Patriot League

Patriot League
Established	1986
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I FCS
Members	10 full, 3 associate
Sports fielded	23 (men's: 11; women's: 12)
Region	Northeast
Former names	Colonial League
Headquarters	Center Valley, Pennsylvania
Commissioner	Carolyn S. Femovich (since 1999)
Website	patriotleague.org
Locations

The Patriot League is a college athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside of the Ivy League, it is the most selective group of higher education institutions in NCAA Division I and has the second highest student-athlete graduation rate following the Ivy League.

Its ten Full League members are American University, United States Military Academy (Army), Boston University, Bucknell University, Colgate University, College of the Holy Cross, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Loyola University Maryland and the United States Naval Academy (Navy). Its three Associate members are Fordham University and Georgetown University for football and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for women’s rowing.

All ten core members participate in the NCAA's Division I for all sports. Since not all Patriot League schools sponsor every available NCAA sport, such as ice hockey, several schools are affiliated with other collegiate conferences. Additionally, the Patriot League has a unique arrangement for football. Army and Navy are Independents in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), while Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, and Lehigh are members of the Patriot League’s Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) conference. American does not sponsor football.

About

Lafayette College won the 142nd edition of "The Rivalry" against Lehigh University, but lost the most recent contest in 2011.

Patriot League members are schools with very strong academic reputations that adhere strongly to the ideal of the "scholar-athlete", with the emphasis on "scholar". An academic index ensures that athletes are truly representative of and integrated with the rest of the student body. Out-of-league play for Patriot League schools is typically with members of the Ivy League, which follow similar philosophies regarding academics and athletics.

Patriot League members have some of the oldest collegiate athletic programs in the country. In particular, The Rivalry between Lehigh University and Lafayette College is both the nation's most played and longest uninterrupted college football series. Similarly, matchups between Army and Navy in any sport are always intense.

The winner of the Patriot League Basketball tournament receives an automatic invitation to the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament every March. In recent years, Bucknell and Lehigh have both won NCAA tournament games.

History

The origins of the Patriot League began after the eight Ivy League schools each expanded its football schedules to ten games starting in 1980. Needing opponents with a similar competitive level on a regular basis for each teams' three nonconference games, the league contacted two university presidents, the Reverend John E. Brooks, S.J. of Holy Cross and Peter Likins of Lehigh, about the formation of a new conference that also prohibited athletic scholarships. The result was the Colonial League, a football-only circuit that began competition in 1986. Its six charter members were Holy Cross, Lehigh, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette and Davidson, which dropped out after the 1988 season for reasons related to geography and a reluctance to relinquish its basketball scholarships in case the conference expanded into other sports.

In 1990, the league changed its name to the Patriot League. At the start of the 1990-91 academic year, the league became an all-sport conference, with 22 sports (11 for men and 11 for women), and now had seven full members, including Fordham and the United States Military Academy (Army) as new members. In 1991, the league gained an eighth full member — the United States Naval Academy (Navy).

In 1993, the league hired Constance (Connie) H. Hurlbut as executive director. She was the first woman and youngest person to be the leader of an NCAA Division I conference.

In 1995, Fordham resigned its full membership (leaving the league with seven full members) but continued as an associate member in football. In 1996, Fairfield and Ursinus joined as associate members in field hockey. (Fairfield left after the 2003 fall season, who is now an associate member of the America East Conference. Ursinus left after the 2001 fall season, who is now a full member of the Centennial Conference.) In 1997, Towson joined as an associate member in football. (Towson left after the 2003 fall season to join the Atlantic 10 Conference, whose football conference would be absorbed by the Colonial Athletic Association in 2007.) In 1999, Hobart joined as an associate member in men's lacrosse and Villanova joined as an associate member in women's lacrosse. (Hobart left after the 2004 spring season, to join the ECAC Lacrosse League, while Villanova left after the 2006 spring season.) In 2001, American University joined as the eighth full member and Georgetown University joined as an associate member in football. Two schools announced in summer 2012 that they would join the league for the 2013–14 academic year, with Boston University making its announcement on June 15 and Loyola University Maryland doing so on August 29.

Athletic Scholarships

While financial aid has always been available, athletic scholarships have only been given in recent years at Patriot League schools. Basketball scholarships were first allowed beginning with freshmen entering the league in the fall of 1998. In 2001, when American, which gave scholarships in all sports (AU does not play football) entered the league, the league began allowing all schools to do so in sports other than football. Lafayette, the last no athletic scholarships holdout, began granting full rides in basketball and other sports with freshmen entering the school in the fall of 2006.

In the fall of 2010, Fordham University announced that it would start offering football scholarships. While this action made Fordham ineligible for the league championship, it did open up the question of football scholarships. On February 13, 2012, the Patriot League announced they would begin offering football scholarships. Starting with the 2013 academic year, each school will be allowed no more than the equivalent of 15 scholarships to incoming football players, according to the release. The total number of scholarships can’t exceed 60 in any season, a total only slightly lower than the NCAA limit of 63 scholarship equivalents for FCS programs.

