The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Of its 13 member schools, all private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning, 10 are located in Western Pennsylvania. The other three are located in adjacent areas, historically tied to Western Pennsylvania—Appalachian Ohio, Northeast Ohio, and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.
History The PAC was founded in 1955 by the presidents of Western Reserve University (1955–1967, operating athletically as Adelbert College from 1967 to 1970), Case Institute of Technology (1955–1970), John Carroll University (1955–1989) and Wayne State University (1955–1967). Unlike other conferences of the time, the PAC was designed to be supervised by the presidents of the institutions rather than the athletic directors. Member institutions were to admit athletes on the same academic standards as other students and award scholarships based only on academic achievement or need.
By 1958, the PAC expanded east to include Allegheny College (1958–1984, 2022–), Bethany College (1958–), Thiel College (1958–) and Washington & Jefferson College (1958–). Eventually, many other member institutions joined the PAC, like Chatham University (2007–), Geneva College (2007–), Grove City College (1984–), Saint Vincent College (2006–), Thomas More College (2005–2018), Waynesburg University (1990–) and Westminster College (2000–).
Some former PAC member institutions are Alfred University (1996–1998), Carnegie Mellon University (1968–1990), Eastern Michigan University (1962–1967) and Hiram College (1971–1989, returning in 2025). On May 31, 2017, Thomas More College (University), announced its withdrawal from the PAC at the conclusion of the 2017–18 school year.
In April 2019, Franciscan University, which had joined the PAC as an associate member in the newly launched conference sports of men's and women's lacrosse for the 2018–19 school year, was unveiled as the effective replacement for Thomas More. Franciscan added five sports to its PAC membership for 2019–20—women's golf, men's and women's indoor track & field, and men's and women's outdoor track & field, and became a full conference member in 2020–21.
Effective July 1, 2022, Allegheny College rejoined the PAC after a 38-year absence spent in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Allegheny remains an affiliate member of the NCAC in the sport of field hockey as the PAC does not sponsor the sport.
On December 14, 2022, the PAC announced that it would add men's volleyball starting in 2024–25. At the time of announcement, the men's volleyball league was planned to start with six full members. Geneva, Saint Vincent, and Thiel were associate members of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference; Bethany and Chatham were committed to adding men's volleyball in 2023–24; and Grove City was to add men's volleyball in 2024–25.
On June 6, 2023, the PAC announced that its future men's volleyball league would also include former full member Hiram as a single-sport member for the 2025 spring season.
On April 23, 2024, the PAC announced that Hiram would return to full PAC membership after an absence of 35 years. It joined for administrative purposes on July 1 of that year, coinciding with its becoming a men's volleyball associate member, but will not start conference competition in other sports until 2025–26.
On Sept. 9, 2024, Carnegie Mellon announced that it will leave the PAC to join the Centennial Conference as an associate football member in time for the 2025 fall season.
On March 25, 2025, the PAC announced that Saint Francis University would be reclassifying from the Division I ranks and the Northeast Conference and will compete in the PAC effective July 1, 2026. Saint Francis joined for administrative purposes on July 1, 2025, but will not be eligible for the NCAA tournaments until the 2029–30 academic year.
The headquarters is located in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
Timeline Source:
1955 – In 1955, the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) was founded. Charter members included Case Institute of Technology, John Carroll University, Wayne University (now Wayne State University) and Western Reserve University, beginning the 1955–56 academic year. 1958 – Allegheny College, Bethany College of West Virginia, Thiel College and Washington & Jefferson College joined the PAC in the 1958–59 academic year. 1962 – Eastern Michigan University joined the PAC in the 1962–63 academic year. 1967: Eastern Michigan and Wayne State left the PAC after the 1966–67 academic year. Case Tech and Western Reserve merged to form the newly named institution as Case Western Reserve University, beginning the 1967–68 academic year. The undergraduate student bodies remained separate, however, and both Case Tech and Adelbert College (the male undergraduate school of the former Western Reserve University) continued to field separate teams. 1968 – Carnegie Mellon University joined the PAC in the 1968–69 academic year. 1970: Case Tech and Western Reserve left the PAC after the 1969–70 academic year. Case Western Reserve University joined the PAC in the 1970–71 academic year. 1971 – Hiram College joined the PAC in the 1971–72 academic year. 1984: Allegheny and Case Western Reserve left the PAC to join part of forming the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) after the 1983–84 academic year. Grove City College joined the PAC in the 1984–85 academic year. The PAC sponsors women's athletic championships for the first time, beginning the 1984–85 academic year. 1989 – John Carroll and Hiram left the PAC to join the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) after the 1988–89 academic year. 1990: Carnegie Mellon left the PAC to fully align with the University Athletic Association (UAA) after the 1989–90 academic year. Waynesburg College (now Waynesburg University) joined the PAC in the 1990–91 academic year. 1996 – Alfred University joined the PAC in the 1996–97 academic year. 1998 – Alfred left the PAC to join the Empire Athletic Association (now the Empire 8 Athletic Conference or Empire 8) after the 1997–98 academic year. 2000 – Westminster College of Pennsylvania joined the PAC in the 2000–01 academic year. 2005 – Thomas More College (now Thomas More University) joined the PAC in the 2005–06 academic year. 2006 – Saint Vincent College joined the PAC in the 2006–07 academic year. 2007 – Geneva College and Chatham University joined the PAC in the 2007–08 academic year. 2014 – Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve rejoined the PAC as affiliate members for football in the 2014 fall season (2014–15 academic year). 