Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a collegiate athletic conference that participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II level. The conference is currently composed of 17 full-time members within Pennsylvania and 1 in West Virginia. The conference headquarters are located in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and staffed by a commissioner, two assistant commissioners, and a director of media relations.

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
Established1951 (1951)
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision II
Members18 full members
Sports fielded
  • 23
    • men's: 11
    • women's: 12
RegionPennsylvania and West Virginia
HeadquartersLock Haven, Pennsylvania
CommissionerSteve Murray (since 1998)
Websitewww.psacsports.org
Locations

History

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.[1]

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.[2] Gannon and Mercyhurst left the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to join the PSAC, effective July 1, 2008.[3] C.W. Post became an associate member for football and field hockey.[4]

In 2010, Seton Hill University was accepted to join the conference as an associate member for field hockey. With the additional transition of West Chester's program from Division I to Division II, the number of teams competing in field hockey increased from 10 to 12 for the 2011 season.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] (The PSAC now shares the distinction of largest NCAA all-sports conference with another D-II league, the Lone Star Conference, and the D-III USA South Athletic Conference. The USA South will expand to 19 members in 2021–22.)

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.[8]

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.[9]

Role in Division I conference realignment

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.[10]

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."[10]

Member schools

Current members
Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Colors Joined
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania 1839 Public (PASSHE) 9,512 Huskies           1951
California University of Pennsylvania California, Pennsylvania 1852 Public (PASSHE) 9,017 Vulcans           1951
Clarion University of Pennsylvania Clarion, Pennsylvania 1867 Public (PASSHE) 7,346 Golden Eagles           1951
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania 1893 Public (PASSHE) 7,576 Warriors           1951
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Edinboro, Pennsylvania 1857 Public (PASSHE) 8,286 Fighting Scots           1951
Gannon University Erie, Pennsylvania 1925 Private (Catholic) 4,238 Golden Knights           2008
Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana, Pennsylvania 1875 Public (PASSHE) 14,638 Crimson Hawks           1951
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, Pennsylvania 1866 Public (PASSHE) 10,634 Golden Bears           1951
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania Lock Haven, Pennsylvania 1870 Public (PASSHE) 5,329 Bald Eagles           1951
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania Mansfield, Pennsylvania 1857 Public (PASSHE) 3,569 Mountaineers           1951
Mercyhurst University Erie, Pennsylvania 1926 Private (Catholic) 3,217 Lakers           2008
Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville, Pennsylvania 1855 Public (PASSHE) 8,427 Marauders           1951
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Johnstown, Pennsylvania 1927 Public (State-related) 3,032 Mountain Cats           2013
Seton Hill University Greensburg, Pennsylvania 1883 Private (Catholic) 2,014 Griffins           2013
Shepherd University Shepherdstown, West Virginia 1871 Public 3,320 Rams     2019
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, Pennsylvania 1871 Public (PASSHE) 8,253 Raiders           1951
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania 1889 Public (PASSHE) 8,648 The Rock           1951
West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, Pennsylvania 1871 Public (PASSHE) 17,719 Golden Rams           1951

Former member
Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Colors Joined Left Current
Conference
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Cheyney, Pennsylvania 1837 Public (PASSHE) 1,488 Wolves           1951 2018 TBD

Former affiliate members
Institution Location Founded Type Nickname Joined Left Sport Primary
Conference
Long Island University–Post Brookville, New York 1954 Private (Nonsectarian) Pioneers 2008 2013 field hockey;
football		 Northeast Conference[lower-alpha 1]
  1. While LIU Post was a full member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) from 1989 to 2019, neither of its PSAC sports were sponsored by the ECC. In 2013, Post moved both of its PSAC sports to the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10). In July 2019, Long Island University merged its two athletic programs—the LIU Post Pioneers and the Division I LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds—into a single Division I athletic program, the LIU Sharks. The merged program inherited Brooklyn's memberships in Division I and the Northeast Conference (NEC). Sports that had been sponsored by both campuses (among them field hockey) maintained LIU Brooklyn's NEC membership; sports that had been sponsored only by Post (among them football) became NEC members.

