The American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) was an athletic conference with no regular-season competition. The ACAA competed in the NCAA's Division III. The conference was formed in 2017 primarily by Independent schools in the Northeastern United States, but also had members in Michigan, Wisconsin, and California. The members of the ACAA merged with the Capital Athletic Conference in 2020.

History The ACAA was formally announced as an NCAA Division III athletic conference in February 2017, with plans to start offering official conference championships in the 2017–18 academic year. Unofficial championships were held during the 2016–17 season."New Division III conference approved" D3Sports.com website. Accessed: July 5, 2018. Initial members were Alfred State College, Finlandia University, Mills College, State University of New York at Canton, State University of New York at Delhi, Pine Manor College, University of Maine at Presque Isle, and University of Valley Forge. Finlandia, Maine–Presque Isle, Mills, and Pine Manor were formerly members of the women's sports-sponsoring Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC), which disbanded after the 2015–16 season.

In November 2017, it was announced that SUNY Canton and UMPI departed the ACAA, effective July 1, 2018, and would join the North Atlantic Conference (NAC)."SUNY Canton to Join NAC for 2018-19" SUNY Canton Athletics website. Accessed: May 22, 2018.

In January 2018, it was announced that Mount Mary University of Wisconsin joined the ACAA, effective in the 2018–19 academic year. Mount Mary was formerly an NCAA Division III independent school."ACAA Welcomes Mount Mary" American Collegiate Athletic Association website. Accessed: July 5, 2018.

On February 16, 2018, Pratt Institute announced that the college also joined the ACAA, effective in the 2018-19 academic year."NCAA approves Pratt" Pratt athletics website. Accessed: March 4, 2018. Pratt was a member of the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) within the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).

On June 28, 2018, it was announced that Alfred State College was leaving the ACAA, and joined the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC), effective in the 2019–20 school year."Alfred State to Join Alleghany Mountain Collegiate Conference" American Collegiate Athletic Association website. Accessed: July 5, 2018.

In July 2018, it was announced that Thomas More College, now known as Thomas More University, joined the ACAA effective immediately for the 2018–19 season. Thomas More was previously a full member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Thomas More had re-joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and joined the Mid South Conference beginning the fall of 2019."Thomas More Joins ACAA Membership" American Collegiate Athletic Association website. Accessed: July 5, 2018.

On November 30, 2018, SUNY Delhi, a North Atlantic Conference associate member in six sports (men's golf, men's lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's track & field), announced that it would leave the ACAA and become a full member of the NAC effective in the fall of 2019. At that time, five additional Delhi sports—men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball—were about to begin NAC play. Three more sports—men's and women's basketball, plus softball—remained in the ACAA until starting NAC play in 2020–21.

On June 6, 2019, it was announced that the University of Valley Forge was leaving the ACAA, and joined the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC), effective in the 2020–21 season."Valley Forge to Join CSAC in 2020" American Collegiate Athletic Association website. Accessed: June 15, 2019.

On July 11, 2019, it was announced that the University of California, Santa Cruz would be joining the ACAA in seven sports, effective 2019-20.

On May 26, 2020, it was announced that the American Collegiate Athletic Association would merge with the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), later renamed the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C). The ACAA will have all of its full members join the CAC in the 2020–21 school year. Pine Manor College, which recently entered into a partnership with Boston College, will participate in the Conference for one academic year in four sports: men's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball. After being acquired by Boston College, Pine Manor dissolved their athletics programs effective after the 2020-21 academic year.

