MAC Commonwealth Conference

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.

MAC Commonwealth
ConferenceNCAA
Founded1999
Sports fielded
  • 23
    • men's: 11
    • women's: 12
DivisionDivision III
No. of teams8
HeadquartersAnnville, Pennsylvania
RegionMid-Atlantic
Official websitehttp://www.gomacsports.com

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:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Football?
Albright College Reading, Pennsylvania 1856 Methodist 2,304 Lions 1945–46[lower-alpha 1] Yes
Alvernia University Reading, Pennsylvania 1958 Catholic 2,872 Golden Wolves 2009–10[lower-alpha 2] Yes
Eastern University St. Davids, Pennsylvania 1952 Baptist 3,420 Eagles 2020–21[lower-alpha 3] Yes
Hood College Frederick, Maryland 1893 Reformed 1,174 Blazers 2012–13 No
Messiah University Grantham, Pennsylvania 1909 Christian 3,305 Falcons 1983–84[lower-alpha 1] No
Stevenson University Stevenson, Maryland 1947 Nonsectarian 3,621 Mustangs 2012–13 Yes
Widener University Chester, Pennsylvania 1821 Nonsectarian 6,402 Pride 1946–47[lower-alpha 1] Yes
York College of Pennsylvania York, Pennsylvania 1787 Nonsectarian 5,564 Spartans 2020–21 No
Notes
  1. Member school has been part of the MAC before the formation of the MAC Commonwealth, effective in the 1999–2000 school year.
  2. Alvernia has been in the MAC since the 2008–09 school year, but competed in the MAC Freedom during that same season.
  3. 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]

Former members

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

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Current
conference		 Football?
Arcadia University Glenside, Pennsylvania 1853 Presbyterian 2,473 Knights 2008–09[lower-alpha 1] 2019–20 MAC Freedom No
Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania 1899 Church of the Brethren 2,416 Blue Jays 1928–29[lower-alpha 2] 2013–14 Landmark No
Juniata College Huntingdon, Pennsylvania 1876 Church of the Brethren 1,449 Eagles 1938–39[lower-alpha 2] 2006–07 Landmark Yes
Lebanon Valley College Annville, Pennsylvania 1866 Methodist 1,712 Flying Dutchmen 1945–46[lower-alpha 2] 2022–23 MAC Freedom Yes
Lycoming College Williamsport, Pennsylvania 1812 Methodist 1,272 Warriors 2007–08[lower-alpha 3] 2019–20 Landmark Yes
Moravian College Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 1742 Moravian 1,792 Greyhounds 1945–46[lower-alpha 2] 2006–07 Landmark Yes
Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania 1858 Lutheran 1,900 Crusaders 1922–23[lower-alpha 2] 2006–07 Landmark Yes
Notes
  1. 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, effective in the 2020–21 school year.
  2. Member school has been part of the MAC before the formation of the MAC Commonwealth, effective in the 1999–2000 school year.
  3. 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, effective in the 2020–21 school year.

Membership timeline
York College of PennsylvaniaEastern University (United States)Stevenson UniversityHood CollegeAlvernia UniversityArcadia UniversityLycoming CollegeWidener UniversitySusquehanna UniversityMoravian CollegeMessiah CollegeLebanon Valley CollegeJuniata CollegeElizabethtown CollegeAlbright College

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,[lower-alpha 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.

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" (Press release). Middle Atlantic Conferences. July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020. Located in Annville, Pa., the Middle Atlantic Conference is an NCAA Division III conference comprised of 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" (Press release). Middle Atlantic Conferences. April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  3. "MAC Announces Realignment for 2020-21" (Press release). Middle Atlantic Conferences. May 7, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  4. "Best Colleges". U.S. News & World Report.
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