State University of New York Athletic Conference explained

State University of New York Athletic Conference
State University of New York Athletic Conference
Color:	color:white; background:#00175d;
Font Color:	FFFFFF
Founded:	1958
Association:	NCAA
Division:	Division III
Teams:	10 full, 6 affiliates
Sports:	22
Mens:	10
Womens:	12
Region:	New York
Formerly:	New York State Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Headquarters:	Syracuse, New York
Commissioner:	Tom Di Camillo
Since:	2014
Website:	sunyacsports.com
Map:	SL-USA-states.png
Map Size:	250

The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, consisting of schools in the State University of New York system. It was chartered in 1958 as the New York State Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

History

Chronological timeline

• 1958 – On September 19, 1958, the SUNYAC was founded as the New York State Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NYSIAC). Charter members included the New York State College for Teachers at Albany (now the University at Albany), the Brockport State Teachers College (now the State University of New York at Brockport), the State University College for Teachers at Buffalo (now Buffalo State University), Cortland State Teachers College (now the State University of New York at Cortland), the New York State College for Teachers at New Paltz (now the State University of New York at New Paltz), the State University College of Education at Oneonta (now the State University of New York at Oneonta), Oswego State Teachers College (now the State University of New York at Oswego), Plattsburgh State Normal and Training School (now the State University of New York at Plattsburgh) and the New York State College for Teachers at Potsdam (now the State University of New York at Potsdam), effective beginning the 1958-59 academic year.
• 1959 – Geneseo Normal and Training School (now the State University of New York at Geneseo) and Fredonia State Teachers College (now the State University of New York at Fredonia) joined the SUNYAC, effective in the 1959-60 academic year.
• 1963 – The NYSIAC has been rebranded as the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), effective in the 1963-64 academic year.
• 1973 – Harpur College (now Binghamton University) joined the SUNYAC, effective in the 1973–74 academic year.
• 1978 – The University at Buffalo joined the SUNYAC, effective in the 1978–79 academic year.
• 1983 – Women's sports became part of the SUNYAC, effective in the 1983–84 academic year.
• 1988 – SUNY Buffalo left the SUNYAC to join the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an NCAA D-I Independent, effective after the 1987–88 academic year.
• 1991 – The State University of New York at Utica/Rome (now the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly)) joined the SUNYAC, effective in the 1991–92 academic year.
• 1995 – SUNY Albany left the SUNYAC to join the NCAA Division II ranks as an NCAA D-II Independent, effective after the 1994–95 academic year.
• 1997 – SUNY Binghamton left the SUNYAC to join the NCAA Division II ranks as an NCAA D-II Independent, effective after the 1996–97 academic year.
• 2007 – The State University of New York at Morrisville (also known as Morrisville State College) joined the SUNYAC, effective in the 2007–08 academic year.
• 2008 – SUNYIT left the SUNYAC to join the North East Athletic Conference (NEAC; now known as the United East Conference), effective after the 2007–08 academic year.
• 2009 – SUNY Morrisville left the SUNYAC to join the NEAC after a tenure of two seasons, effective after the 2008–09 academic year. But the school has since remained in the league as an associate member from 2009–10 on forward for the sports of field hockey and ice hockey.
• 2023 – SUNY Brockport and SUNY Geneseo both announced that they would become full members of the Empire 8 starting in the 2024-25 season. ^[1]
• 2023 – SUNYAC announced that absorbed the NEWHL women's ice hockey league and started to sponsor the sport. 5 full members of SUNYAC were members of the NEWHL and SUNY Canton and SUNY Morrisville became affiliate members of SUNYAC in that sport in the 2023–24 season.^[2]
• 2023 – SUNYAC announced that started to sponsor men's wrestling effective immediately in 2023-24 academic year, absorbing the remnants of the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference, 4 full members of SUNYAC sponsors the sport. SUNYAC also welcomed Ithaca, RIT, St. Johns Fisher and Utica as affiliate members in that sport. Also in the same date, SUNYAC announced that SUNY Canton and SUNY Morrisville will join the conference as full members starting in 2024-25.^[3]
• 2025 – SUNY New Paltz announced that they would leave the SUNYAC after the conclusion of the 2025-26 season to join the New Jersey Athletic Conference.^[4]

Member schools

Current members

The SUNYAC currently has ten full members, all are public schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Colors
State University of New York Buffalo State University	Buffalo	1871	Public	8,339	Bengals	1958
State University of New York at Canton (SUNY Canton)	Canton	1906		3,122	Roos	2024
State University of New York at Cortland	Cortland	1868		6,832	Red Dragons	1958
State University of New York at Fredonia	Fredonia	1826		3,780	Blue Devils	1959
State University of New York at Morrisville (SUNY Morrisville)	Morrisville	1908		2,486	Mustangs	2007; 2024
State University of New York at New Paltz	New Paltz	1828		7,489	Hawks	1958
State University of New York at Oneonta	Oneonta	1889		6,733	Red Dragons	1958
State University of New York at Oswego	Oswego	1861		7,636	Lakers	1958
State University of New York at Plattsburgh	Plattsburgh	1889		5,257	Cardinals	1958
State University of New York at Potsdam	Potsdam	1816		3,098	Bears	1958