Chronological timeline 2017 - The American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) was founded. Charter members included Alfred State College, Finlandia University, the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI), Mills College, Pine Manor College, the State University of New York at Canton (SUNY Canton), the State University of New York at Delhi (SUNY Delhi) and the University of Valley Forge, effective beginning the 2017-18 academic year. 2018 - Maine–Presque Isle (UMPI) and SUNY Canton left the ACAA to join the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), effective after the 2017-18 academic year. 2018 - Mount Mary University, Pratt Institute and Thomas More University joined the ACAA, effective in the 2018-19 academic year. 2019 - Two institutions left the ACAA to join their respective new home primary conferences: Alfred State to join the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC), and Thomas More to join the Mid-South Conference (MSC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), both effective after the 2018-19 academic year. 2019 - SUNY Delhi left the ACAA to join the NAC, while remaining in the conference for some sports as an affiliate member (men's & women's basketball and softball), effective after the 2018-19 academic year. 2019 - The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz) joined the ACAA, effective in the 2019-20 academic year. 2019 - The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater joined the ACAA as an affiliate member for men's soccer, effective in the 2019 fall season (2019-20 academic year). 2020 - Valley Forge left the ACAA to join the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC), effective after the 2019-20 academic year. 2020 - The ACAA ceased operations as an athletic conference, effective after the 2019-20 academic year; as the remaining schools (excluding full member Valley Forge and including men's soccer affiliate Wisconsin–Whitewater) were merged with those from the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) to form the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C), effective beginning the 2020-21 academic year.

Member schools Final members The ACAA had seven full members in the conference's final season, all but one were private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment(2016) Nickname Joined Left Subsequentconference Currentconference Finlandia University Hancock, Michigan 1896 Lutheran ELCA 507 Lions 2017 2020 Coast to Coast (C2C)(2020–23) N/A Mills College Oakland, California 1852 Nonsectarian 1,345 Cyclones Coast to Coast (C2C)(2020–22) Discontinued athletics Mount Mary University Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1913 Catholic 1,209 Blue Angels 2018 Coast to Coast (C2C)(2020–2025) Chicagoland (CCAC)(2025–Present) Pine Manor College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 1911 Nonsectarian 419 Gators 2017 Coast to Coast (C2C)(2020–21) N/A Pratt Institute Brooklyn, New York 1877 4,829 Cannoneers 2018 Coast to Coast (C2C)(2020–present) University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California 1965 Public 19,700 Banana Slugs 2019 Phoenixville, Pennsylvania 1939 Assemblies of God 877 Patriots 2017 Colonial States (CSAC)(2020–present)

Notes

Former members The ACAA had five other full members during the conference's tenure, one was a private school:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Subsequentconference Currentconference Alfred State College Alfred, New York 1908 Public 3,500 Pioneers 2017 2019 Allegheny (AMCC)(2019–present) University of Maine at Presque Isle Presque Isle, Maine 1903 Public 1,469 Owls 2018 North Atlantic (NAC)(2018–present) State University of New York at Canton Canton, New York 1906 Public 3,122 Roos State University of New York at Delhi Delhi, New York 1913 3,088 Broncos 2019 North Atlantic (NAC)(2019–present) Thomas More University Crestview Hills, Kentucky 1921 Catholic 1,963 Saints 2018 Mid-South (MSC)(2019–23) Great Midwest (G-MAC)(2023–present)

Notes

Former associate members The ACAA had two associate members during the conference's tenure, both were public schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left ACAAsport Currentprimaryconference Conferencein formerACAAsport State University of New York at Delhi Delhi, New York 1913 Public 3,088 Broncos 2019–20 2019–20 men's basketball;women's basketball;softball North Atlantic (NAC) University of Wisconsin–Whitewater Whitewater, Wisconsin 1868 11,722 Warhawks men's soccer Wisconsin (WIAC) Coast 2 Coast (C2C)

Notes

Membership timeline

Sports School Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Men's Cross Country Women's Cross Country Men's Soccer Women's Soccer Softball Women's Volleyball Total sports Finlandia 8 Mills† 3 Mount Mary† 5 Pine Manor 8 Pratt 7 Valley Forge 8 UCSC 7 Totals 5+1 6+1 5 7 5+1 7 4+1 7 46+4 † - Women's college, therefore not competing in men's sports.

References