University Athletic Association

Last updated
University Athletic Association
University Athletic Association logo.png
Association NCAA
Founded1986
CommissionerDick Rasmussen (since 1987)
Sports fielded
  • 21
    • men's: 11
    • women's: 10
Division Division III
No. of teams8
Headquarters Rochester, New York
Region Eastern United States; Missouri
Official website http://www.uaasports.info
Locations
UAA-USA-states.PNG

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.

Contents

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
University Athletic Association
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Mapscaleline.svg
300km
200miles
Gold pog.svg
Emory
Green pog.svg
WashU
Brown pog.svg
Chicago
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Carnegie Mellon
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Case Western Reserve
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NYU
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Rochester
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Brandeis
Locations of UAA members

Chronological timeline

Member schools

Current members

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

InstitutionLocationFoundedUndergraduate
enrollment
Total
enrollment
NicknameSchool
colors
USNWR
Ranking
Endowment
(Billion) [4]
Joined [lower-alpha 1] Fall 2020
acceptance rate [6]
Alumni median
starting salary [7]
Brandeis University [lower-alpha 2] Waltham, Massachusetts 19483,6085,788 Judges   44$1.07198731%$50,600
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 19006,67310,875 Tartans   22$2.67198622%$110,000 [8]
Case Western Reserve University [lower-alpha 3] Cleveland, Ohio 18266,18612,266 Spartans    44$2.35198627%$61,300
Emory University Atlanta, Georgia 18366,86112,755 Eagles   22$7.94198615%$54,600
New York University Manhattan, New York 183126,13542,189 Violets   25$5.8198615%$54,400
University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois 18905,94114,788 Maroons   6$11.619866%$54,400
University of Rochester [lower-alpha 4] Rochester, New York 18506,3869,735 Yellowjackets   36$3.71198629%$54,800
Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri 18537,54013,527 Bears    [9] 15$15.3198614%$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:

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedLeftSchool
colors
Current
conference
Johns Hopkins University [lower-alpha 1] Baltimore, Maryland 1876Nonsectarian19,758 Blue Jays 19862001   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

Brandeis UniversityWashington University in St. LouisUniversity of RochesterNew York UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityEmory UniversityThe University of ChicagoCase Western Reserve UniversityCarnegie Mellon UniversityUniversity Athletic Association

Conference facilities

SchoolFootball stadiumFootball capacityBasketball arenaBasketball capacityBaseball stadiumBaseball capacitySoccer stadiumSoccer capacity
BrandeisNon-Football School [lower-alpha 1] N/AAuerbach Arena2,500Stein Diamond500Gordon Field1,000
Carnegie MellonGesling Stadium [lower-alpha 2] 3,900Wiegand Gymnasium1,000Non-Baseball SchoolN/AGesling Stadium3,900
Case Western Reserve DiSanto Field [lower-alpha 2] 2,500 Horsburgh Gym 1,200 Nobby's Ballpark 500 DiSanto Field 2,500
Chicago Stagg Field [lower-alpha 3] 1,650 Gerald Ratner Athletics Center 1,900J. Kyle Anderson Field [lower-alpha 3] Stagg Field 1,650
EmoryNon-Football School [lower-alpha 4] N/AWoodruff P.E. Center2,000Chappell Park (baseball); George F. Cooper, Jr. Field (softball)Woodruff P.E. Center
NYUNon-Football School [lower-alpha 5] N/A Coles Sports Center 1,900 Maimonides Park 7,500Gaelic Park2,000
RochesterFauver Stadium [lower-alpha 6] 5,000Louis Alexander Palestra1,889Towers Field [lower-alpha 6] Fauver Stadium5,000
WashU Francis Field [lower-alpha 7] 3,300 Field House 3,000Kelly 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. 1 2 Carnegie Mellon and Case Western currently play football in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.
  3. 1 2 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. 1 2 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
SportMen'sWomen's
Baseball Green check.svg
Basketball Green check.svgGreen check.svg
Cross Country Green check.svgGreen check.svg
Golf Green check.svgGreen check.svg
Soccer Green check.svgGreen check.svg
Softball Green check.svg
Swimming & Diving Green check.svgGreen check.svg
Tennis Green check.svgGreen check.svg
Track and field (indoor) Green check.svgGreen check.svg
Track and field (outdoor) Green check.svgGreen check.svg
Wrestling Green check.svg
Volleyball Green check.svg

Participation