Notes:

Affiliate members

The SUNYAC currently has six affiliate members, all but two are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Colors	Primary conference	SUNYAC sport
Alfred State College	Alfred	1908	Public	3,500	Pioneers	2024–25		Allegheny Mountain (AMCC)	men's & women's indoor and outdoor track & field
Ithaca College	Ithaca	1892	Nonsectarian	6,769	Bombers	2023–24		Liberty League	men's wrestling
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)	Henrietta	1829	Nonsectarian	18,000	Tigers	2023–24
	Rochester	1948	Nonsectarian	3,610	Cardinals	2023–24		Empire 8
Utica University	Utica	1946	Nonsectarian	4,614	Pioneers	2023-24		Empire 8	men's wrestling

Notes

Future affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joining	Colors	Primary conference	SUNYAC sport
Hobart College	Geneva	1822	Private	2,337	Statesmen	2025-26		Liberty League	men's ice hockey	^[5]
Skidmore College	Saratoga Springs	1903	Private	2,500	Thoroughbreds	2025-26		Liberty League	men's ice hockey	^[6]
William Smith College	Geneva	1908	Private	2,229	Herons	2025-26		Liberty League	women's ice hockey	^[7]

Former members

The SUNYAC had five former full members, all were public schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
University at Albany (SUNY Albany)	Albany	1844	Public	17,500	Great Danes	1958	1995	America East
Binghamton University (SUNY Binghamton)	Vestal	1946		14,713	Bearcats	1973	1997	America East
University at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo)	Buffalo	1846		28,601	Bulls	1978	1988	Mid-American (MAC)
State University of New York at Brockport	Brockport	1867		7,924	Golden Eagles	1958	2024	Empire 8
State University of New York at Geneseo	Geneseo	1871		4,910	Knights	1959	2024	Empire 8
State University of New York Institute of Technology (SUNY Poly)	Marcy	1966		2,870	Wildcats	1991	2008	Empire 8

Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:1958 till:2050

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#

Colors =

id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two

PlotData=

width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1958 till:1995 text:SUNY Albany (1958–1995) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:1999 text:NECC bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:1999 till:2001 text:D-I bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:America East

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1958 till:2024 text:SUNY Brockport (1958–2024) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:Empire 8

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1958 till:end text:Buffalo State (1958–present)

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1958 till:end text:SUNY Cortland (1958–present)

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1958 till:2026 text:SUNY New Paltz (1958–2026) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2026 till:end text:TBA

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1958 till:end text:SUNY Oneonta (1958–present)

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1958 till:end text:SUNY Oswego (1958–present)

bar:8 color:FullxF from:1958 till:end text:SUNY Plattsburgh (1958–present)

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1958 till:end text:SUNY Potsdam (1958–present)

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1959 till:2024 text:SUNY Geneseo (1959–2024) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:Empire 8

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1959 till:end text:SUNY Fredonia (1959–present)

bar:12 color:FullxF from:1973 till:1997 text:SUNY Binghamton (1973–1997) bar:12 shift:(-20) color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:1998 text:D-II bar:12 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:2000 text:NECC bar:12 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:2001 text:D-I bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:end text:America East

bar:13 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1988 text:SUNY Buffalo (1978–1988) bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1991 text:D-I bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:1994 text:ECC bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:1998 text:Mid-Con bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:end text:MAC

bar:14 color:FullxF from:1991 till:2008 text:SUNYIT (1991–2008) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2008 till:2020 text:NEAC/UEC bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:2020 till:end text:NAC

bar:15 color:FullxF from:2007 till:2009 text:SUNY Morrisville (2007–2009, FH & MIH 2009–2024, 2024-present) bar:15 color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2024 text: bar:15 color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:

bar:16 color:AssocOS from:2023 till:2024 text: bar:16 color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:SUNY Canton (2023-2024 MIH & WIH, 2024-present)

bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2023 till:end text:Ithaca (2023–present)

bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2023 till:end text:RIT (2023–present)

bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2023 till:end text:St. John Fisher (2023–present)

bar:20 color:AssocOS from:2023 till:end text:Utica (2023–present)

bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2024 till:end text:Alfred State (2024–present)

bar:22 color:AssocOS from:2025 till:end text:Hobart (2025–future)

bar:23 color:AssocOS from:2025 till:end text:Skidmore (2025–future)

bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2025 till:end text:William Smith (2025–future)

bar:N color:powderblue from:1958 till:1963 text:NYSIAC bar:N color:blue from:1963 till:end text:SUNYAC

