MAC Commonwealth
Founded1999
ConferenceNCAA
DivisionDivision III
Teams8
Sports23
Mens11
Womens12
RegionMid-Atlantic
HeadquartersAnnville, Pennsylvania
Websitehttp://www.gomacsports.com

The MAC Commonwealth, in full Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth,[1] is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. It is one of the three conferences that operate under the umbrella of the Middle Atlantic Conferences; the others being the MAC Freedom and the Middle Atlantic Conference, a grouping used for some sports that consists of MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom schools. Member institutions are located in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Member schools

The conference has had two significant membership changes in the 2020s. First, the MAC announced in April 2019 that York College of Pennsylvania would join from the Capital Athletic Conference in 2020.[2] The following month, the MAC announced that upon York's arrival, the MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom would be realigned so that each would have 9 members. Eastern moved from the MAC Freedom to the MAC Commonwealth, while Arcadia and Lycoming moved in the opposite direction.[3] Then in 2023, Lycoming and Wilkes left both the MAC Freedom and the overall MAC, leading the MAC to move Lebanon Valley from MAC Commonwealth to MAC Freedom in order to balance the membership numbers.

Current members

The MAC Commonwealth currently has eight full members, all are private schools:

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameColorsJoined[current 1]Football?
Albright CollegeReading, Pennsylvania1856Methodist2,304Lions1945[current 2]Yes
Alvernia UniversityReading, Pennsylvania1958Catholic2,872Golden Wolves2009[current 3]Yes
Eastern UniversitySt. Davids, Pennsylvania1952Baptist3,420Eagles2020[current 4]Yes
Hood CollegeFrederick, Maryland1893Reformed1,174Blazers2012No
Messiah UniversityGrantham, Pennsylvania1909Christian3,305Falcons1983[current 2]No
Stevenson UniversityStevenson, Maryland1947Nonsectarian3,621Mustangs2012Yes
Widener UniversityChester, Pennsylvania1821Nonsectarian6,402Pride1946[current 2]Yes
York College of PennsylvaniaYork, Pennsylvania1787Nonsectarian5,564Spartans2020No
Notes
  1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. ^ Member school has been part of the MAC before the formation of the MAC Commonwealth in the 1999–2000 school year.
  3. ^ Alvernia has been in the MAC since the 2008–09 school year, but competed in the MAC Freedom during that same season.
  4. ^ Eastern (Pa.) has been in the MAC since the 2008–09 school year, but competed in the MAC Freedom from 2008–09 to 2019–20.

Enrollment source: [4]

Future members

The MAC Commonwealth will have one future full member, a private school:

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoining[future 1]Previous
conference
Neumann UniversityAston, Pennsylvania1965Catholic
(Franciscan)		3,000Knights2026[future 2]Atlantic East (AEC)
Notes
  1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. ^ Neumann has been a MAC affiliate member for ice hockey since the 2024–25 school year.

Former members

The MAC Commonwealth had six former full members, all were private schools:

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoined[former 1]Left[former 2]Current
conference		Football?
Arcadia UniversityGlenside, Pennsylvania1853Presbyterian2,473Knights2008[former 3]2020MAC FreedomNo
Elizabethtown CollegeElizabethtown, Pennsylvania1899Church of the Brethren2,416Blue Jays1928[former 4]2014LandmarkNo
Juniata CollegeHuntingdon, Pennsylvania1876Church of the Brethren1,449Eagles1938[former 4]2007LandmarkYes
Lebanon Valley CollegeAnnville, Pennsylvania1866Methodist1,712Flying Dutchmen1945[former 4]2023MAC FreedomYes
Lycoming CollegeWilliamsport, Pennsylvania1812Methodist1,272Warriors2007[former 5]2020LandmarkYes
Moravian CollegeBethlehem, Pennsylvania1742Moravian1,792Greyhounds1945[former 4]2007LandmarkYes
Susquehanna UniversitySelinsgrove, Pennsylvania1858Lutheran1,900Crusaders1922[former 4]2007LandmarkYes
Notes
  1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. ^ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
  3. ^ Arcadia has been in the MAC since the 2007–08 school year, but competed in the MAC Freedom during that same season before returning back in 2020–21.
  4. ^ Member school has been part of the MAC before the formation of the MAC Commonwealth in the 1999–2000 school year.
  5. ^ Lycoming was a part of the MAC since the 1952–53 school year, but competed in the MAC Freedom from 1999–2000 to 2006–07 before returning back in 2020–21.

Membership timeline

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

Sports

The MAC Commonwealth sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's field hockey, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's tennis, and women's volleyball. In addition, members also compete in the Middle Atlantic Conference in men's and women's cross country, men's football, men's and women's ice hockey,[main 1] men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, men's volleyball, and men's wrestling.

Men's Sports

SchoolBaseballBasketballGolfLacrosseSoccerTennisTotal MAC Commonwealth Sports
Albright6
Alvernia6
Eastern6
Hood5
Messiah5
Stevenson6
Widener4
York6
Totals88688644

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the MAC that are played by MAC schools

SchoolBeach Volleyball
Stevenson

Women's Sports

SchoolBasketballField HockeyLacrosseSoccerSoftballTennisVolleyballTotal MAC Commonwealth Sports
Albright7
Alvernia7
Eastern7
Hood6
Messiah7
Stevenson7
Widener6
York7
Totals888886854

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the MAC that are played by MAC schools

SchoolAcrobatics & TumblingBeach VolleyballBowlingEquestrianFlag Football
AlverniaAMCC
EasternAtlantic East
Stevenson

Footnotes

  1. ^ While officially sponsoring ice hockey, the larger MAC does not conduct a conference tournament; all MAC ice hockey schools compete in the single-sport United Collegiate Hockey Conference for that league's automatic bids to the NCAA Division III men's and women's tournaments. The MAC uses regular-season results of UCHC games involving MAC members to extrapolate a conference champion. The relationship between the MAC and UCHC is similar to that in Division I between the Ivy League and ECAC Hockey.

References

  1. ^ "MAC Officially Welcomes York (Pa.), New Conference Structure". Middle Atlantic Conferences. July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020. Located in Annville, Pa., the Middle Atlantic Conference is an NCAA Division III conference [sic] the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC), Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth (MAC Commonwealth) and Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom).
  2. ^ "MAC to Add York (Pa.) as 18th Member Beginning in 2020-21". Middle Atlantic Conferences. April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  3. ^ "MAC Announces Realignment for 2020-21". Middle Atlantic Conferences. May 7, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  4. ^ "Best Colleges". U.S. News & World Report