The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Of its 10 member schools, all private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning, eight are located in Western Pennsylvania. One member is in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, an area adjoining and historically tied to Western Pennsylvania, and the other is on the Kentucky side of the Cincinnati metropolitan area.
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 (1955–1988) and Wayne State University (1955–1967). Unlike other conferences at that time, the PAC was designed to be controlled 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 only based on academic achievement or need.
By 1958, the PAC expanded east to include Allegheny College (1958–1984), Bethany College (1958–present), Thiel College (1958–present) and Washington & Jefferson College (1958–present). Eventually, many other member institutions joined the PAC, like Chatham University (2007–present), Geneva College (2007–present), Grove City College (1984–present), Saint Vincent College (2006–present), Thomas More College (2005–present), Waynesburg University (1990–present) and Westminster College (2000–present).
Some former PAC member institutions include Alfred University (1996–1998), Carnegie Mellon University (1968–1989), Eastern Michigan University (1962–1967) and Hiram College (1972–1989).
The headquarters is located in Wexford, Pennsylvania.
1955 Charter members Western Reserve University, John Carroll University, and Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, along with Wayne State University in Detroit, come together to form the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).
1958 The PAC adds four additional members - Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa.; Bethany College in Bethany, W.Va.; Thiel College in Greenville, Pa.; and Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa., bringing the total number of conference members to eight.
1962 The PAC accepted the University of Ypsilanti (Eastern Michigan) as its ninth member.
1966 Wayne State and Eastern Michigan withdrew from the PAC following the 1966–67 academic year, leaving the conference with seven members.
1967 Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University federated into a new institution known as Case Western Reserve University. 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 in Pittsburgh is accepted into the PAC.
1970 Case Western Reserve University begins to compete as one program, no longer fielding teams as Case Tech and Adelbert.
1972 Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio is accepted into the PAC.
1983 Allegheny College and Case Western Reserve University leave the PAC following the 1983–84 academic year.
1984 Grove City College in Grove City, Pa., is accepted into the PAC.
1984–85 The PAC sponsors women's athletic championships for the first time.
1988 John Carroll University leaves the PAC.
1989 Carnegie Mellon University and Hiram College leave the PAC.
1990 Waynesburg College (now University) in Waynesburg, Pa., is accepted into the PAC.
1996 Alfred College in Alfred, N.Y., is accepted into the PAC.
1998 Alfred College leaves the PAC.
2000 Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., is accepted into the PAC.
2005 Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky., is accepted into the PAC.
2006 Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., is accepted into the PAC
2007 Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pa., and Chatham University in Pittsburgh are both accepted into the PAC, bringing the conference to its current level of 10 full-time members.
2011 Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Case Western Reserve in Cleveland are both admitted to the PAC as affiliate members in the sport of football beginning in the 2014–15 academic year.
The PAC currently has two associate members, both of which play only football in the league. The 2014 season was the first for both schools.
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