Presidents from six of the seven football schools indicated they would award scholarships in the fall of 2012. Georgetown University did not commit to offer scholarships.

Member schools

Locations of current Patriot League full member institutions.

Full members

There are ten "full" member schools:

Institution	Location	Nickname	Colors	Founded	Type	Undergraduate Enrollment	Joined
American University	Washington, D.C.	Eagles	American Red & Blue	1893	Private	6,028	2001
Army !United States Military Academy (Army)	West Point, New York	Black Knights	Black, Gray & Gold	1802	Government Institution	4,487	1990
Boston University	Boston, MA	Terriers	Scarlet & White	1839	Private	15,977	2013
Bucknell University	Lewisburg, Pennsylvania	Bison	Orange & Blue	1846	Private	3,650	1986
Colgate University	Hamilton, New York	Raiders	Maroon & White	1819	Private	2,837	1986
Holy Cross !College of the Holy Cross	Worcester, Massachusetts	Crusaders	Purple & White	1843	Private	2,817	1986
Lafayette College	Easton, Pennsylvania	Leopards	Maroon & White	1826	Private	2,382	1986
Lehigh University	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania	Mountain Hawks	Brown & White	1865	Private	4,781	1986
Loyola University Maryland	Baltimore, MD	Greyhounds	Green & Gray	1852	Private	3,901	2013
Navy !United States Naval Academy (Navy)	Annapolis, Maryland	Midshipmen	Navy Blue & Gold	1845	Government Institution	4,400	1991

Associate members

There are three associate-member schools:

Institution	Location	Nickname	Colors	Founded	Type	Undergraduate Enrollment	Primary Conference	Patriot Sport
Fordham University	Bronx, New York	Rams	Maroon & White	1841	Private	8,220	Atlantic 10 (A-10)	football
Georgetown University	Georgetown, Washington, D.C.	Hoyas	Blue & Gray	1789	Private	7,433	Big East	football
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Engineers	Cardinal Red & Steel Gray	1861	Private	4,384	NEWMAC (NCAA Division III)	women's rowing

American does not play football, while Army and Navy participate as Independents in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A). Thus, Fordham and Georgetown replace them in the Patriot League for football only.

The Fordham Rams are ineligible for the Patriot League title in football from 2010 through 2012 because they offered athletic scholarships in that sport prior to the League implementation of limited scholarships in 2013. Fordham was also a full member of the Patriot League from 1990 until 1995 when they moved all sports except football to the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Former full members

Institution	Location	Nickname	Founded	Type	Undergraduate Enrollment	Joined	Left	Current Conference
Fordham University	Bronx, New York	Rams	1841	Private	8,220	1990	1995	Atlantic 10 (A-10)

Former associate members

Institution	Location	Nickname	Founded	Type	Undergraduate Enrollment	Joined	Left	Primary Conference	Patriot Sport
Davidson College	Davidson, North Carolina	Wildcats	1837	Private	1,743	1986-87	1988-89	SoCon (all sports until 2014) A-10 (all sports from 2014) PFL (football)	football
Hobart College	Geneva, New York	Statesmen	1822	Private	2,110	1999-2000	2003-04	Liberty (NCAA Division III)	men's lacrosse
Towson University	Towson, Maryland	Tigers	1866	Public	17,517	1997-98	2003-04	CAA	football
Ursinus College	Collegeville, Pennsylvania	Bears	1869	Private	1,750	1996-97	2001-02	Centennial (NCAA Division III)	field hockey
Villanova University	Villanova, Pennsylvania	Wildcats	1842	Private	6,394	1998-99	2005-06	Big East (New Big East in 2013)	women's lacrosse

Membership timeline

Full members Full members (non-football) Assoc. members (football only) Associate member(some sports)

Sports

The Patriot League sponsors championship competition in twelve men's and thirteen women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Georgetown and Fordham are Associate members for football, and MIT is an Associate member for rowing.

	American	Army	Boston	Bucknell	Colgate	Holy Cross	Lafayette	Lehigh	Loyola	Navy	Total
Men's Sports
Baseball	N	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	6
Basketball	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Cross Country	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
FCS Football	N	N†	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N†	5
Golf	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Lacrosse	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Soccer	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Swimming & Diving	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Tennis	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Track and Field (Indoor)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	9
Track and Field (Outdoor)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	9
Men's Totals	6	10	8	11	10	11	11	11	7	10	95
Women's Sports
Basketball	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Cross Country	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Field Hockey	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	7
Golf	N	N	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	N	Y	5
Lacrosse	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Rowing	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	7
Soccer	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Softball	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	7
Swimming & Diving	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Tennis	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Track and Field (Indoor)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Track and Field (Outdoor)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Volleyball	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Women's Totals	9	9	12	13	12	13	11	13	10	11	113
Schools' Totals	15	19	20	24	22	24	22	24	17	21	208

• † - Army and Navy play FBS football.

