A-10 | |
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Established | 1976 |
Association | NCAA |
Division | Division I |
Subdivision | non-football |
Members | 14 (14 full; 2 associate) |
Sports fielded |
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Region | Eastern United States Midwestern United States |
Former names | Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (1976–77) Eastern Athletic Association (1977–82) Eastern 8 (unofficial, 1976–82) |
Headquarters | Newport News, Virginia |
Commissioner | Bernadette McGlade |
Website | www |
Locations | |
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History
The Atlantic 10 Conference was founded in 1975 as the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (ECBL) and began conference play in 1976. At that time, basketball was its only sport. After its first season, it added sports other than basketball and changed its name to the Eastern Athletic Association. However, despite its official names, it was popularly known as the Eastern 8, as it then had eight members (Villanova, Duquesne, Penn State, West Virginia, George Washington, Massachusetts, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers).
After changes in membership that saw charter members Villanova and Pittsburgh leave (in 1980 and 1982, respectively) and new members St. Bonaventure (1979), Rhode Island (1980), Saint Joseph's (1982), and Temple (1982) enter, establishing the league with 10 members, the conference adopted the current Atlantic 10 name in 1982.
Further membership changes saw the league expand to its maximum of 16 members. From 1997 through 2006, the league also operated a football conference; during that period, more than 20 schools were participating in A-10 competition in at least one sport. This ended when the A-10 football programs all departed to join a new football conference sponsored by the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). In 2012, Butler joined the conference after leaving the Horizon League and VCU joined after leaving the CAA.
Conference realignment in 2013 saw the departure of Temple to the American Athletic Conference, Butler and Xavier to the reconfigured Big East, and Charlotte to Conference USA. George Mason joined from the CAA, and Davidson from the Southern Conference announced they would join in 2014.
The league office headquarters has been located in Newport News, Virginia since the Fall of 2009.[1] Prior to that, the headquarters was in Philadelphia, within a few miles of member schools Saint Joseph's and La Salle.
The conference currently has media deals with ESPN, CBS Sports Network, NBCSN, Stadium, and digital broadcasts with ESPN+.
Member schools
Current members
Full members
The following is a list of the full members of the conference and the year they joined:
- Notes
† – Duquesne left the A-10 for the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now known as the Horizon League) only for the 1992–93 season, but returned in the 1993–94 season.
^ – Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Richmond also played football within the A-10 from 1997 to 2006 after the Yankee Conference was absorbed (however, Richmond's primary conference until 2001 was the CAA).
Associate members
Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joined | Nickname | Primary Conference |
A-10 Sport |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania | Lock Haven, Pennsylvania | 1870 | Public (PASSHE) |
3,425 | 2010 | Bald Eagles | PSAC (D-II) | field hockey |
Saint Francis University | Loretto, Pennsylvania | 1847 | Private - Catholic (Franciscan) |
2,449 | 2013 | Red Flash | NEC | field hockey |
Former members
Former full members
None of these institutions played football in the A-10 during their tenure as full members.
Former associate members
Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joined | Left | Nickname | Primary Conference |
A-10 Sport |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, Pennsylvania | 1880 | Public (PASSHE) |
13,271 (full-time) 2,576 (part-time) |
1996-97 | 2010-11 | Golden Rams | PSAC (D-II) | field hockey |
Former football-only members
After expansion in the Colonial Athletic Association brought that conference to 6 football-playing schools, it was agreed that the CAA would take over management of the Atlantic 10's football conference starting in 2007. All the schools on this list (except Boston U. and Connecticut) were in the A-10 football conference when it became the CAA football conference, but Hofstra and Northeastern discontinued their football programs after the 2009–10 season. Membership dates include time in the Yankee Conference (which was an all-sports conference from 1947 to 1975 and a football-only conference after that) which merged into the A-10 in 1997.
Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joined | Left | Nickname | Primary Conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boston University | Boston, Massachusetts | 1839 | Private | 29,978 | 1973 | 19971 | Terriers | Independent (1975–79) America East (1979–2013) Patriot League (2013–present) |
University of Connecticut | Storrs, Connecticut | 1881 | Public | 25,583 | 1947 | 19992 | Huskies | Independent (1975–79) Big East (1979–2013) The American (2013–2020) Big East (2020–future) |
University of Delaware | Newark, Delaware | 1743 | Public | 19,391 | 1986 | 2006 | Fightin' Blue Hens | East Coast (1986–91) America East (1991–2001) CAA (2001–present) |
Hofstra University | Hempstead, New York | 1935 | Private | 12,400 | 2001 | 20063 | Pride | CAA |
James Madison University | Harrisonburg, Virginia | 1908 | Public | 19,927 | 1993 | 2006 | Dukes | CAA |
University of Maine | Orono, Maine | 1865 | Public | 10,901 | 1947 | 2006 | Black Bears | Independent (1975–79) America East (1979–present) |
University of New Hampshire | Durham, New Hampshire | 1866 | Public | 11,942 | 1947 | 2006 | Wildcats | Independent (1975–79) America East (1979–present) |
Northeastern University | Boston, Massachusetts | 1898 | Private | 12,913 | 1993 | 20064 | Huskies | America East (1993–2005) CAA (2005–present) |
Towson University | Towson, Maryland | 1866 | Public | 21,950 | 2004 | 2006 | Tigers | CAA |
Villanova University5 | Villanova, Pennsylvania | 1842 | Private | 10,482 | 1988 | 2006 | Wildcats | Big East (1979–2013) Big East (2013–present) |
The College of William & Mary | Williamsburg, Virginia | 1693 | Public | 8,258 | 1993 | 2006 | Tribe | CAA |
- Notes
- Boston University dropped football after the 1997–98 season.
- Connecticut moved to FBS after the 1999–2000 season, and eventually joined the Big East for that sport in the 2004–05 season.
- Hofstra dropped football after the 2009–10 season.
- Northeastern dropped football after the 2009–10 season.
- Villanova was originally a charter and full member of the A-10 during the 1976–77 through the 1979–80 seasons in all sports except football.
Membership timeline
![](../I/m/6bb1f624493b015766c16bdb371536b1.png)
Full members Full members (non-football) Associate members (football only) Assoc. member (list sports)
Notes
* - Virginia Tech did not participate in wrestling.
Atlantic 10 rivalries
There are a number of intense rivalries within the Atlantic 10,[under discussion] with rivalries that carry over from the Big 5 which includes Saint Joseph's, La Salle, and Temple (now in the American Athletic Conference). URI and UMass also have a long-standing rivalry. St. Bonaventure and Duquesne also maintain a rivalry that predates their affiliation with the conference. UMass and Temple also had a basketball rivalry while John Chaney was coaching Temple but it has died down a bit since, and even more so now that Temple has left the conference. Due to both teams sharing the Ram mascot, the Fordham - URI rivalry has increased in recent years as the competitions are heralded as "The Battle of the Rams." The long-standing crosstown rivalry between Richmond and VCU, now known as the Capital City Classic, became a conference rivalry with VCU's arrival in the A10. Rivals St. Louis and Dayton play each year in basketball for the Arch-Baron Cup. George Washington and George Mason compete annually in the Revolutionary Rivalry across all sports.
Sports
In the 2017–18 academic year, the Atlantic 10 Conference sponsors championship competition in nine men's and twelve women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[3] In addition to the 14 full members, two Pennsylvania schools, Lock Haven and Saint Francis, are affiliate members in field hockey.
