Colonial Athletic Association
| Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) |
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|---|---|
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| Established | 1983 |
| Association | NCAA |
| Division | Division I FCS |
| Members | 12 |
| Sports fielded | 21 (men's: 10; women's: 11) |
| Region | East Coast |
| Former names | ECAC South |
| Headquarters | Richmond, Virginia |
| Commissioner | Tom Yeager (since 1983) |
| Website | caasports.com |
| Locations | |
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The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The CAA was historically a Southern conference until the addition of five Northeastern schools (all five from rival conference America East) after the turn of the 21st century, which added balance to the conference.
The CAA was founded in 1983 as the ECAC South basketball league. It was renamed the Colonial Athletic Association in 1985 when it added championships in other sports (although a number of members maintain ECAC affiliation in some sports). As of 2006, it organizes championships in 21 men's and women's sports. The addition of Northeastern University in 2005 gave the conference the NCAA minimum of six football programs needed to sponsor football. For the 2007 football season, all of the Atlantic 10 Conference's football programs joined the CAA football conference, as agreed upon in May 2005.
The CAA has expanded in recent years, following the exits of longtime members such as the United States Naval Academy, University of Richmond, East Carolina University and American University. In 2001, the six-member conference added four additional universities: Towson University, Drexel University, Hofstra University, and the University of Delaware. Four years later the league expanded again when Georgia State University and Northeastern University joined, further enlarging the conference footprint.
On the playing field, the CAA has produced 16 national team champions in five different sports (the most recent being the Villanova Wildcats who won the 2009 Division I FCS football championship), 33 individual national champions, 11 national coaches of the year, 11 national players of the year and 12 Honda Award winners. In 2006, George Mason became the first CAA team to reach the Final Four. In 2011, the VCU Rams became the second CAA team to reach the Final Four, as well as the first team to win five games enroute, due to their participation in the First Four round.
Contents |
[edit] Members
[edit] Full-time members
[edit] Associate members
- Saint Joseph's University (Men's Lacrosse)
- Binghamton University (Wrestling)
- Boston University (Wrestling)
- Campbell University (Wrestling)
- University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (Women's Rowing)
- University of Dayton (Women's Golf)
- University of Maine (Football)
- University of Massachusetts (Men's Lacrosse)
- University of New Hampshire (Football)
- Penn State University (Men's Lacrosse)
- University of Rhode Island (Football)
- University of Richmond (Women's Golf, Football)
- Rider University (Wrestling)
- Sacred Heart University (Wrestling)
- Villanova University (Football)
- Xavier University (Women's Golf)
[edit] Former members
- American University (1984–2001)
- East Carolina University (1982–2001)
- United States Naval Academy (Navy) (1982–1991)
- University of Richmond (1982–2001)
[edit] Membership history timeline
[edit] Men's basketball
| * | Denotes a tie for regular season conference title |
| † | Denotes game went into overtime |
[edit] Regular Season Champions
Note: The conference was known as the ECAC South from 1983–1985.
| Season | Regular Season Champion | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | William & Mary | 9–0 |
| 1984 | Richmond | 7–3 |
| 1985 | Navy | 11–3 |
| 1986 | Navy | 13–1 |
| 1987 | Navy | 13–1 |
| 1988 | Richmond | 11–3 |
| 1989 | Richmond | 13–1 |
| 1990 | James Madison | 11–3 |
| 1991 | James Madison | 12–2 |
| 1992 | Richmond | 12–2 |
| 1993 | James Madison | 11–3 |
| 1994 | Old Dominion | 10–4 |
| 1995 | Old Dominion | 12–2 |
| 1996 | VCU | 14–2 |
| 1997 | Old Dominion | 10–6 |
| 1998* | William & Mary UNC Wilmington |
13–3 |
| 1999 | George Mason | 13–3 |
| 2000* | George Mason James Madison |
