The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of New York and Pennsylvania.
History
Recent changes The most recent changes to conference membership took place in 2020, with two full members and one associate member leaving. D'Youville College began a transition to NCAA Division II in the East Coast Conference (ECC), and Franciscan University of Steubenville completed a multi-year transition to full membership in the D-III Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).
On January 24, 2020, Wittenberg University, which became a men's volleyball associate in 2018–19, left the AMCC to return to the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League, where it had played from the start of its program in the 2015–16 school year through 2017–18.
On August 26, 2021, Medaille College joined the entirely New York-based Empire 8 Athletic Conference (Empire 8), effective the 2022–23 school year; at the same time, it remained an AMCC associate in women's bowling. On May 17, 2023, Medaille announced it would close at the end of the 2023 spring semester (2022–23 academic year).
On February 9, 2022, Wells College, current affiliate member for swimming and diving, added men's volleyball to compete in the AMCC as an affiliate, effective the 2023 spring season (2022–23 school year). Later, the following season, Wells announced to become a full AMCC member, effective 2023–24.Wells College To Join The AMCC Starting 2023-24 - Wells
On July 6, 2022, Carlow University would join the AMCC as a provisional member in the 2023–24 school year from the River States Conference (RSC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), but spent its exploratory year in the prior NAIA season.
On December 13, 2022, the PAC, primary home of AMCC men's volleyball associates Geneva, Saint Vincent, and Thiel, announced it would begin sponsoring that sport in the 2025 spring season of the 2024–25 academic year. Accordingly, all three will leave the AMCC after the 2024 spring season.
On June 6, 2023, the PAC announced that current AMCC men's volleyball associate Hiram would move that sport to the PAC after the 2024 season.
On June 26, 2023, the AMCC announced that it would add Buffalo State University and Houghton University as men's volleyball associates for the 2025 spring season (2024–25 school year). At the time of announcement, both were preparing to start men's volleyball programs in 2023–24.
On April 29, 2024, Wells announced that it would cease operations at the end of the 2023–24 academic year.
On June 5, 2025, Alfred State College accepted an invitation to join the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), beginning the 2026–27 academic year; thus leaving the AMCC with 8 full members.
Chronological timeline
1997 – In 1997, the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) was founded. Charter members included Frostburg State University, La Roche College (now La Roche University), Lake Erie College, Pennsylvania State University at Erie, the Behrend College (a.k.a. Penn State–Erie or Penn State–Behrend), the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford (a.k.a. Pitt–Bradford) and the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg (a.k.a. Pitt–Greensburg), beginning the 1997–98 academic year. 1998 – Pennsylvania State University at Altoona (a.k.a. Penn State–Altoona) joined the AMCC in the 1998–99 academic year. 2005 – Hilbert College and Medaille College joined the AMCC in the 2005–06 academic year. 2006 – Mount Aloysius College joined the AMCC in the 2006–07 academic year. 2008: Lake Erie left the AMCC to join the NCAA Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an Independent (which would then later join the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) a few seasons later, beginning the 2010–11 school year) after the 2007–08 academic year. D'Youville College (now D'Youville University) and Franciscan University of Steubenville joined the AMCC in the 2008–09 academic year. 2010: Frostburg State left the AMCC to join the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC; now known as the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference) after the 2009–10 academic year. Cabrini College (later Cabrini University) joined the AMCC as an associate member for men's and women's swimming & diving in the 2010–11 academic year. 2015 – New Jersey City University joined the AMCC as an associate member for women's bowling in the 2016 spring season (2015–16 academic year). 2016: Thiel College joined the AMCC as an associate member for women's bowling in the 2017 spring season (2016–17 academic year). Alfred State College joined the AMCC as an associate member for men's and women's swimming & diving and men's lacrosse in the 2016–17 academic year. 2017 – Hiram College joined the AMCC as an associate member for men's volleyball in the 2018 spring season (2017–18 academic year). 2018: Thiel left the AMCC as an associate member for women's bowling after the 2018 spring season (2017–18 academic year). Six institutions joined the AMCC as associate members (and/or added other single sports into their associate memberships), all effective in the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year): Alfred State for baseball Thiel, Geneva College and Wittenberg University for men's volleyball Saint Vincent College for women's bowling and the State University of New York at Delhi (SUNY Delhi) for men's & women's swimming & diving 2019: Alfred State College upgraded as a full member for all sports in the 2019–20 academic year. The AMCC and the Empire 8 Athletic Conference (Empire 8) had a joint partnership for men's and women's swimming & diving in the 2019–20 academic year. Therefore, Empire 8 members Alfred University, Hartwick College, Nazareth College of Rochester (now Nazareth University) and Utica College (now Utica University) joined essentially as AMCC associates; while the AMCC members are essentially Empire 8 associates. 