Basketball

Men's tournament champion, runner-up, and MVP

See: Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament

Women's tournament champion

See: Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament

NCAA

In NCAA basketball, Bucknell, Navy, Lehigh, and Holy Cross are the only teams in the conference ever to have recorded NCAA Tournament victories. Bucknell won tournament games in 2005 over Kansas and in 2006 over Arkansas. Lehigh won over Duke in the 2012 tournament.

The Bison and Mountain Hawks are the only teams to win in the NCAA Tournament while actually representing the Patriot League. A Navy team—then representing the Colonial Athletic Association—led by future Hall of Famer David Robinson won three tournament games while advancing to the regional finals in 1986. Holy Cross was among the best teams in the country in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and won the 1947 national championship with a team that included Hall of Famer Bob Cousy. Its combined record in the NCAA Tournament is 7–12. However, Holy Cross has not won a tournament game since 1953.

Field hockey

Tournament champion

1994 - Lehigh 1995 - Lafayette 1996 - Colgate 1997 - Holy Cross 1998 - Holy Cross 1999 - Lafayette 2000 - Holy Cross 2001 – Fairfield

2002 - Lafayette 2003 - American 2004 - American 2005 - American 2006 - American 2007 - American 2008 - American 2009 - American

2010 - American 2011 - Lafayette 2012 - Lafayette

Football

League champions

1986 Holy Cross 1987 Holy Cross 1988 Lafayette 1989 Holy Cross 1990 Holy Cross 1991 Holy Cross 1992 Lafayette 1993 Lehigh 1994 Lafayette

1995 Lehigh 1996 Bucknell 1997 Colgate 1998 Lehigh 1999 Colgate and Lehigh 2000 Lehigh 2001 Lehigh 2002 Colgate and Fordham 2003 Colgate

2004 Lafayette and Lehigh 2005 Colgate and Lafayette 2006 Lafayette and Lehigh 2007 Fordham 2008 Colgate 2009 Holy Cross 2010 Lehigh 2011 Lehigh 2012 Colgate

Patriot League football was non-scholarship until the league presidents voted to approve football scholarships starting with the 2013 recruiting class. Each school will be allowed no more than the equivalent of 15 scholarships to incoming football players. The total number of scholarship equivalents cannot exceed 60 in any season, three short of the NCAA FCS maximum.

Until 1997, Patriot League teams did not participate in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. The policy was in step with the Ivy League's policy of not participating in the playoffs since the Patriot League was founded with the Ivy League's athletics philosophy. The league champion receives the automatic playoff berth. If there are co-champions, a tie-breaker determines the playoff participant.

Colgate was the first team to receive the league's automatic berth in 1997. The following year, Lehigh won the league's first playoff game. It is also the only year where a Patriot League team, Colgate, received a playoff invitation without being a league co-champion. The 2003 Colgate team advanced all the way to the National Championship game before falling to the University of Delaware. It is the only time a Patriot League team has advanced beyond the second round and played in a championship game.

Facilities

School	Football stadium	Capacity	Basketball arena	Capacity	Baseball stadium	Capacity	Soccer venue	Capacity
American	Non-football school		Bender Arena	4,500	Non-baseball school		Reeves Field	700
Army	Sponsors football as an FBS Independent		Christl Arena	5,043	Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field	880	Clinton Field	2,000
Boston	Non-football school		Agganis Arena Case Gym	7,200 1,800	Non-baseball school		Nickerson Field	10,412
Bucknell	Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium	13,100	Sojka Pavilion	4,000	Eugene B. Depew Field	500	Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium	1,200
Colgate	Andy Kerr Stadium	10,221	Cotterell Court	3,000	Non-baseball school		Van Doren Field	2,000
Fordham	Coffey Field	8,000	Football-only member
Georgetown	Multi-Sport Field	2,500	Football-only member
Holy Cross	Fitton Field	23,500	Hart Center	3,600	Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field	3,000	Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium	1,320
Lafayette	Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium	13,132	Kirby Sports Center	3,500	Kamine Stadium	1,000	Oaks Stadium	1,000
Lehigh	Goodman Stadium	16,000	Stabler Arena	5,600	Lehigh Baseball Field	N/A	Ulrich Sports Complex	2,400
Loyola	Non-football school		Reitz Arena	3,000	Non-baseball school		Ridley Athletic Complex	6,000
Navy	Sponsors football as an FBS Independent		Alumni Hall	5,710	Max Bishop Stadium	1,500	Glenn Warner Soccer Facility	2,500

Literature

The Patriot League was profiled in the John Feinstein book, The Last Amateurs. The title is derived from the belief that the Patriot League was the last Division I basketball league which functions as a place for student-athletes, rather than functioning as a de facto minor professional league with players not representative of their student bodies. In it, Feinstein followed all the league's men's basketball teams during the 1999–2000 season.

External links

• Official website