12–4 |
| 2001 | Richmond | 12–4 |
| 2002 | UNC Wilmington | 14–4 |
| 2003 | UNC Wilmington | 15–3 |
| 2004 | VCU | 14–4 |
| 2005 | Old Dominion | 15–3 |
| 2006* | George Mason UNC Wilmington |
15–3 |
| 2007 | VCU | 16–2 |
| 2008 | VCU | 15–3 |
| 2009 | VCU | 14–4 |
| 2010 | Old Dominion | 15–3 |
| 2011 | George Mason | 16–2 |
| 2012 | Drexel | 16–2 |
[edit] History of the Tournament Final
The tournament will be held at the Richmond Coliseum through the 2013-14 season under an extension signed in September 2010.[5]
[edit] Men's Tournament Championships and appearances in CAA Tournament Finals by School
| School | Championships | Finals Appearances | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Dominion | 6 | 8 | 1992, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2010, 2011 |
| Richmond‡ | 5 | 7 | 1984, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1998 |
| VCU | 5 | 8 | 1996, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2012 |
| George Mason | 4 | 10 | 1989, 1999, 2001, 2008 |
| UNC Wilmington | 4 | 8 | 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006 |
| Navy‡ | 3 | 4 | 1985, 1986, 1987 |
| James Madison | 2 | 8 | 1983, 1994 |
| East Carolina‡ | 1 | 1 | 1993 |
| Drexel | 0 | 1 | — |
| Hofstra | 0 | 1 | — |
| William & Mary | 0 | 3 | — |
‡Former member of the CAA
[edit] Broadcasters
[edit] Women's basketball
[edit] Regular Season Champions
| Season | Regular Season Champion | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Richmond | 4–1 |
| 1985 | East Carolina | 11–1 |
| 1986 | James Madison | 11–1 |
| 1987 | James Madison | 12–0 |
| 1988 | James Madison | 12–0 |
| 1989 | James Madison | 12–0 |
| 1990 | Richmond | 11–1 |
| 1991 | James Madison | 11–1 |
| 1992 | Old Dominion | 12–2 |
| 1993 | Old Dominion | 14–0 |
| 1994 | Old Dominion | 14–0 |
| 1995 | Old Dominion | 13–1 |
| 1996 | Old Dominion | 16–0 |
| 1997 | Old Dominion | 16–0 |
| 1998 | Old Dominion | 16–0 |
| 1999 | Old Dominion | 16–0 |
| 2000 | Old Dominion | 16–0 |
| 2001 | Old Dominion | 15–1 |
| 2002 | Old Dominion | 18–0 |
| 2003 | Old Dominion | 15–3 |
| 2004 | Old Dominion | 14–4 |
| 2005 | Delaware | 16–2 |
| 2006 | Old Dominion | 17–1 |
| 2007 | Old Dominion | 17–1 |
| 2008 | Old Dominion | 17–1 |
| 2009 | Drexel | 16–2 |
| 2010 | Old Dominion | 14–4 |
| 2011 | James Madison | 16–2 |
| 2012 | Delaware | 17–0 |
| * | Denotes a tie for regular season conference title |
| † | Denotes game went into overtime |
[edit] History of the Tournament Finals
[edit] Women's Tournament Championships and appearances in CAA Finals by School
| School | Championships | Finals Appearances | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Dominion | 17 | 18 | 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 |
| James Madison | 6 | 14 | 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2010, 2011 |
| East Carolina‡ | 2 | 6 | 1984, 1985 |
| Richmond‡ | 2 | 4 | 1990, 1991 |
| Drexel | 1 | 1 | 2009 |
| Delaware | 0 | 3 | — |
| American‡ | 0 | 2 | — |
| George Mason | 0 | 2 | — |
| UNC Wilmington | 0 | 2 | — |
| William & Mary | 0 | 1 | — |
| VCU | 0 | 1 | — |
‡Former member of the CAA
[edit] Football
The CAA football conference was formed in 2005, although it did not begin play until 2007. In the 2004–05 academic year, the CAA had five member schools that sponsored football, all of them as football-only members of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A10). In 2005, as previously noted, Northeastern accepted the CAA's offer of membership, giving the CAA the six football-playing members it needed under NCAA rules to organize a football conference. At that time, the CAA announced it would launch its new football conference in 2007. Next, the CAA invited the University of Richmond to become a football-only member effective in 2007. Once UR accepted the offer, this left the A10 football conference with only five members, less than the six required under NCAA rules. As a result, the remaining A10 football programs all decided to join the CAA on a football-only basis, spelling the end of A10 football, at least under that conference's banner. Since the CAA football conference had the same members as the A10 the previous year, it can be said that the CAA football conference is the A10 football conference under new management.
