Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference

The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (or CACC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its eleven member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference

Association	NCAA
Founded	1961
Commissioner	Daniel Mara (since 2006)
Sports fielded	17 men's: 8 women's: 9
Division	Division II
No. of teams	11
Headquarters	New Haven, Connecticut
Region	Atlantic Coast
Official website	caccathletics.org
Locations

The CACC was founded in 1961 as an athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and later joined the NCAA in 2002 on provisional status. The CACC Conference Office has been located in New Haven, Connecticut since 2004, the same year that it upgraded to full active status. The CACC has three full-time staff members and one part-time.^[1]

History

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference

50km
31miles

Lincoln

Bridgeport

Chestnut Hill

Jefferson

Wilmington

Holy Family

Goldey–Beacom

Felician

Post

Caldwell

Georgian Court

Dominican

   

Location of CACC members: full, affiliate

On August 2, 2022, the CACC announced that it added bowling, a women-only sport in the NCAA, that began in the 2023 spring season (2022–23 academic year), with full members Bloomfield, Caldwell, Chestnut Hill, Felician, Holy Family, and Wilmington as the inaugural teams. All but Holy Family, which launched its varsity team in 2022–23, had previously been affiliates of the East Coast Conference in that sport.^[2]

On November 28, 2023, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania accepted an invitation to join the CACC as an associate member in baseball and women's soccer, beginning the 2024–25 academic year.^[3]

Chronological timeline

• 1961 – The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) was founded. Charter members included Bloomfield College (now Bloomfield College of Montclair State University), Adelphi Suffolk College (later Dowling College), The King's College, the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, Southampton College of Long Island University, Marist College, Monmouth College of New Jersey and Nyack College (later Alliance University), beginning the 1961–62 academic year.
• 1965 – St. Thomas Aquinas College joined the CACC in the 1965–66 academic year.
• 1981 – Marist left the CACC to join the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ECAC Metro Conference (now known as the Northeast Conference) after the 1980–81 academic year.
• 1982 – Dominican College of New York (now Dominican University New York) joined the CACC in the 1982–83 academic year.
• 1983 – Georgian Court College (now Georgian Court University) joined the CACC in the 1983–84 academic year.
• 1985 – Monmouth (N.J.) left the CACC to fully align with the NCAA Division I ranks and join the ECAC Metro after the 1984–85 academic year.
• 1987 – Caldwell College (now Caldwell University) and Post College (now Post University) joined the CACC in the 1987–88 academic year.
• 1999:
  • St. Thomas Aquinas left the CACC to join the NCAA Division II ranks as an NCAA D-II Independent (which would later join the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC, now known as the East Coast Conference) beginning the 2000–01 school year.) after the 1998–99 academic year.
  • Felician College (now Felician University), Goldey–Beacom College, Holy Family College (now Holy Family University), the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP; later the University of the Sciences before being absorbed by Saint Joseph's University in 2022) and Wilmington College of Delaware (now Wilmington University) joined the CACC in the 1999–2000 academic year.
• 2000 – The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) joined the CACC in the 2000–01 academic year.
• 2002 – The CACC was granted provisional membership status within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II ranks, transitioning from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the 2002–03 academic year.
• 2004 – The CACC had achieved full membership status within the NCAA Division II ranks in the 2004–05 academic year.
• 2005 – Philadelphia University (now Thomas Jefferson University) joined the CACC in the 2005–06 academic year.
• 2006 – NJIT left the CACC to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an NCAA D-I Independent after the 2005–06 academic year.
• 2007 – Chestnut Hill College joined the CACC in the 2007–08 academic year.
• 2009 – Concordia College of New York joined the CACC in the 2009–10 academic year.
• 2017 – The CACC began sponsoring men's lacrosse, with play starting in the 2018 spring season (2017–18 academic year).
• 2021 – Concordia (NY) left the CACC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the 2020–21 academic year.
• 2022:
  • USciences left the CACC when it merged into Saint Joseph's University at the end of the 2021–22 academic year.
  • The University of Bridgeport joined the CACC in the 2022–23 academic year.
  • The CACC began sponsoring bowling, a women-only sport in the NCAA, with play starting the 2023 spring season (2022–23 academic year), with full members Bloomfield, Caldwell, Chestnut Hill, Felician, Holy Family, and Wilmington as the inaugural teams. All but Holy Family, which launched its varsity team in 2022–23, had previously been affiliates of the East Coast Conference in that sport.
• 2023 – Alliance left the CACC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the 2022–23 academic year.
• 2024 – Lincoln University of Pennsylvania joined the CACC as an associate member for baseball and women's soccer in the 2024–25 academic year.
• 2025 – Bloomfield left the CACC and the NCAA to join the USCAA as an independent after the 2024–25 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The CACC currently has 11 full members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]	Colors
University of Bridgeport	Bridgeport, Connecticut	1927	Nonsectarian	3,838	Purple Knights	2022[4]
Caldwell University	Caldwell, New Jersey	1939	Catholic (OP)	2,193	Cougars	1987
Chestnut Hill College	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	1924	Catholic (CSJ)	1,417	Griffins	2007
Dominican University New York	Orangeburg, New York	1952	Catholic (DS)	1,083	Chargers	1982
Felician University	Rutherford, New Jersey	1923	Catholic (CSSF)	2,427	Golden Falcons	1999
Georgian Court University[b]	Lakewood, New Jersey	1908	Catholic (RSM)	1,910	Lions	1983
Goldey–Beacom College	Wilmington, Delaware	1886	Nonsectarian	1,074	Lightning	1999
Holy Family University	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	1954	Catholic (C.S.F.N.)	3,278	Tigers	1999
Post University	Waterbury, Connecticut	1890	For-profit	21,699	Eagles	1987
Thomas Jefferson University[c]	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	1824	Nonsectarian	8,315	Rams	2005
Wilmington University	New Castle, Delaware	1968	Nonsectarian	20,384	Wildcats	1999

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. This institution was a women's college, but has since then been a co-educational institution, therefore it does compete in some men's sports (Georgian Court since 2013–14).
3. Jefferson joined the CACC as Philadelphia University. In 2017, PhilaU merged with Thomas Jefferson University, a healthcare-only institution with no athletic program, with the merged institution taking the Thomas Jefferson name. The former PhilaU athletic program has since competed as the Jefferson Rams.^[5]

Associate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]	Colors	CACC sport(s)	Primary conference
Lincoln University	Chester County, Pennsylvania	1854	State-related (HBCU)	1,848	Lions	2024bsb.		baseball	Central (CIAA)
						2024w.soc.		women's soccer

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.

