University Athletic Association

For the organization at the University of Florida with the same name, see University of Florida Athletic Association.

The University Athletic Association (UAA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Member schools are highly selective universities located in Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The eight members are Brandeis University, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Emory University, New York University, The University of Chicago, University of Rochester, and Washington University in St. Louis.

University Athletic Association

Association	NCAA
Founded	1986
Commissioner	Sarah Otey (since 2024)
Sports fielded	20 men's: 10 women's: 10
Division	Division III
No. of teams	8
Headquarters	Rochester, New York
Region	Eastern United States; Missouri
Official website	uaasports.info
Locations

Academics

All UAA member schools are private, and ranked in the top 50 of national research universities by U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges Rankings. Historically, the division was colloquially called the "egghead eight", or "nerdy nine" when Johns Hopkins was a member. This stems both from the academic strength of the member schools, and the fact that the conference prioritizes academic achievement over athletic prowess.^[1][2] The UAA was the only NCAA conference to have all of its member institutions affiliated with the Association of American Universities, a collection of 65 Ph.D.-granting research institutions, with 63 in the United States and two in Canada, from 2011, when Nebraska joined the previously all-AAU Big Ten, until 2019 when Dartmouth became the last Ivy League institution to join the AAU.^[3]

History

University Athletic Association

220km
137miles

Emory

WashU

Chicago

Carnegie Mellon

Case Western Reserve

NYU

Rochester

Brandeis

   

Locations of UAA members

Chronological timeline

• 1986 – In 1986, the University Athletic Association (UAA) was founded. Charter members included Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, New York University, The University of Chicago, the University of Rochester, and Washington University in St. Louis, effective beginning the 1986–87 academic year.
• 1987 – Brandeis University joined the UAA, effective in the 1987–88 academic year.
• 2001 – Johns Hopkins left the UAA to fully align all its sports into the Centennial Conference, effective after the 2000–01 academic year.
• 2018 – The UAA dropped football as a sponsored sport, due to its members joining other athletic conferences for that sport as affiliates or associates, effective after the 2017 fall season (2017–18 academic year).

Member schools

Current members

The UAA currently has eight full members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Undergraduate enrollment	Total enrollment	Nickname	School colors	USNWR Ranking	Endowment (Billion)[4]	Joined[a]	Fall 2020 acceptance rate[6]	Alumni median starting salary[7]
Brandeis University[b]	Waltham, Massachusetts	1948	3,608	5,788	Judges		44	$1.07	1987	31%	$50,600
Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	1900	6,673	10,875	Tartans		22	$2.67	1986	22%	$110,000[8]
Case Western Reserve University[c]	Cleveland, Ohio	1826	6,186	12,266	Spartans		44	$2.35	1986	27%	$61,300
Emory University	Atlanta, Georgia	1836	6,861	12,755	Eagles		22	$7.94	1986	15%	$54,600
New York University	Manhattan, New York	1831	26,135	42,189	Violets		25	$5.8	1986	15%	$54,400
University of Chicago	Chicago, Illinois	1890	5,941	14,788	Maroons		6	$11.6	1986	6%	$54,400
University of Rochester[d]	Rochester, New York	1850	6,386	9,735	Yellowjackets		36	$3.71	1986	29%	$54,800
Washington University in St. Louis	St. Louis, Missouri	1853	7,540	13,527	Bears	[9]	15	$15.3	1986	14%	$57,300

Notes

1. All of the universities listed above are founding members except Brandeis, which joined shortly before official competition began in October 1987.^[5] Johns Hopkins University was a founding member, but no longer participates in the UAA.
2. Brandeis had dual athletic conference membership with the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference from 1987–88 to 1994–95, then the Judges' women's sports left the NEWMAC in order to fully align with the UAA, along with its men's sports.
3. Case Western Reserve had dual athletic conference membership with the North Coast Athletic Conference from 1986–87 to 1998–99, then the Spartans left the NCAC in order to fully align with the UAA.
4. Rochester has dual athletic conference membership with the Liberty League since the 1995–96 school year.