With that in mind, the CAA football conference's oldest ancestor is the New England Conference, founded in 1938 by five state-supported universities in that region plus Northeastern; four of the public schools are currently in the CAA football conference. After the departure of Northeastern in 1945, the remaining members affiliated with the University of Vermont to form the Yankee Conference under a new charter in 1946, with competition starting in 1947. That conference, which over time came to include many schools outside its original New England base, eventually dropped all sports other than football in 1975, and merged with the A10 in 1997. Every school that was in the Yankee Conference at the time of the A10 merger and still fields an FCS-level football team (nine out of the final 12 members of the Yankee Conference) is in the CAA football conference. On May 31, 2006, Old Dominion University announced that it would start a football team to begin play in 2009.[6] ODU joined the CAA football conference in 2011.[7] On April 17, 2008, Georgia State University announced that it would start a football team to begin play in 2010 and join the CAA football conference in 2012.[8] The team is playing in the 70,000 seat Georgia Dome, but is restricting ticket sales to just over 28,000 for virtually all its games.
Since the CAA began play as a football conference in 2007, a member team has played in the FCS Championship game four times, with Delaware making it in 2007 and 2010 and Richmond and Villanova winning it in 2008 and 2009, respectively. In 2007, the CAA set records with 15 national player of the week honorees and by sending five teams to the national championship playoffs. The very next season, in 2008, they broke that record with 19 national player of the week honorees and tied their own record by again sending five teams to the national championship playoffs for the second straight year. At the end of the 2008 season, the CAA had six Top 25 teams with four placing in the Top Ten. Players from the CAA received 78 All-America honors.
In the opening weekend of the 2009 season, CAA teams defeated three Division I FBS teams. William & Mary and Richmond took down teams from the ACC (one of the six conferences whose champions receive automatic Bowl Championship Series berths), respectively Virginia and Duke, while Villanova defeated Temple from the MAC. The following weekend saw New Hampshire defeat another MAC team, Ball State (which had gone through the previous regular season unbeaten, but ended 2009 2–10). All four of the CAA teams to defeat FBS teams qualified for the 2009 FCS playoffs and won their first-round games; Villanova and William & Mary reached the semifinals, and Villanova won the FCS championship.
Northeastern—the school whose 2005 move to the CAA enabled the creation of the CAA football conference—dropped football after the 2009 season. President Joseph E. Aoun and the board of trustees endorsed the move Friday after an extensive, two-year review of the athletic program by its director, Peter Roby. The decision to eliminate football follows six straight losing seasons and sparse game attendance at a school whose ice rink often sells out for hockey.[9]
On December 3, 2009, Hofstra announced that the university would no longer be sponsoring football. The decision follows a two-year review of sports spending at Hofstra. School officials stated there are no plans to cut any other sports at the Long Island school. Hofstra cited costs and low student interest—only 500 students would attend home games despite free tickets—as reasons to drop the program.[10] Due to the reduction of the conference, the CAA did not use the division format for the 2010 season. Even though Old Dominion began conference play in 2011 and Georgia State will do the same in 2012, the divisional format is not likely to return in the immediate future, as the CAA will lose football members in both 2012 and 2013. UMass will depart for FBS and the Mid-American Conference in 2012, followed by Rhode Island's departure for the Northeast Conference.
The 2010 season started with the biggest non-conference win of the CAA's short history, when James Madison defeated nationally-ranked Virginia Tech (FBS #13 at the time) of the ACC. JMU won 21-16 on September 11, at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium.
The CAA football conference has the following members:
- Delaware
- Georgia State[11] (program began in 2010 and joins CAA play in 2012)
- James Madison
- Maine
- New Hampshire
- Old Dominion (first CAA season in 2011)
- Richmond
- Rhode Island (leaving the CAA for the Northeast Conference in 2013[12])
- Towson
- Villanova
- William & Mary
[edit] Former members
The former members of the CAA football conference are:
- Northeastern 2007–2009, dropped football[9]
- Hofstra 2007–2009, dropped football[13]
- UMass 2007-2011, (left the CAA after the 2011 season to become a football member of the FBS Mid-American Conference)[14]
Additionally, former members of its ancestor conferences (New England Conference, Yankee Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference) include:
- Boston U.: 1971–1997, dropped football
- Connecticut: 1938–1999, moved up to Division I-A (now FBS), joined Big East Conference for football in 2004
- Holy Cross: 1971, became independent, now in Patriot League
- Vermont: 1938–1973, dropped football
[edit] Conference champions
| * | Denotes a tie for regular season conference title |
| Bold type | Denotes national champion in the same season |
| Year | Team(s) | Conference Record | Overall Record(s) | Head Coach(es) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007* | Massachusetts Richmond |
7–1 | 10–3 11–3 |
Don Brown Dave Clawson |
| 2008 | James Madison | 8–0 | 12–2 | Mickey Matthews |
| 2009* | Richmond Villanova |
7–1 | 11–2 14–1 |
Mike London Andy Talley |
| 2010* | Delaware William & Mary |
6–2 | 12–3 8–4 |
K. C. Keeler Jimmye Laycock |
| 2011 | Towson | 7–1 | 9–3 | Rob Ambrose |
[edit] Men's soccer
[edit] Regular Season Champions
Note: The conference was known as the ECAC South from 1983–1985.
