Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference | |
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Association: | NCAA |
Division: | Division II |
Teams: | 17 |
Sports: | 23 |
Mens: | 11 |
Womens: | 12 |
Region: | Pennsylvania and West Virginia |
Headquarters: | Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Commissioner: | Steve Murray |
Since: | 1998 |
Map: | PSAC Locations and Divisions.png |
Map Size: | 250 |
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers Conference, and was temporarily named the Pennsylvania State Teachers College Conference in 1956 before being assuming its current name in 1964.[1]
The conference's 17 full-time members include 16 based in Pennsylvania and one in West Virginia. The conference's headquarters are in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and staffed by a commissioner, two assistant commissioners, and a director of media relations.
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education organized the conference in 1951 to promote competition in men's sports amongst the system's 14 universities.
In 1977, following growing interest, the conference was expanded to offer competition in women's sports. From its inception, each conference member selected its own competitive division within the NCAA (I, II, or III).
In 1980, however, the presidents voted to reclassify the entire conference to Division II within the NCAA.[2]
Membership remained unchanged until the conference announced on June 18, 2007, that it had invited three private universities—Gannon University and Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania and C.W. Post of Brookville, New York—to join the conference.[3] Gannon and Mercyhurst left the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to join the PSAC, effective July 1, 2008.[4] C.W. Post became an associate member for football and field hockey.[5]
In 2010, Seton Hill University was accepted to join the conference as an associate member for field hockey. With the transition of West Chester from Division I to Division II, the number of teams competing in field hockey increased from 10 to 12 for the 2011 season.[6]
On August 19, 2012, the PSAC announced that Seton Hill and the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, formerly members of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC), would become full members beginning with the 2013–14 school year. This announcement was fallout from a split in the WVIAC that ultimately led to the formation of the Mountain East Conference (MEC). Although Seton Hill was one of the schools that initially broke away from the WVIAC, it chose not to join the MEC.[7] The arrival of these two schools brought the PSAC to 18 full members, making it the largest NCAA all-sports conference in terms of membership at that time.[8] While two other conferences briefly expanded to more members, the D-II Lone Star Conference to 19 in 2019–20 and the D-III USA South Athletic Conference to the same number in 2021–22, both have since reduced their memberships to less than 18, once again giving the PSAC the largest membership of any NCAA all-sports conference.
In March 2018, charter member Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, facing crises in enrollment, graduation rates, and finances, announced that it would leave NCAA Division II and the PSAC at the end of the 2017–18 school year. The school had dropped football in December 2017.[9]
Later that year, the conference announced that it would expand into West Virginia, bringing in Shepherd University from the MEC as a full member effective with the 2019–20 school year. Shepherd is the first full PSAC member outside of Pennsylvania.[10]
The PSAC played a little-known but nonetheless significant role in the history of NCAA Division I conference realignment. In 1986, the conference was seeking a way out of a football scheduling conundrum. The PSAC had 14 members at the time, and had been split into divisions for decades. One of the methods it historically used to determine a football champion involved a championship game between the winners of its two divisions. However, due to NCAA limits on regular-season games, every PSAC team had to leave a schedule spot open, with only the two division winners getting to play all of their allowed regular-season games. Then-conference commissioner Tod Eberle asked Dick Yoder, then athletic director at West Chester and member of the Division II council, to draft NCAA legislation that would allow the PSAC to play a conference title game that would be exempt from regular-season limits. The initial draft required that a qualifying league have 14 members and play a round-robin schedule within each division; only the PSAC then qualified.[11]
Before Yoder formally introduced the proposal, he was approached by the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which was interested in co-sponsoring the legislation because it was also split into football divisions and wanted the option of a championship game. Since the CIAA then had 12 members, Yoder changed the legislation to require 12 members instead of 14. Although at the time all NCAA legislation had to be approved by the entire membership, regardless of divisional alignment, the proposal passed with little notice. It was generally seen as a non-issue by Division I-A (now FBS) schools since no conference in that group then had more than 10 members. While the PSAC planned to stage its first exempt title game in 1988, it decided against doing so at that time because the D-II playoffs expanded from 8 to 16 teams that season, and it feared that the result of a title game could cost the league a playoff berth. The new NCAA rule would not see its first use until the Southeastern Conference took advantage of it by expanding to 12 members in 1991 and launching a title game the following year. In 2014, then-Sports Illustrated writer Andy Staples said that the rule "helped dictate the terms of conference realignment for more than 20 years."[11]
The PSAC currently has 17 full members, all but two being public schools. Also, only three of the 15 public members are outside of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
The PSAC had two former full members, a public school and a private school:
Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Colors | Current conference | |
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Cheyney University of Pennsylvania | Cheyney, Pennsylvania | 1837 | Public | 642 | Wolves | 1951 | 2018 | Independent | ||
Mercyhurst University | Erie, Pennsylvania | 1926 | Catholic | 2,801 | Lakers | 2008 | 2024 | Northeast (NEC) |
The PSAC has one affiliate member, a public school.
