Presidents' Athletic Conference

The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Of its 12 member schools, all private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning, nine are located in Western Pennsylvania. The other three are located in adjacent areas, historically tied to Western Pennsylvania—Appalachian Ohio, Northeast Ohio, and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.

Presidents' Athletic Conference

Association	NCAA
Founded	1955
Commissioner	Joe Onderko (since 2006)
Sports fielded	24 men's: 13 women's: 12
Division	Division III
No. of teams	12 (13 in 2026)
Headquarters	New Wilmington, Pennsylvania
Region	Appalachia
Official 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 (1955–1989) 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 joined 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]

On March 25, 2025, the PAC announced that Saint Francis University would be reclassifying from Division I and the Northeast Conference and will compete in the PAC effective July 1, 2026. Saint Francis will join for administrative purposes on July 1, 2025, but will not be eligible for the NCAA tournaments until the 2029–30 academic year.

The headquarters is located in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.^[7]

Timeline

Source:^[2]

Presidents' Athletic Conference

50km
31miles

Bethany

Saint Francis

Hiram

Allegheny

Case Western

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]
• 2025
  • Carnegie Mellon announced on Sept. 9, 2024, that it will leave the PAC to join the Centennial Conference as an associate football member in time for the 2025 season.^[10]
  • Saint Francis University announced on March 25, 2025, that it would reclassify from Division I to Division III and leave the Northeast Conference for the PAC, beginning in the 2026–27 academic year. It will join the PAC for administrative purposes only on July 1, 2025.^[11]

Member schools

Current full members

The Presidents' has 12 full members, all private schools.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]	Colors	Football?
Allegheny College	Meadville, Pennsylvania	1815	Methodist	1,442	Gators	2022[b]		Yes
Bethany College	Bethany, West Virginia	1840	Disciples of Christ	650	Bison	1958		Yes
Chatham University[c]	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	1869	Nonsectarian	2,300	Cougars	2007		No
Franciscan University of Steubenville	Steubenville, Ohio	1946	Catholic (Franciscan Friars)	2,716	Barons	2020[d]		No
Geneva College	Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania	1848	Reformed	1,791	Golden Tornadoes	2007		Yes
Grove City College	Grove City, Pennsylvania	1876	Nondenominational[e]	2,500	Wolverines	1984		Yes
Hiram College	Hiram, Ohio	1850	Disciples of Christ	1,271	Terriers	1971; 2025[f][g]		Yes
Saint Vincent College	Latrobe, Pennsylvania	1846	Catholic (Benedictines)	1,652	Bearcats	2006		Yes
Thiel College	Greenville, Pennsylvania	1866	Lutheran ELCA	790	Tomcats	1958		Yes
Washington & Jefferson College	Washington, Pennsylvania	1781	Nonsectarian	1,519	Presidents	1958		Yes
Waynesburg University	Waynesburg, Pennsylvania	1849	Presbyterian	1,500	Yellow Jackets	1990		Yes
Westminster College	New Wilmington, Pennsylvania	1852	Presbyterian	1,482	Titans	2000		Yes

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. Allegheny was previously a full member of the PAC from 1958–59 to 1983–84.
3. This institution is a former women's college, which has eventually turned into a co-educational college (Chatham since 2015–16).
4. Franciscan joined the PAC as an associate member in seven sports before becoming a full member (beginning the 2020–21 school year), which consisted of the following: 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.
5. Formerly affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).
6. Hiram was previously a full member of the PAC from 1971–72 to 1988–89.
7. Hiram joined 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]

Future full members

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]	Colors	Football?	Current conference
Saint Francis University	Loretto, Pennsylvania	1847	Catholic (Franciscan)	2,111	Red Flash	2026[b][11]		Yes	Northeast (NEC)[c]

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. Saint Francis will join for administrative purposes in 2025–26, but will not start conference competition until 2026–27.
3. Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.

Associate members

The Presidents' has one associate member, who joined for football only starting in the 2014 fall season (2014–15 school year) and has remained in PAC football to this day.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]	Primary conference	PAC sport(s)
Case Western Reserve University[b]	Cleveland, Ohio	1826	Nonsectarian	6,186	Spartans	2014	University (UAA)	football

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. Case Western Reserve was previously a full member of the PAC from 1970–71 to 1983–84.

Former full members

The Presidents' has 9 former full members, with all but two being private schools.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]	Left[b]	Current conference
Alfred University	Alfred, New York	1836	Nonsectarian	2,300	Saxons	1996	1998	Empire 8
Carnegie Mellon University[c]	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	1900	Nonsectarian	6,170	Tartans	1968	1990	University (UAA)
Case Institute of Technology	Cleveland, Ohio	1880	Nonsectarian	N/A	Rough Riders	1955	1970	N/A[d][e]
Case Western Reserve University[f]	Cleveland, Ohio	1967	Nonsectarian	5,121	Spartans	1970	1984	University (UAA)
Eastern Michigan University	Ypsilanti, Michigan	1849	Public	22,974	Eagles	1962	1967	Mid-American (MAC)[g]
John Carroll University	University Heights, Ohio	1886	Catholic (Jesuit)	3,726	Blue Streaks	1955	1989	North Coast (NCAC)
Thomas More University[h]	Crestview Hills, Kentucky	1921	Catholic (Benedictine Sisters)	1,900	Saints	2005	2018	Great Midwest (G-MAC)[i]
Wayne State University	Detroit, Michigan	1868	Public	32,564	Tartars[j]	1955	1967	Great Lakes (GLIAC)[i]
Western Reserve University[k]	Cleveland, Ohio	1826	Nonsectarian	N/A	Red Cats	1955	1970	N/A[l][e]

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
3. Carnegie Mellon returned to the PAC as an associate member for football from the 2014 fall season to the 2024 fall season (2014–15 school year to 2024–25 school year).
4. Case Tech merged with Western Reserve University in 1967.
5. Case Tech and Western Reserve University merged in 1967, but the athletic programs continued to operate separately through the 1969–70 school year.
6. Case Western Reserve rejoined the PAC as an associate member for football starting with the 2014 fall season (2014–15 school year).
7. Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
8. 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.
9. Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
10. Wayne State joined the PAC as Wayne University. It adopted its current name in 1956 and its current nickname of Warriors in 1999.
11. 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.
12. Western Reserve merged with Case Institute of Technology in 1967.

Former associate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]	Left	Primary conference	PAC sport(s)
Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	1900	Nonsectarian	6,362	Tartans	2014	2025	University (UAA)	football
Hiram College[b]	Hiram, Ohio	1850	Disciples of Christ	1,271	Terriers	2024	2025	PAC	men's volleyball

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	Y
Wrestling	Y

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. Hiram returned to the PAC as an associate member for men's volleyball starting with the 2025 spring season (2024–25 school year), and will return to PAC competition in all sports in 2025–26.

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.^[12]