Membership timeline

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football-only)   Associate member (sport) 

Sports

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.[11]

A 2-divisional format is used for baseball, basketball (M / W), football, and tennis (W). A 3-divisional format is used for softball. A 4-divisional format is used for volleyball.
East
  • Bloomsburg
  • East Stroudsburg
  • Kutztown
  • Lock Haven
  • Mansfield
  • Millersville
  • Shepherd
  • Shippensburg
  • West Chester
West
  • California
  • Clarion
  • Edinboro
  • Gannon
  • IUP
  • Mercyhurst
  • Pitt–Johnstown
  • Seton Hill
  • Slippery Rock
East
  • East Stroudsburg
  • Kutztown
  • Millersville
  • Shepherd
  • Shippensburg
  • West Chester
Central
  • Bloomsburg
  • Clarion
  • IUP
  • Lock Haven
  • Mansfield
  • Pitt–Johnstown
West
  • California
  • Edinboro
  • Gannon
  • Mercyhurst
  • Seton Hill
  • Slippery Rock
Central
  • Bloomsburg
  • East Stroudsburg
  • Kutztown
  • Lock Haven
  • Millersville
Northwest
  • Clarion
  • Edinboro
  • Gannon
  • Mercyhurst
  • Slippery Rock
Southeast
  • Millersville
  • Shepherd
  • Shippensburg
  • West Chester
Southwest
  • California
  • IUP
  • Pitt–Johnstown
  • Seton Hill
Conference sports
SportMen'sWomen's
BaseballY
BasketballYY
Cross CountryYY
Field HockeyY
FootballY
GolfYY
LacrosseY
SoccerYY
SoftballY
Swimming & DivingYY
TennisYY
Track & Field IndoorYY
Track & Field OutdoorYY
VolleyballY
WrestlingY

Men's sponsored sports by school
School Baseball Basketball Cross
Country		 Football Golf Soccer Swimming
& Diving		 Tennis Track
& Field
Indoor		 Track
& Field
Outdoor		 Wrestling Total
PSAC
Sports
Bloomsburg Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 9
California Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 8
Clarion Y Y Y Y Y 5
East Stroudsburg Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 8
Edinboro Y Y Y Y Y Y 6
Gannon Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 8
Indiana Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 8
Kutztown Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 8
Lock Haven Y Y Y Y Y Y 6
Mansfield Y Y Y Y Y 5
Mercyhurst Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 8
Millersville Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Pittsburgh–Johnstown Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 8
Seton Hill Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 8
Shepherd Y Y Y Y Y Y 6
Shippensburg Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 9
Slippery Rock Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
West Chester Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 10
Totals 17 18 15 16 9 13 7 7 11 13 8 134

Women's sponsored sports by school
School Basketball Cross
Country		 Field
Hockey		 Golf Lacrosse Soccer Softball Swimming
& Diving		 Tennis Track
& Field
Indoor		 Track
& Field
Outdoor		 Volleyball Total
PSAC
Sports
Bloomsburg Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 10
California Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 10
Clarion Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 10
East Stroudsburg Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 12
Edinboro Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 10
Gannon Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 8
Indiana Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 11
Kutztown Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 12
Lock Haven Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 9
Mansfield Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Mercyhurst Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 9
Millersville Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 12
Pittsburgh–Johnstown Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Seton Hill Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 11
Shepherd Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Shippensburg Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 11
Slippery Rock Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 10
West Chester Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 12
Totals 18 17 11 10 14 18 18 12 14 15 15 17 179

    Other sponsored sports by school
    School Men Women
    Ice
    Hockey ‡    		 Lacrosse Water
    Polo ‡    		 Wrestling ‡ Bowling ‡ Field
    Hockey ‡    		 Gymnastics ‡ Ice
    Hockey ‡    		 Rowing Water
    Polo ‡    		 Rugby ‡
    Bloomsburg MAC
    Clarion MAC
    Edinboro MAC
    Gannon CWPA WWPA
    Kutztown ECC
    Lock Haven MAC A-10
    Mercyhurst AHA G-MAC CWPA CHA IND WWPA
    Seton Hill G-MAC
    West Chester ECAC NIRA
    • ‡ — D-I sport

    Championships
    Main articles: PSAC Football Championship Game and PSAC Men's Basketball Tournament

