Presidents' Athletic Conference

The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Of its 10 current member schools, all private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning, eight are located in Western Pennsylvania. The other two are located in areas adjacent and historically tied to Western Pennsylvania—Appalachian Ohio and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.

Presidents' Athletic Conference
PAC
Established	1955
Association	NCAA
Division	Division III
Members	10
Sports fielded	23 men's: 12 women's: 11
Region	Appalachia
Headquarters	Wexford, Pennsylvania
Commissioner	Joe Onderko (since 2006)
Website	pacathletics.org
Locations

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 (1955–1988) and Wayne State University (1955–1967).[1] Unlike other conferences at that time, the PAC was designed to be controlled 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 only based on academic achievement or need.[1]

By 1958, the PAC expanded east to include Allegheny College (1958–1984), Bethany College (1958–present), Thiel College (1958–present) and Washington & Jefferson College (1958–present).[1] Eventually, many other member institutions joined the PAC, like Chatham University (2007–present), Geneva College (2007–present), Grove City College (1984–present), Saint Vincent College (2006–present), Thomas More College (2005–2018), Waynesburg University (1990–present) and Westminster College (2000–present).[2]

Some former PAC member institutions include Alfred University (1996–1998), Carnegie Mellon University (1968–1989), Eastern Michigan University (1962–1967) and Hiram College (1972–1989).[2] On May 31, 2017, Thomas More College, now designated as a "University", announced its withdrawal from the PAC at the conclusion of the 2017–18 school year.[3]

The most recent change to the PAC membership was announced 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]

The headquarters is located in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.[5]

Membership evolution[2]

• 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.
• 1988 – John Carroll University leaves the PAC.
• 1989 – Carnegie Mellon University and Hiram College leave the PAC.
• 1990 – Waynesburg College (now 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.

Member schools

Current members

Institution	Location	Nickname	Founded	Enrollment	Joined	Colors
Bethany College	Bethany, West Virginia	Bison	1840	1,030	1958
Chatham University	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Cougars	1869	2,300	2007
Franciscan University of Steubenville	Steubenville, Ohio	Barons	1946	2,716	2020
Geneva College	Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania	Golden Tornadoes	1848	1,791	2007
Grove City College	Grove City, Pennsylvania	Wolverines	1876	2,500	1984
Saint Vincent College	Latrobe, Pennsylvania	Bearcats	1846	1,652	2006
Thiel College	Greenville, Pennsylvania	Tomcats	1866	1,066	1958
Washington & Jefferson College	Washington, Pennsylvania	Presidents	1781	1,519	1958
Waynesburg University	Waynesburg, Pennsylvania	Yellow Jackets	1849	1,500	1990
Westminster College	New Wilmington, Pennsylvania	Titans	1852	1,482	2000

• Franciscan was a PAC associate member in seven sports before becoming a full member in 2020:
  • Men's and women's lacrosse joined in 2018.
  • Women's golf, plus men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, joined in 2019.

Associate members

The PAC currently has two associate members, both of which joined for football only in 2014 and have remained in PAC football to this day.

Institution	Location	Nickname	Founded	Enrollment	Joined	Primary conference	PAC Sport(s)
Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Tartans	1900	6,362	2014–15	UAA	football
Case Western Reserve University	Cleveland, Ohio	Spartans	1826	5,383	2014–15	UAA	football

Former members

Institution	Location	Nickname	Founded	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Current conference
Allegheny College	Meadville, Pennsylvania	Gators	1815	2,100	1958	1984	NCAC
Alfred University	Alfred, New York	Saxons	1836	2,300	1996	1998	Empire 8
Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Tartans	1900	6,170	1968	1989	UAA
Case Institute of Technology	Cleveland, Ohio	Rough Riders	1880	n/a	1955	1970	n/a[fm 1]
Case Western Reserve University	Cleveland, Ohio	Spartans	1967	5,121	1970	1984	UAA
Eastern Michigan University	Ypsilanti, Michigan	Eagles	1849	22,974	1962	1967	MAC (NCAA Division I)
Hiram College	Hiram, Ohio	Terriers	1850	1,271	1972	1989	NCAC
John Carroll University	University Heights, Ohio	Blue Streaks	1886	3,726	1955	1988	OAC
Thomas More University[fm 2]	Crestview Hills, Kentucky	Saints	1921	1,900	2005	2018	Mid-South (NAIA)
Wayne State University	Detroit, Michigan	Tartars[fm 3]	1868	32,564	1955	1967	GLIAC (NCAA Division II)
Western Reserve University[fm 4]	Cleveland, Ohio	Red Cats	1826	n/a	1955	1970	n/a[fm 1]

Notes

1. Case Tech and Western Reserve University merged in 1967, but the athletic programs continued to operate separately through the 1969–70 school year.
2. 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.
3. Wayne State joined the conference as Wayne University. It adopted its current name in 1956 and its current nickname of Warriors in 1999.
4. 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.

Membership timeline

Sports

See also: Presidents' Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross country	Y	Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Lacrosse	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Swimming & diving	Y	Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & field (indoor)	Y	Y
Track & field (outdoor)	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y
Wrestling	Y

References

1. 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.
2. http://www.pacathletics.org/links/recordbook.pdf
3. "Thomas More to Withdraw from PAC" (Press release). Thomas More Saints. May 31, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
4. "PAC adds Franciscan as full member" (Press release). Presidents' Athletic Conference. April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
5. http://www.pacathletics.org/links/pac_members.html

External links

Media related to Presidents' Athletic Conference at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website