Former members

The CACC had twelve former full members; all but two were private schools.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]	Left[b]	Current conference
Alliance University[c]	New York City, New York	1882	Christian (C&MA)	3,318	Warriors	1961	2023	Closed in 2023
Bloomfield College (of Montclair State)	Bloomfield, New Jersey	1868	Public	1,533	Bears	1961	2025	USCAA Independent
Concordia College	Bronxville, New York	1881	Lutheran LCMS	N/A	Clippers	2009	2021	Closed in 2021[d]
Dowling College	Oakdale, New York	1955	Nonsectarian	N/A	Golden Lions	1961	1989	Closed in 2016
The King's College	New York City, New York	1938	Christian (Nondenominational)	550	Lions	1961	1989	Hudson Valley (HVIAC)[e]
Long Island University–Post	Brookville, New York	1954	Nonsectarian	8,472	Pioneers	1961	1989	Northeast (NEC)[f][g]
Marist College	Poughkeepsie, New York	1929	Nonsectarian[h]	6,624	Red Foxes	1961	1981	Metro Atlantic (MAAC)[f]
Monmouth University	West Long Branch, New Jersey	1933	Nonsectarian	6,167	Hawks	1961	1985	Coastal (CAA)[f]
New Jersey Institute of Technology	Newark, New Jersey	1968	Public	11,652	Highlanders	2000	2006	America East (AmEast)[f]
St. Thomas Aquinas College	Sparkill, New York	1952	Catholic (D.S.S.)	2,400	Spartans	1965	1999	East Coast (ECC)
University of the Sciences	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	1821	Nonsectarian	2,749	Devils	1998	2022	Closed in 2022[i]
Southampton College of Long Island University	Southampton, New York	1963	Nonsectarian	N/A	Colonials	1961	1989	Closed in 2005[j]

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
3. Formerly known as Nyack College until 2022.
4. Concordia (N.Y.)'s campus was later sold to nearby Iona College (now Iona University).^[6]
5. Currently an USCAA athletic conference.
6. Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
7. Long Island University merged the Post athletic program with the NCAA Division I program of its Brooklyn campus in 2019. The merged program inherited the Division I membership of the Brooklyn campus, and now competes in the Northeast Conference as the LIU Sharks.
8. Marist was a Catholic institution operated by the Marist Brothers when it joined the CACC. In 1969, control of the college was transferred from the order to a separate organization primarily staffed by laypeople. Marist is now officially nonsectarian, but it was not treated as such by the Catholic Church until 2003, long after leaving the CACC.
9. USciences merged with Division I Saint Joseph's University and discontinued athletics following the 2021–22 school year.
10. LIU Southampton's campus was later sold to Stony Brook University in 2006.^[7]

Membership timeline

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football)   Associate member (sport) 

Sports

See also: CACC men's basketball tournament and CACC women's basketball tournament

A divisional format is used for baseball, men's & women's basketball, and volleyball. In baseball, Georgian Court is placed in the North Division.
North Bloomfield Bridgeport Caldwell Dominican Felician Post	South Chestnut Hill Georgian Court Goldey–Beacom Holy Family Jefferson Wilmington

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Bowling		Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Golf	Y
Lacrosse	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & Field Outdoor	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross country	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Track & field outdoor	Total CACC sports
Bridgeport	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y		5
Caldwell	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	6
Chestnut Hill	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Dominican	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Felician	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		6
Georgian Court	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	6
Goldey–Beacom	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	6
Holy Family	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	6
Jefferson	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	6
Post	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Wilmington	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Totals	11+1[a]	11	11	7	9	11	9	75+1

1. Affiliate member Lincoln.

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Bowling[a]	Cross country	Lacrosse	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & field outdoor	Volleyball	Total CACC sports
Bridgeport	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y			Y	6
Caldwell	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Chestnut Hill	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Dominican	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Felician	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	8
Georgian Court	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	7
Goldey–Beacom	Y		Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Holy Family	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	8
Jefferson	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Post	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Wilmington	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Totals	11	5	11	10	11+1[b]	11	7	10	11	87+1

1. De facto Division I sport. The NCAA operates a single championship in bowling open to members of all three divisions.
2. Affiliate member Lincoln.

Other sponsored sports by school

School		Men								Women
		Football	Ice hockey	Swimming & diving	Tennis	Track & field indoor	Volleyball [a]	Wrestling		Golf	Gymnastics	Ice hockey[a]	Rowing	Swimming & diving	Track & field indoor
Bridgeport				NE-10							GEC			NE-10
Chestnut Hill					PSAC
Dominican							ECC
Felician				NE-10				IND						NE-10
Georgian Court						ECC									ECC
Holy Family						ECC									ECC
Jefferson					PSAC					NE-10			IND
Post		NE-10	NE-10			ECC				IND		NEWHA			ECC

1. De facto Division I sport. The NCAA conducts combined national championships open to Division I and Division II members in both women's ice hockey and men's volleyball.