Atlantic 10 Conference

The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a NCAA conference that plays in NCAA Division I. The conference is headquartered in Newport News, Virginia and features universities and colleges from the Eastern and Midwestern United States.

History

The A-10 was founded by eight Eastern schools in 1975 as the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League, and began play in 1976. It first played only men's basketball, but added other sports in 1977 and became the Eastern Athletic Association. Despite its official names, the conference was more often called the Eastern 8. By 1982, the conference had 10 schools, and it became the Atlantic 10.

Although the conference has had "10" in its name since 1982, it has not had 10 members since Penn State left for the second and final time in 1991. Since then, the A-10 has had anywhere from 8 to 16 full members (schools that play most of their sports in the conference). From 1997 to 2006, the A-10 ran a football league; after the 2006 season, the A-10 football conference was taken over by the Colonial Athletic Association, now known as the Coastal Athletic Association. The former A-10 football conference is now known as CAA Football (in full, the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference); it is run by the multi-sports CAA but is legally separate.

Members

Fifteen schools are full members. Most of the members are private schools; eight are run by the Catholic Church.

School Location Founded Type
(affiliation)
Nickname Joined
A-10
Davidson College Davidson, North Carolina 1837 Private
(Presbyterian)
Wildcats 2014
University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio 1850 Private
(Catholic)
Flyers 1995
Duquesne University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1878 Private
(Catholic)
Dukes 1976, 1993[a 1]
Fordham University Bronx, New York 1841 Private
(Catholic)
Rams 1995
George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia 1957 Public Patriots 2013
George Washington University Washington, D.C. 1821 Private
(nonsectarian)
Revolutionaries 1976
La Salle University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1863 Private
(Catholic)
Rams 1995
Loyola University Chicago Chicago, Illinois 1870 Private
(Catholic)
Ramblers 2022
University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, Massachusetts 1863 Public Minutemen &
Minutewomen
1976
University of Rhode Island Kingston, Rhode Island 1892 Public Rams 1980
University of Richmond Richmond, Virginia 1830 Private
(nonsectarian)
Spiders 2001
St. Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure, New York 1858 Private
(Catholic)
Bonnies 1979
Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1851 Private
(Catholic)
Hawks 1982
Saint Louis University St. Louis, Missouri 1818 Private
(Catholic)
Billikens 2005
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia 1838 Public Rams 2012
  1. Duquesne left the A-10 in 1992 to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now known as the Horizon League), but came back in 1993.

Associate members

Three schools are "associate members" that play only one sport in the A-10.

School Location Founded Type
(affiliation)
Nickname Joined A-10 Sport Main Conference
High Point University High Point, North Carolina 1822 Private
(Methodist)
Panthers 2022 lacrosse, Men'sMen's lacrosse Big South
Hobart College Geneva, New York 1822 Private
(nonsectarian)
Statesmen 2022 lacrosse, Men'sMen's lacrosse Liberty League (Div. III)
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania Lock Haven, Pennsylvania 1870 Public Bald Eagles 2010 Field hockey PSAC (Div. II)

Former members

Ten schools were once full members of the A-10, but are no longer in the conference.

School Location Founded Type
(affiliation)
Nickname Joined Left Current Conference
Butler University Indianapolis, Indiana 1855 Private
(nonsectarian)
Bulldogs 2012 2013 Big East
University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte) Charlotte, North Carolina 1946 Public 49ers 2005 2013 The American
Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pennsylvania 1855 Public/private hybrid Nittany Lions 1976
1982
1979
1991
Big Ten
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1787 Public/private hybrid Panthers 1976 1982 ACC
Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey 1766 Public Scarlet Knights 1976 1995 Big Ten
Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1884 Public/private hybrid Owls 1982 2013 The American
Villanova University Villanova, Pennsylvania 1842 Private
(Catholic)
Wildcats 1976 1980 Big East
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) Blacksburg, Virginia 1872 Public Hokies 1995 2000 ACC
West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia 1867 Public Mountaineers 1976 1995 Big 12
Xavier University Cincinnati, Ohio 1831 Private
(Catholic)
Musketeers 1995 2013 Big East

References

  • "Atlantic 10 Conference". atlantic10.com. Retrieved 2014-07-06.