Sport | Men's | Women's |
---|---|---|
Baseball | ||
Basketball | ||
Cross Country | ||
Field Hockey | ||
Golf | ||
Lacrosse | ||
Rowing | ||
Soccer | ||
Softball | ||
Swimming & Diving | ||
Tennis | ||
Track and Field (Indoor) | ||
Track and Field (Outdoor) | ||
Volleyball |
Men's sponsored sports by school
School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross Country | Golf | Soccer | Swimming & Diving | Tennis | Track & Field (Indoor) | Track & Field (Outdoor) | Total A-10 Sports |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Davidson | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Dayton | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Duquesne | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Fordham | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
George Mason | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
George Washington | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
La Salle | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Massachusetts | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Rhode Island | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Richmond | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
St. Bonaventure | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | |
Saint Joseph's | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Saint Louis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
VCU | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Totals |
- Notes
Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Atlantic 10 Conference which are played by A-10 schools:
School | Football | Ice hockey | Lacrosse | Rowing[lower-alpha 1] | Sailing[lower-alpha 2] | Squash[lower-alpha 3] | Volleyball | Water polo | Wrestling |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Davidson | Pioneer | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | SoCon |
Dayton | Pioneer | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Duquesne | Northeast | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Fordham | Patriot | No | No | No | MAISA | CSA | No | CWPA N | No |
George Mason | No | No | No | No | No | No | EIVA | No | MAC |
George Washington | No | No | No | IRA & SIRA[lower-alpha 4] | MAISA[lower-alpha 4] | CSA[lower-alpha 4] | No | CWPA SE | No |
La Salle | No | No | No | IRA | No | No | No | CWPA SW | No |
Massachusetts | FBS Independent | Hockey East | CAA | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Rhode Island | CAA | ESCHL | No | No | NEISA | No | No | No | No |
Richmond | CAA | No | SoCon | No | No | No | No | No | No |
St. Bonaventure | No | No | MAAC | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Saint Joseph's | No | No | Northeast | IRA | No | No | No | No | No |
- Notes
- Men's rowing is sanctioned by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association, not by the NCAA.
- Intercollegiate sailing is sanctioned by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association, not by the NCAA.
- Squash is sanctioned by the College Squash Association (CSA), not by the NCAA.
- George Washington will drop its men's teams in rowing, sailing, and squash after the 2020–21 school year.[4]
Women's sponsored sports by school
School | Basketball | Cross Country | Field Hockey | Lacrosse | Rowing | Soccer | Softball | Swimming & Diving | Tennis | Track & Field (Indoor) | Track & Field (Outdoor) | Volleyball | Total A-10 Sports |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Davidson | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Dayton | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Duquesne | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Fordham | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
George Mason | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
George Washington | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
La Salle | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Massachusetts | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Rhode Island | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Richmond | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
St. Bonaventure | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | ![]() | |
Saint Joseph's | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Saint Louis | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
VCU | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Totals |
- Notes
- St. Bonaventure sponsors an outdoor distance track program but does not participate in short distance or field events.
- Affiliate members Lock Haven and Saint Francis (PA).
Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Atlantic 10 Conference which are played by A-10 schools:
School | Bowling | Golf | Gymnastics | Sailing[lower-alpha 1] | Squash[lower-alpha 2] | Water polo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dayton | No | MAAC | No | No | No | No |
George Washington | No | No | EAGL | MAISA | CSA | CWPA SE[lower-alpha 3] |
La Salle | No | MAAC | No | No | No | MAAC |
Richmond | No | Patriot League | No | No | No | No |
Duquesne | Northeast | No | No | No | No | No |
- Notes
- Intercollegiate sailing is sanctioned by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association, not by the NCAA.
- Squash is sanctioned by the College Squash Association (CSA), not by the NCAA.
- George Washington will drop women's water polo after the 2020–21 school year.[4]
Current tournament champions
The Atlantic 10 Conference sponsors championship competition in nine men's and twelve women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[6]
Regular-season champions are indicated with "(RS)" and tournament champions with "(T)".
Season | Sport | Men's champion | Women's champion |
---|---|---|---|
Fall 2018 | Cross Country | Dayton | Richmond |
Field Hockey | Saint Joseph's (RS & T) | ||
Soccer | VCU (RS) Rhode Island (T) | Saint Louis (RS & T) | |
Volleyball | VCU (RS) Dayton (T) | ||
Winter 2018–19 | Basketball | VCU (RS) Saint Louis (T) | Fordham, VCU (RS) Fordham (T) |
Swimming & Diving | George Washington | Duquesne | |
Track & Field (Indoor) | George Mason | VCU | |
Spring 2019 | Golf | VCU | |
Tennis | VCU | VCU | |
Women's Lacrosse | UMass (RS) Richmond (T) | ||
Baseball | VCU (RS) Fordham (T) | ||
Softball | Fordham (RS) Fordham, George Washington (T)[lower-alpha 1] | ||
Rowing | Rhode Island | ||
Track & Field (Outdoor) | George Mason | George Mason |
- The tournament final was canceled due to weather, and Fordham and GW were declared co-champions.