2020: Two institutions left the AMCC to join their respective new home primary conferences, both effective after of the 2019–20 academic year: D'Youville to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the East Coast Conference (ECC) and Franciscan to join the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) as a full member, which was already a multi-sport associate member of that conference Wittenberg left the AMCC as an associate member for men's volleyball to rejoin the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL). Two institutions joined the AMCC as associate members (and/or added other single sports into their associate memberships), both effective in the 2020–21 academic year: Saint Vincent for men's volleyball and Wells College for men's and women's swimming & diving 2022: Medaille left the AMCC after the 2021–22 academic year to join the Empire 8 Athletic Conference (Empire 8) after the 2021–22 academic year; while the school remained in the AMCC as an associate member for women's bowling and men's and women's swimming & diving. Two institutions joined the AMCC as associate members (and/or added other single sports into their associate memberships), both effective in the 2023 spring season (2022–23 academic year): William Smith College for women's bowling and Wells for men's volleyball 2023 Former full member Medaille left the AMCC as an associate member for women's bowling after the 2023 spring season (2022–23 academic year); as the school ceased operations. Carlow University joined the AMCC (with Wells upgrading as a full member for all sports) in the 2023–24 academic year. Alvernia University joined the AMCC as an associate member for women's bowling in the 2024 spring season (2023–24 academic year). 2024: Geneva, Hiram, Saint Vincent and Thiel left the AMCC as associate members for men's volleyball to join the PAC for that sport after the 2024 spring season (2023–24 academic year). New Jersey City (NJCU) left the AMCC as an associate member for women's bowling after the 2024 spring season (2023–24 academic year). Wells left the AMCC after the 2023–24 academic year; as the school ceased operations. Buffalo State University and Houghton University joined the AMCC as associate members for men's volleyball in the 2025 spring season (2024–25 academic year). Women's wrestling became an invitational conference sport, though without official status, in 2024–25. Full members Alfred State and Penn State Altoona were joined by Buffalo State and Hiram. 2025 – Women's wrestling became an official AMCC sport in the 2025–26 school year, with the four schools that participated in the 2025 AMCC invitational meet joined by new associates John Carroll University and Elmira College. 2026 Alfred State left the AMCC to join the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) effective with the 2026–27 academic year. At the same time, men's volleyball affiliate Houghton left for its primary home of the Empire 8, which will elevate the sport to full NCAA championship status in the spring 2027 season. Houghton was replaced in AMCC men's volleyball by Hobart College, which will move that team from the disbanding United Volleyball Conference. 2027 – Keuka College will join the AMCC, beginning in the 2027–28 academic year.
Member schools Current members The AMCC currently has eight full members, with four being part of Pennsylvania's Commonwealth System of Higher Education, made up of state-supported but privately chartered institutions, and four private institutions (all Catholic).
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Colors Joined Carlow University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1929 Catholic 2,416 Celtics 2023 Hilbert College Hamburg, New York 1957 Catholic 968 Hawks 2005 La Roche University McCandless, Pennsylvania 1963 Catholic 2,153 Redhawks 1997 Mount Aloysius College Cresson, Pennsylvania 1853 Catholic 2,955 Mounties 2006 Penn State Altoona Logan Township, Pennsylvania 1939 State-related 2,371 Lions 1998 Penn State Erie, The Behrend College(Penn State Behrend) Erie, Pennsylvania 1948 3,336 Lions 1997 University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Bradford, Pennsylvania 1963 1,009 Panthers 1997 University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Greensburg, Pennsylvania 1963 1,321 Bobcats 1997 Notes
Future members The AMCC will have one new full member, a private school.
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Colors Joining Currentconference Keuka College Keuka Park, New York 1890 Baptist 1,535 Wolves 2027 Empire 8
Associate members The AMCC currently has eight associate members; all but one are private schools.
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Primaryconference AMCCsport(s) Alvernia University Reading, Pennsylvania 1958 Catholic 2,796 Golden Wolves 2023 MAC Commonwealth Buffalo State University Buffalo, New York 1871 Public 6,188 Bengals 2024 S.U. New York (SUNYAC) 2025 Elmira College Elmira, New York 1855 Nonsectarian 786 Soaring Eagles 2025 Empire 8 Hiram College Hiram, Ohio 1850 Disciples of Christ 1,061 Terriers 2025 Presidents' Hobart College Geneva, New York 1822 Episcopal 905 Statesmen 2026 Liberty (LL) John Carroll University University Heights, Ohio 1886 Catholic 2,864 Blue Streaks 2025 North Coast Saint Vincent College Latrobe, Pennsylvania 1846 Catholic 1,440 Bearcats 2018 Presidents' (PAC) William Smith College Geneva, New York 1908 Episcopal 1,841 Herons 2022 Liberty (LL)
Former members The AMCC has seven former full members, all but two are private schools.