List of CAA regular season champions.[15]
| Season | Regular Season Champion | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | George Mason | 4–1–0 |
| 1984 | American | 5–0–2 |
| 1985 | American | 6–1–0 |
| 1986 | George Mason | 5–0–2 |
| 1987 | William & Mary | 6–1–0 |
| 1988 | Navy | 5–1–1 |
| 1989 | George Mason | 6–0–1 |
| 1990 | George Mason | 6–1–0 |
| 1991 | James Madison | 6–1–0 |
| 1992 | William & Mary | 5–0–2 |
| 1993 | James Madison | 7–0–0 |
| 1994 | James Madison | 6–0–1 |
| 1995 | William & Mary | 6–2–0 |
| 1996 | William & Mary | 8–0–0 |
| 1997 | American | 6–0–2 |
| 1998 | VCU | 7–0–1 |
| 1999 | Old Dominion | 7–1–0 |
| 2000 | James Madison | 7–1–0 |
| 2001 | Old Dominion | 3–0–2 |
| 2002 | VCU | 7–1–1 |
| 2003 | VCU | 8–1–0 |
| 2004 | VCU | 7–1–1 |
| 2005 | Old Dominion | 9–1–1 |
| 2006 | Towson | 10–0–1 |
| 2007 | Drexel | 8–2–1 |
| 2008 | UNC Wilmington | 7–4–0 |
| 2009 | UNC Wilmington | 8–0–3 |
| 2010 | William & Mary | 8–1–2 |
| 2011 |
[edit] Conference facilities
Note: Georgia State started football in 2010 but will not join the CAA until 2012.
[edit] References
- ^ Office of Communications and Marketing. "The History of the University of Delaware". Udel.edu. http://www.udel.edu/aboutus/history.html. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "Office of Institutional Research & Reporting". Irr.gmu.edu. http://irr.gmu.edu/off_enrl/StuEnrl/EnrlSide1.cfm?term=bot2011B. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
- ^ "Towson At a Glance - Towson University". Towson.edu. 2010-02-02. http://www.towson.edu/main/abouttu/glance/. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "About VCU". Virginia Commonwealth University. http://www.vcu.edu/about/. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ CAA Announces Two-Year Extension With Richmond Coliseum Through 2014, CAAsports.com, September 7, 2010
- ^ "Football to be added to ODU sports programs in 2009". Odusports.cstv.com. 2006-05-31. http://odusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/053106aac.html. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
- ^ Ducibella, Jim (2007-01-24). "ODU football closing in on necessary endowment". The Virginian-Pilot. http://hamptonroads.com/node/211841. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions About Georgia State Football". Georgiastatesports.com. http://www.georgiastatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=12700&KEY=&ATCLID=1441410&SPID=5671&SPSID=104979. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
- ^ a b Ryan, Andrew (2009-11-23). "Northeastern calls an end to football". The Boston Globe. Boston.com. http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/football/articles/2009/11/23/northeastern_calls_an_end_to_football/. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ Yahoo.com[dead link]
- ^ Mike Zhe (2009-11-01). "UNH football notebook: CAA expansion won't effect 'Cats short-term". SeacoastOnline.com. http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20091101-SPORTS-911010361. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "Rhode Island To Join Northeast Conference As Associate Member In Football". University of Rhode Island. November 22, 2010. http://www.gorhody.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112210aac.html. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
- ^ "Hofstra to End Intercollegiate Football Program to Invest in Academic Initiatives". Hofstra.edu. 2009-12-03. http://www.hofstra.edu/home/News/PressReleases/120309_football.html. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "Report: UMass to announce MAC move". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 19, 2011. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6390279. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ "Men's Soccer Archive". CAA. NMN Athletics. http://www.nmnathletics.com/fls/8500/supportfiles/Records/recordbookmsoc.pdf. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ "Georgia Dome". Georgia State Athletics. http://www.georgiastatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12700&ATCLID=205155221. Retrieved October 28, 2011. The Dome's full capacity for football is 71,228.
- ^ "James Madison University - Bridgeforth Stadium". jmu.edu. http://www.jmu.edu/bridgeforthstadium/. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
[edit] External links
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