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]
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.
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.
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 11 full members, all private schools.
↑ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
↑ Allegheny was a full member of the PAC from 1958–59 to 1983–84.
↑ This institution is a former women's college, which has eventually turned into a co-educational college (Chatham since 2015–16).
↑ 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.
↑ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
↑ Hiram was a full member of the PAC from 1971–72 to 1988–89.
↑ 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]
↑ Saint Francis will join for administrative purposes in 2025–26, but will not start conference competition until 2026–27.
The Presidents' has three associate members. Two joined for football only starting in the 2014 fall season (2014–15 school year) and have remained in PAC football to this day. The other, Hiram, joined for men's volleyball when the PAC added the sport in 2024–25, a year before returning to conference competition in other sports.
↑ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
↑ Carnegie Mellon was a full member of the PAC from 1968–69 to 1989–90.
↑ Case Western Reserve was a full member of the PAC from 1970–71 to 1983–84.
↑ Hiram was a full member of the PAC from 1971–72 to 1988–89.
Former full members
The Presidents' has 10 former full members, with all but two being private schools. Hiram rejoined the PAC for men's volleyball in 2024, with other sports joining in 2025.
↑ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
↑ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
↑ Carnegie Mellon returned to the PAC as an associate member for football starting with the 2014 fall season (2014–15 school year).
↑ Case Tech merged with Western Reserve University in 1967.
1 2 Case Tech and Western Reserve University merged in 1967, but the athletic programs continued to operate separately through the 1969–70 school year.
↑ Case Western Reserve rejoined the PAC as an associate member for football starting with the 2014 fall season (2014–15 school year).
↑ 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.
↑ 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.
↑ Wayne State joined the PAC as Wayne University. It adopted its current name in 1956 and its current nickname of Warriors in 1999.
↑ 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.
↑ Western Reserve merged with Case Institute of Technology in 1967.
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 IIILGBTQ Administrator/Coach/Staff of the Year Award.[12]
References
1 2 3 4 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. ISBN978-1-878302-03-8. OCLC24174022.
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