Former member

The UAA had one former full member, which was also a private school:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	School colors	Current conference
Johns Hopkins University[a]	Baltimore, Maryland	1876	Nonsectarian	19,758	Blue Jays	1986	2001		Centennial

Notes

1. Johns Hopkins had dual athletic conference membership with the Middle Atlantic Conferences from 1986–87 to 1991–92, and later with the Centennial Conference from 1992–93 to 2000–01, then the Blue Jays left the UAA in order to fully align with the Centennial Conference.

Membership timeline

Conference facilities

School	Football stadium	Football capacity	Basketball arena	Basketball capacity	Baseball stadium	Baseball capacity	Soccer stadium	Soccer capacity
Brandeis	Non-Football School[a]	N/A	Auerbach Arena	2,500	Stein Diamond	500	Gordon Field	1,000
Carnegie Mellon	Gesling Stadium[b]	3,900	Wiegand Gymnasium	1,000	Non-Baseball School	N/A	Gesling Stadium	3,900
Case Western Reserve	DiSanto Field[b]	2,500	Horsburgh Gym	1,200	Nobby's Ballpark	500	DiSanto Field	2,500
Chicago	Stagg Field[c]	1,650	Gerald Ratner Athletics Center	1,900	J. Kyle Anderson Field[c]		Stagg Field	1,650
Emory	Non-Football School[d]	N/A	Woodruff P.E. Center	2,000	Chappell Park (baseball); George F. Cooper, Jr. Field (softball)		Woodruff P.E. Center
NYU	Non-Football School[e]	N/A	Coles Sports Center	1,900	Maimonides Park	7,500	Gaelic Park	2,000
Rochester	Fauver Stadium[f]	5,000	Louis Alexander Palestra	1,889	Towers Field[f]		Fauver Stadium	5,000
WashU	Francis Field[g]	3,300	Field House	3,000	Kelly Field		Francis Field	3,300

1. Brandeis discontinued its football program in May 1960.^[10] President Abram Sachar pointed to the cost of the team as one reason for the decision.^[10]
2. Carnegie Mellon and Case Western currently play football in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.
3. Chicago currently plays football and baseball in the Midwest Conference.
4. Emory has never had an intercollegiate football team.^[11]
5. NYU discontinued its football program in 1952.^[12]
6. Rochester competes in the Liberty League in baseball, football, and numerous other sports.
7. WashU currently plays football in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

Sports

The UAA sanctions competition in the following sports:

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Swimming & Diving	Y	Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & Field (Indoor)	Y	Y
Track & Field (Outdoor)	Y	Y
Wrestling	Y
Volleyball		Y

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Wrestling	Total UAA Sports
Brandeis	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	8
Carnegie Mellon	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	8
Case Western Reserve	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Chicago	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Emory	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	9
NYU	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Rochester	LL	Y	Y	LL	Y	Y	Y	LL	LL	N	5
WashU	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	8
Totals	6	8	8	3	8	8	8	7	7	3	66

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the UAA

School	Fencing	Football	Squash	Volleyball
Brandeis	NFC
Carnegie Mellon		CC
Case Western Reserve		PAC
Chicago		MWC
NYU	IND			UVC
Rochester		LL	LL
WashU		CCIW

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Total UAA Sports
Brandeis	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Carnegie Mellon	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Case Western Reserve	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Chicago	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Emory	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
NYU	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Rochester	Y	Y	N	Y	LL	Y	Y	LL	LL	Y	6
WashU	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Totals	8	8	4	8	7	8	8	7	7	8	73

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the UAA

School	Fencing	Field Hockey	Lacrosse	Rowing
Brandeis	NFC		2026-27
Chicago			IND
NYU	IND
Rochester		LL	LL	LL