    Conference venues
    School Football stadium Capacity Basketball arena Capacity Other facilities
    Bloomsburg Robert B. Redman Stadium 4,775 Nelson Fieldhouse 3,000 Jan Hutchinson Field
    Danny Litwhiler Field
    Steph Pettit Stadium
    California Hepner-Bailey Field at Adamson Stadium 6,500 California University of Pennsylvania Convocation Center 4,000 Wild Things Park
    Phillipsburg Soccer Facility
    Lilley Field
    Hamer Hall
    Clarion Memorial Field 5,000 W.S. Tippin Gymnasium 4,000
    East Stroudsburg Eiler-Martin Stadium 6,000 Koehler Fieldhouse 2,000 Whitenight Field
    Mitterling Field
    Zimbar Field
    Edinboro Sox Harrison Stadium 6,000 McComb Fieldhouse 3,500 Zafirovski Sports and Recreation Dome
    Gannon McConnell Family Stadium 2,500 Hammermill Center 2,800
    IUP George P. Miller Stadium 6,000 Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex 6,000 Dougherty Field
    Podbielski Field
    Memorial Field House
    South Campus Field
    Kutztown University Field at Andre Reed Stadium 5,600 Keystone Field House 3,400 O'Pake Field House
    Keystone Field
    North Campus Field
    Lock Haven Hubert Jack Stadium 3,500 Thomas Fieldhouse 2,500 Foundation Field
    Lawrence Field
    Charlotte Smith Field
    Zimmerli Gymnasium
    Mansfield
    non-football school
    		 Decker Gymnasium 2,000 Lutes Field
    Spaulding Field
    Shaute Field
    Soccer Field
    Mercyhurst Louis J. Tullio Field 2,300 Mercyhurst Athletic Center 1,800 Mercyhurst Ice Center
    Mercyhurst Softball Field
    Millersville Biemesderfer Stadium 6,500 Pucillo Gymnasium 2,850 Cooper Park
    Millersville Softball Field
    Pittsburgh–Johnstown
    non-football school
    		 Sports Center 2,400 Point Stadium (baseball)
    Seton Hill Offutt Field 5,000 Salvitti Gymnasium 1,200 Dick's Sporting Goods Field
    Shepherd Ram Stadium 5,000 Butcher Center N/A Fairfax Baseball Field
    Shepherd Softball Field
    Shippensburg Seth Grove Stadium 7,700 Heiges Field House 2,768 Robb Field
    David See Field
    Art Fairchild Field
    Slippery Rock N. Kerr Thompson Stadium 10,000 Morrow Field House 3,000 Egli Soccer Field
    Critchfield Park
    West Chester John A. Farrell Stadium 7,500 Hollinger Field House 2,500 Vonnie Gros Field
    Serpico Stadium

    Notable alumni

    The following is a list of alumni of the respective universities, including before the formation of the Conference in 1951.

    Vivian Stringer
    Kurt Angle

    Football

    Baseball

    Basketball

    Soccer

    Olympians

    See also

    References
    1. "PSAC Overview". PSAC. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
    2. "PSAC invites, Gannon, Mercyhurst to be full members". The Vindicator. June 19, 2007. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
    3. "PSAC adds Gannon University and Mercyhurst College to Membership". PSAC. June 27, 2007. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
    4. "PSAC admits C.W. Post as associate members in two sports". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. June 28, 2007. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
    5. "Seton Hill to Join PSAC as Field Hockey Associate Member". 2010-10-26. Archived from the original on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
    6. Rine, Shawn (August 20, 2012). "Cards, Toppers Set To Jump Into New League". The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register. Wheeling, WV. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
    7. "University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Seton Hill University to Join PSAC" (Press release). Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. August 19, 2012. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
    8. Bell, Daryl (March 23, 2018). "Cheyney University dropping sports in an attempt to strengthen academics and school". The Undefeated. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
    9. "Shepherd University to Join PSAC in 2019–20" (Press release). Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. June 7, 2018. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
    10. Staples, Andy (May 16, 2014). "Should NCAA alter title game requirements? Look at the rule's origin". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
    11. "Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference". Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
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