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1960

TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(200,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"State University of New York Athletic Conference membership history"

• Buffalo left to join the East Coast Conference while reclassifying to Division I and the Mid-American Conference
• Albany and Binghamton left to join the New England Collegiate Conference while reclassifying to Division I and the America East Conference
• SUNYIT left to join the North Eastern Athletic Conference
• Morrisville State (SUNY Morrisville) left to join the North Eastern Athletic Conference

Conference facilities

Institution	Basketball Arena	Capacity	Football Stadium	Capacity	Ice Hockey Arena	Capacity
Buffalo State	Buffalo State Sports Arena	3,500	Coyer Field	3,000	Buffalo State Ice Arena	1,800
Cortland	Whitney T. Corey Gymnasium	3,500	SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex	6,500	Alumni Arena	2,500
Fredonia	Steele Hall Fieldhouse	3,300	Non-Football School	N/A	Steele Hall Ice Arena	1,100
New Paltz	Hawk Center	1,800	Non-Football School	N/A	Non-Ice Hockey School	N/A
Oneonta	Dewar Arena	4,000	Non-Football School	N/A	Non-Ice Hockey School	N/A
Oswego	Max Ziel Gymnasium	3,500	Non-Football School	N/A	Campus Center Ice Arena	2,500
Plattsburgh	Memorial Hall	1,000	Non-Football School	N/A	Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena	1,924
Potsdam	Jerry Welsh Gymnasium	3,600	Non-Football School	N/A	Maxcy Ice Arena	2,500

Sports

See also: SUNYAC men's basketball tournament.

See also: SUNYAC Ice Hockey Tournament. The SUNYAC sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in the following sports:

Men's	Women's
Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Field hockey
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming & Diving
Tennis
Track and field (indoor)
Track and field (outdoor)
Volleyball
Wrestling

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Ice Hockey	Lacrosse	Soccer	Swimming & Diving	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Wrestling	Total SUNYAC Sports
Brockport											10
Buffalo State											7
Cortland											10
Fredonia											8
Geneseo											8
New Paltz											6
Oneonta											9
Oswego											10
Plattsburgh											8
Potsdam											8
Totals	7	10	10	8+1	8	10	9	9	9	4+4	90

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the SUNYAC

School	Football	Golf	Tennis	Volleyball
Brockport		No	No	No
Buffalo State		No	No	Independent (AMCC in 2024–25)
Cortland		No	No	No
New Paltz	No	No	No	UVC
Oneonta	No	No		No
Oswego	No		Independent	No
Potsdam	No	No	No	NECC

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Ice Hockey	Field Hockey	Lacrosse	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Total SUNYAC Sports
Brockport													11
Buffalo State													10
Cortland													12
Fredonia													10
Geneseo													11
New Paltz													9
Oneonta													11
Oswego													12
Plattsburgh													10
Potsdam													10
Totals	10	10	5+2	6+1	10	10	10	9	8	9	9	10	109

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the SUNYAC

School	Equestrian	Golf	Gymnastics
Brockport	No	No	Independent
Buffalo State	No	No	No
Cortland	No	Independent	Independent
Geneseo	Independent	Independent	No
New Paltz	Independent	No	No
Oswego	No	No	No
Plattsburgh	No	No	No
Potsdam	No	No	No

See also

• Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• Mid Hudson Conference
• Yankee Small College Conference

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2022-02-14 . SUNY Brockport and SUNY Geneseo to Join Empire 8; 2024-25 Start Date Anticipated . 2023-08-23 . empire8.com . en.
2. Web site: SUNYAC adds women's ice hockey, admits Canton in men's ice hockey . 12 May 2023 .
3. Web site: SUNYAC Adds 2 Full-Time Members, 5 Associates & Men's Wrestling . 5 October 2023 .
4. Web site: 2024-04-03 . SUNY New Paltz Initiating Two-Year Process to Seek a New Athletic Conference . 2024-04-05 . nphawks.com . en.
5. Web site: SUNYAC adds Hobart, Skidmore to men's hockey conference, William Smith to women's hockey conference . USCHO . April 10, 2024 . June 9, 2024.
6. Web site: SUNYAC adds Hobart, Skidmore to men's hockey conference, William Smith to women's hockey conference . USCHO . April 10, 2024 . June 9, 2024.
7. Web site: SUNYAC adds Hobart, Skidmore to men's hockey conference, William Smith to women's hockey conference . USCHO . April 10, 2024 . June 9, 2024.