Football (1997–2006)
Origin
The A-10 began sponsoring football in 1997 when it absorbed the Yankee Conference, a Division I-AA (now known as Division I FCS) football-only conference. The move was triggered by a change in NCAA rules that reduced the influence of single-sport conferences over NCAA legislation. The following teams were in the Yankee Conference at the time of its demise:
- Boston University Terriers football
- Connecticut Huskies football
- Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
- James Madison Dukes football
- Maine Black Bears football
- UMass Minutemen football
- New Hampshire Wildcats football
- Northeastern Huskies football
- Rhode Island Rams football
- Richmond Spiders football
- Villanova Wildcats football
- William & Mary Tribe football
Boston University dropped football after the first season of A-10 football. After the 1999 season, UConn started a transition from Division I-AA to Division I-A football (now Division I FBS) that was completed in 2002. In 2004, UConn, already a member of the Big East for other sports, became a football member of that conference. The other schools all remained in the A-10 football conference until the management change after the 2006 season.
Football champions
Season | Regular Season Champion |
---|---|
1997 | Villanova |
1998 | Richmond |
1999 | James Madison, Massachusetts |
2000 | Delaware, Richmond |
2001 | Hofstra, Maine, Villanova, William & Mary |
2002 | Maine, Northeastern |
2003 | Delaware, Massachusetts |
2004 | Delaware, James Madison, William & Mary |
2005 | New Hampshire, Richmond |
2006 | Massachusetts |
Demise/"Rename"
The 2005 move of Northeastern University, a football-only member of the A-10, to the Colonial Athletic Association for basketball and Olympic sports began a chain of events that would lead to the demise of the A-10 football conference, at least under the A-10 banner.
At that time, the CAA did not sponsor football, but five of its members in the 2004–05 academic year (Delaware, Hofstra, James Madison, Towson, and William & Mary) were football members of the A-10. The addition of Northeastern gave the CAA six schools with football programs, which under NCAA rules allows a conference to sponsor football. Northeastern agreed to join any future CAA football conference, which meant that the A-10 football conference would drop to six members once CAA football began operation.
With six football members in place, the CAA decided to start a football conference in 2007. The league then invited Richmond, a member of the CAA from 1983 to 2001, to rejoin for football only, because of UR's long-standing in-state rivalries with William & Mary and James Madison. UR accepted the invitation, taking the A-10 football conference below the NCAA minimum of six. Shortly after this, the A-10 football conference opted to disband, with all of its members becoming charter members of the CAA football conference.
A-10 schools in DI-A/FBS
A-10 charter members Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, West Virginia, and Villanova played I-A football as independents while members of the A-10 in other sports. Villanova became a member of the Big East in 1980 with Pittsburgh following in 1982. Temple joined the A-10 that year. Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1991 (effectively in 1993), and three A-10 members joined the Big East as football-only members: Rutgers, West Virginia, and Temple (only Rutgers and West Virginia would later join the Big East as full members in 1995).
Virginia Tech joined the A-10 in 1995 as a result of the merger that created Conference USA. They would then join the Big East as full members in 2000, following the football program which was already a member of the league. Temple remained a football-only member of the Big East until 2004; they would join the MAC for football in 2007 until 2012, and re-joined the Big East in football for the 2012 season. Temple planned to move the rest of its sports into the Big East in 2013, but the conference realigned into the football-sponsoring American Athletic Conference and a new non-football Big East. Temple joined The American. Massachusetts joined them in FBS football with membership in the MAC beginning in the 2012 season and as an FBS independent beginning in 2016. Charlotte, which started a football program in 2013, left for Conference USA.
A-10 schools in DI-A/FBS | |
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Schools Currently in the A-10 | Schools formerly in the A-10 |
Massachusetts | Penn State |
Pittsburgh | |
Rutgers | |
West Virginia | |
Temple | |
Virginia Tech | |
Charlotte |
Facilities
References
- Archived February 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- Rutgers spent one year in the renamed American Athletic Conference before joining the Big Ten in 2014.
- Atlantic 10 Conference Official Athletic Site. Atlantic10.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-21.
- "University Efforts Streamline GW Athletics" (Press release). George Washington Colonials. July 31, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2015-09-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Atlantic 10 Conference Official Athletic Site". www.atlantic10.com.