The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) was an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other college athletic conferences, Atlantic Hockey had no women's division, though it shared some organizational and administrative roles with the women's-only College Hockey America (CHA).
John McGrane is a Scottish-Canadian former soccer player who played as a defender.
Tom Parrotta is an American college basketball coach, currently an assistant coach at Hofstra and former head men's basketball coach at Canisius College.
The Canisius University Golden Griffins are composed of 16 teams representing Canisius University in intercollegiate athletics. These teams include men's and women's basketball, cross country, track, lacrosse, soccer, and swimming and diving. Men's sports include baseball, ice hockey, and golf. Women's sports include volleyball, soccer, and softball. The Golden Griffins compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for most sports, excluding men's ice hockey which competes in Atlantic Hockey.
The Niagara Purple Eagles men's soccer team is the men's college soccer team that represent Niagara University and competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) of NCAA Division I. The Purple Eagles play their home games at Niagara Field on the campus of Niagara University. The team colors are purple PMS 268 and white.
The Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Canisius University. The Golden Griffins are members of Atlantic Hockey America, formed shortly after the 2023–24 season by the merger of their former hockey league, the Atlantic Hockey Association, with College Hockey America. They play at the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo, New York across the street from KeyBank Center, home of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. Canisius has won an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament twice, after winning the Atlantic Hockey title in the conference playoffs in both 2013 and 2023, but lost in the first round to the top-ranked team each time.
The Western New York Little Three Conference was an athletic conference that existed from 1946 to 1958. Its three member schools, Canisius College, Niagara University, and St. Bonaventure University, are Roman Catholic institutions located in Western New York.
Michael Tanke is an American former soccer player and current coach.
The Niagara Purple Eagles are athletics teams that represent Niagara University in college sports. Part of the NCAA's Division I, the Purple Eagles field 19 varsity level teams. The Purple Eagles are full members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the ice hockey-only Atlantic Hockey America, and are also members of the Northeast Conference for women's bowling. Between 1946 and 1958, Niagara was a member of the Western New York Little Three Conference.
Buffalo, New York and its greater metropolitan area is currently home to two major league sports teams, the Buffalo Sabres & Buffalo Bills. Buffalo is also home to several other major and minor league sports teams, including the Buffalo Bandits, Buffalo Bisons, Buffalo eXtreme and FC Buffalo. Local colleges active in NCAA Division I athletics include Canisius University, Niagara University, St. Bonaventure University and University at Buffalo.
Mike McRae is a Canadian college baseball coach who was the head baseball coach at the College of William & Mary. He was formerly an assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and head coach of the Canisius Golden Griffins. McRae was Canisius's head coach from the start of the 2005 season to the end of the 2017 season. Under McRae in 2013, Canisius advanced to its first NCAA tournament. Before becoming the head coach at Canisius, he was the head coach at Niagara from 2002–2004, and an assistant at several NCAA Division I programs from 1996–2001.
The Battle of the Bridge is the name of the all-sports rivalry between the Canisius Golden Griffins and the Niagara Purple Eagles. Both schools are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The two teams compete every school year in 14 sports; men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's ice hockey, women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's swimming & diving, and women's volleyball. The overall winner of the annual series receives the Canal Cup trophy. The two long-time Western New York rivals created the trophy in 2007 to enhance the historic rivalry between the two schools. The name of the series is a reference to the Grand Island Bridge, which each team crosses when traveling along I-190 to the other's campus. The name of the trophy is a reference to the Erie Canal, which separates Erie County, where Canisius is located, and Niagara County, where Niagara is located.
The 2015–16 Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team represented Canisius College during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Griffins, led by fourth year head coach Jim Baron, played their home games at the Koessler Athletic Center and were members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 14–19, 8–12 in MAAC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They defeated Niagara in the first round of the MAAC tournament to advance the quarterfinals where they lost to Iona.
Kwame Oduro is a Ghanaian college soccer coach, currently serving as head coach of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's soccer team.
The 2016–17 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team represented Niagara University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Eagles, led by fourth year head coach Chris Casey, played their home games at the Gallagher Center in Lewiston, New York as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 10–23, 6–14 in MAAC play to finish in ninth place. They defeated Quinnipiac in the first round of the MAAC tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Monmouth.
Paul Panik Jr. is an American college baseball coach and former catcher, who is currently an assistant baseball coach at the College of William and Mary. Panik played college baseball at Canisius College for coach Mike McRae from 2007 to 2010. He then served as the head coach of the Iona Gaels (2019–2021).
Martin J. Marbach is a former men's college basketball head coach. He was the head coach at Canisius.
The 1946 Western New York Little Three Conference football season was the season of college football played by the three member schools of the Western New York Little Three Conference as part of the 1946 college football season.
The 2022 MAAC women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference held from October 30 through November 6, 2022. The five-match tournament took place at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting matches. The host for the matches was determined by seeding from regular season play. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Monmouth Hawks were the defending champions and were unable to defend their title, as they moved conferences to the Colonial Athletic Association beginning in the 2022 season. The Quinnipiac Bobcats won the title by defeating Niagara 4–0 in the final. This is Quinnipiac's first overall tournament win in program history. The title is also the first for head coach Dave Clarke. As tournament champions, Quinnipiac earned the MAAC's automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament.