The PSAC had one former affiliate member, which was also a private school:
Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Nickname | Joined | Left | PSAC sport(s) | Primary conference |
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Long Island University–Post | Brookville, New York | 1954 | Nonsectarian | Pioneers | 2008–09 | 2012–13 | Field hockey | Northeast (NEC) |
Football |
Colors = id:line value:black id:Full value:rgb(0.63,0.88,0.755) # all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.88,0.755,0.63) # non-football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.88,0.63,0.63) # football-only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.755,0.755,0.63) # associate
PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:Full from:1951 till:end text:Bloomsburg (1951–present)
bar:2 color:Full from:1951 till:end text:California (1951–present)
bar:3 color:Full from:1951 till:2018 text:Cheyney (1951–2018)
bar:4 color:Full from:1951 till:end text:Clarion (1951–present)
bar:5 color:Full from:1951 till:end text:East Stroudsburg (1951–present)
bar:6 color:Full from:1951 till:end text:Edinboro (1951–present)
bar:7 color:Full from:1951 till:1966 text:Indiana (1951–present) bar:7 color:FullxF from:1966 till:1974 bar:7 color:Full from:1974 till:end
bar:8 color:Full from:1951 till:end text:Kutztown (1951–present)
bar:9 color:Full from:1951 till:end text:Lock Haven (1951–present)
bar:10 color:Full from:1951 till:2007 text:Mansfield (1951–present) bar:10 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end
bar:11 color:Full from:1951 till:end text:Millersville (1951–present)
bar:12 color:Full from:1951 till:end text:Shippensburg (1951–present)
bar:13 color:Full from:1951 till:end text:Slippery Rock (1951–present)
bar:14 color:Full from:1951 till:1977 text:West Chester (1951–present) bar:14 color:FullxF from:1977 till:1982 bar:14 color:Full from:1982 till:end
bar:15 color:Full from:2008 till:end text:Gannon (2008–present)
bar:16 color:Full from:2008 till:2024 text:Mercyhurst (2008–2024)
bar:17 color:AssocF from:2008 till:2013 text:LIU–Post (2008–2013)
bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2011 till:2013 text:Seton Hill (2011–present) bar:18 color:Full from:2013 till:end
bar:19 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:Pitt–Johnstown (2013–present)
bar:20 color:Full from:2019 till:end text:Shepherd (2019–present)
bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2024 till:end text:Frostburg State (2024–future)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1951
In wrestling; Bloomsburg, Clarion, Edinboro, and Lock Haven compete as members of the Division I Mid-American Conference. The PSAC held an annual championship open to all Division I and Division II teams, however with the transition of all of the former members of the Eastern Wrestling League into the MAC starting in 2019 the Division I level PSAC programs will focus on Division I level competition. The PSAC offers championships in the following sports.[14]
width=33% | A 2-divisional format is used for baseball, basketball (M / W), football, and tennis (W). | width=33% | A 3-divisional format is used for softball. | width=33% | A 4-divisional format is used for volleyball. |
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School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross Country | Football | Golf | Soccer | Swimming & Diving | Tennis | Track & Field Indoor | Track & Field Outdoor | Wrestling | Total PSAC Sports | |||||||||||||||
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Bloomsburg | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
California | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clarion | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East Stroudsburg | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Edinboro | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gannon | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kutztown | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lock Haven | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mansfield | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Millersville | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pittsburgh–Johnstown | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seton Hill | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shepherd | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shippensburg | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Slippery Rock | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West Chester | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Totals | 16 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 126 | - | Future Member --> |
