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

Conference	NCAA
Founded	1999
Sports fielded	23 men's: 11 women's: 12
Division	Division III
No. of teams	8
Headquarters	Annville, Pennsylvania
Region	Mid-Atlantic
Official website	http://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[a]	Yes
Alvernia University	Reading, Pennsylvania	1958	Catholic	2,872	Golden Wolves	2009–10[b]	Yes
Eastern University	St. Davids, Pennsylvania	1952	Baptist	3,420	Eagles	2020–21[c]	Yes
Hood College	Frederick, Maryland	1893	Reformed	1,174	Blazers	2012–13	No
Messiah University	Grantham, Pennsylvania	1909	Christian	3,305	Falcons	1983–84[a]	No
Stevenson University	Stevenson, Maryland	1947	Nonsectarian	3,621	Mustangs	2012–13	Yes
Widener University	Chester, Pennsylvania	1821	Nonsectarian	6,402	Pride	1946–47[a]	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[a]	2019–20	MAC Freedom	No
Elizabethtown College	Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania	1899	Church of the Brethren	2,416	Blue Jays	1928–29[b]	2013–14	Landmark	No
Juniata College	Huntingdon, Pennsylvania	1876	Church of the Brethren	1,449	Eagles	1938–39[b]	2006–07	Landmark	Yes
Lebanon Valley College	Annville, Pennsylvania	1866	Methodist	1,712	Flying Dutchmen	1945–46[b]	2022–23	MAC Freedom	Yes
Lycoming College	Williamsport, Pennsylvania	1812	Methodist	1,272	Warriors	2007–08[c]	2019–20	Landmark	Yes
Moravian College	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania	1742	Moravian	1,792	Greyhounds	1945–46[b]	2006–07	Landmark	Yes
Susquehanna University	Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania	1858	Lutheran	1,900	Crusaders	1922–23[b]	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

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,^[a] 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.

External links

• Official website