2018: Thomas More left the PAC to join the American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) after the 2017–18 academic year. It was an ACAA member for only one season, as it returned to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily as a member of the Mid-South Conference (MSC), during the 2019–20 school year. Franciscan University of Steubenville joined the PAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's lacrosse in the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year). 2019 – Franciscan added women's golf plus men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field into its PAC affiliate membership in the 2019–20 academic year. 2020 – Franciscan upgraded as a full member of the PAC for all sports in the 2020–21 academic year. 2022 – Allegheny rejoined the PAC in the 2022–23 academic year. 2024: Hiram rejoined the PAC as an affiliate member for men's volleyball and men's wrestling in the 2024–25 academic year. The PAC added men's volleyball starting in the 2025 spring season of the 2024–25 academic year. At the time of announcement, the men's volleyball league was planned to start with six full members. Geneva, Saint Vincent and Thiel were associate members of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC); Bethany and Chatham were committed to adding men's volleyball in 2023–24; and Grove City was to add men's volleyball in 2024–25. 2025: Hiram upgraded as a full member of the PAC, beginning the 2025–26 academic year (for full conference competition). It initially joined the PAC for administrative purposes for the 2024–25 school year. Carnegie Mellon left the PAC as an affiliate member for football to join the Centennial Conference on that sport after the 2024 fall season (2024–25 academic year). 2026 – Saint Francis University joined the PAC, beginning the 2026–27 academic year (for full conference competition). It initially joined the PAC for administrative purposes for the 2025–26 school year.
Member schools Current full members The Presidents' has 13 full members, all private schools.
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Colors Football? Allegheny College Meadville, Pennsylvania 1815 Methodist 1,442 Gators 2022 Yes Bethany College Bethany, West Virginia 1840 Disciples of Christ 650 Bison 1958 Yes Chatham University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1869 Nonsectarian 2,300 Cougars 2007 No Franciscan University of Steubenville Steubenville, Ohio 1946 Catholic 2,716 Barons 2020 No Geneva College Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania 1848 Reformed 1,791 Golden Tornadoes 2007 Yes Grove City College Grove City, Pennsylvania 1876 Nondenominational 2,500 Wolverines 1984 Yes Hiram College Hiram, Ohio 1850 Disciples of Christ 1,271 Terriers 1971;2025 Yes Saint Francis University Loretto, Pennsylvania 1847 Catholic 2,111 Red Wolves 2026 Yes Saint Vincent College Latrobe, Pennsylvania 1846 Catholic 1,652 Bearcats 2006 Yes Thiel College Greenville, Pennsylvania 1866 Lutheran ELCA 790 Tomcats 1958 Yes Washington & Jefferson College Washington, Pennsylvania 1781 Nonsectarian 1,519 Presidents 1958 Yes Waynesburg University Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 1849 Presbyterian 1,500 Yellow Jackets 1990 Yes Westminster College New Wilmington, Pennsylvania 1852 Presbyterian 1,482 Titans 2000 Yes
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Associate members The Presidents' has one associate member, which joined for football only starting in the 2014 fall season (2014–15 school year) and has remained in PAC football to this day.
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined PACsport(s) Primaryconference Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio 1826 Nonsectarian 6,186 Spartans 2014 Football University (UAA)
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Former full members The Presidents' has 9 former full members, with all but two being private schools.
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Currentconference Alfred University Alfred, New York 1836 Nonsectarian 2,300 Saxons 1996 1998 Empire 8 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1900 Nonsectarian 16,676 (2024) Tartans 1968 1990 University (UAA) Case Institute of Technology Cleveland, Ohio 1880 Nonsectarian N/A Rough Riders 1955 1970 N/A Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio 1967 Nonsectarian 12,475 (2024) Spartans 1970 1984 University (UAA) Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, Michigan 1849 Public 12,663 (2024) Eagles 1962 1967 Mid-American (MAC) John Carroll University University Heights, Ohio 1886 Catholic 3,726 Blue Streaks 1955 1989 North Coast (NCAC) Thomas More University Crestview Hills, Kentucky 1921 Catholic 1,900 Saints 2005 2018 Great Midwest (G-MAC) Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan 1868 Public 23,964 (2024) Tartars 1955 1967 Great Lakes (GLIAC) Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio 1826 Nonsectarian N/A Red Cats 1955 1970 N/A
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Former associate members The Presidents' has two former associate members; both are private schools, and one is now a full PAC member.
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left PACsport(s) Primaryconference Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1900 Nonsectarian 6,362 Tartans 2014 2025 Football University (UAA) Hiram College Hiram, Ohio 1850 Disciples of Christ 1,271 Terriers 2024 2025 Presidents' (PAC)
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Membership timeline
Sports