School | Basketball | Cross Country | Field Hockey | Golf | Lacrosse | Soccer | Softball | Swimming & Diving | Tennis | nowrap | Track & Field Indoor | Track & Field Outdoor | Volleyball | Total PSAC Sports | |||||||||||||||
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Bloomsburg | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
California | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clarion | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East Stroudsburg | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Edinboro | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gannon | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kutztown | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lock Haven | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mansfield | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Millersville | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pittsburgh–Johnstown | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seton Hill | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shepherd | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shippensburg | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Slippery Rock | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West Chester | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Totals | 17 | 16 | 10+1 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 170 | - | Future Member --> |
School | Men | Women | |||||||||||
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Lacrosse | Water Polo | Wrestling | Acrobatics &<br>Tumbling | Bowling | Equestrian | Field Hockey | Gymnastics | Rugby | Water Polo | Wrestling | |||
Bloomsburg | MAC | ||||||||||||
Clarion | MAC | ||||||||||||
East Stroudsburg | IND | IND | |||||||||||
Edinboro | MAC | ||||||||||||
Gannon | WWPA | IND | WWPA | IND | |||||||||
Kutztown | IND | ECC | |||||||||||
Lock Haven | MAC | A-10 | IND | ||||||||||
Seton Hill | G-MAC | IND | |||||||||||
West Chester | ECAC | NIRA |
In addition to the above:
See main article: PSAC Football Championship Game and PSAC men's basketball tournament.
School | Football stadium | Capacity | Basketball arena | Capacity | Other facilities | |
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Bloomsburg | Robert B. Redman Stadium | Nelson Fieldhouse | Jan Hutchinson Field Danny Litwhiler Field Steph Pettit Stadium | |||
California | Hepner-Bailey Field at Adamson Stadium | California University of Pennsylvania Convocation Center | Wild Things Park Phillipsburg Soccer Facility Lilley Field Hamer Hall | |||
Clarion | Memorial Field | W.S. Tippin Gymnasium | ||||
East Stroudsburg | Eiler-Martin Stadium | Koehler Fieldhouse | Whitenight Field Mitterling Field Zimbar Field | |||
Edinboro | Sox Harrison Stadium | McComb Fieldhouse | Zafirovski Sports and Recreation Dome | |||
Gannon | McConnell Family Stadium | Hammermill Center | ||||
IUP | George P. Miller Stadium | Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex | Dougherty Field Podbielski Field Memorial Field House South Campus Field | |||
Kutztown | University Field at Andre Reed Stadium | Keystone Field House | O'Pake Field House Keystone Field North Campus Field | |||
Lock Haven | Hubert Jack Stadium | Thomas Fieldhouse | Foundation Field Lawrence Field Charlotte Smith Field Zimmerli Gymnasium | |||
Mansfield | Decker Gymnasium | Lutes Field Spaulding Field Shaute Field Soccer Field | ||||
Millersville | Biemesderfer Stadium | Pucillo Gymnasium | Cooper Park Millersville Softball Field | |||
Pittsburgh–Johnstown | Sports Center | Point Stadium (baseball) | ||||
Seton Hill | Offutt Field | Salvitti Gymnasium | Dick's Sporting Goods Field | |||
Shepherd | Ram Stadium | Butcher Center | Fairfax Baseball Field Shepherd Softball Field | |||
Shippensburg | Seth Grove Stadium | Heiges Field House | Robb Field David See Field Art Fairchild Field | |||
Slippery Rock | N. Kerr Thompson Stadium | Morrow Field House | Egli Soccer Field Critchfield Park | |||
West Chester | John A. Farrell Stadium | Hollinger Field House | Vonnie Gros Field Serpico Stadium |
The following is a list of alumni of the respective universities, including before the formation of the Conference in 1951.