Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 42nd year of competition during the 2022-23 academic year.

The MAAC was founded in 1980 by six charter members: the U.S. Military Academy, Fairfield University, Fordham University, Iona College, Manhattan College, and Saint Peter’s College. Competition followed one year later in the fall of 1981 with members competing in the sports of Men’s Cross Country and Men’s Soccer. On Jan. 2, 1982, Army traveled to Iona for the first MAAC Men’s Basketball game and the MAAC story had begun.

Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. The MAAC supports 24 sports and championships during the 2022-23 academic year; in addition, the MAAC champion earns automatic qualification to the NCAA Championship in 15 sports.

On June 1, 2018, the MAAC announced that the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ was selected to host the 2020-22 MAAC Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championships. The MAAC Council of Presidents unanimously accepted the facility’s bid to host the championships at their May 30th meeting in New York City.

In 2022, the MAAC returned to Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, successfully completing the championships with no COVID limitations for the first time since moving to Atlantic City. Saint Peter’s men and Fairfield women captured the championship trophies and moved on to the NCAA March Madness field of 68. Saint Peter’s would go on to become Cinderella of the tournament, making MAAC and NCAA history along the way. A No. 15 seed, Saint Peter’s became the first MAAC program (men or women) to advance to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, defeating No. 2 Kentucky (85-79 OT), No. 7 Murray St. (70-60), and No. 3 Purdue (67-64). The Peacocks were also the first-ever 15-seed in NCAA history to advance to the Elite Eight.

By having an excellent working relationship with various facilities, and a top reputation for hosting events, the MAAC has been awarded several future NCAA Championships. Alongside Canisius and Niagara, the MAAC successfully hosted the 2022 Men’s Basketball First & Second Rounds at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. The MAAC and Siena College will host the 2023 Men’s Basketball First and Second Rounds and the 2024 Women’s Basketball Regionals at the MVP Arena in Albany, NY. The MAAC, alongside the Ivy League, was also selected to host the 2025 Women’s Rowing Championship Finals (Divisions I, II, and III) at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, NJ. In 2026, the MAAC, along with Canisius College and Niagara University, will host the Men’s Basketball First and Second Rounds at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY.

ACADEMICS AND ATHLETICS

The MAAC prides itself on the accomplishments of its student athletes in the classroom, as well as on the field. Mary Beth Riley, a 1991 graduate of Canisius, was the first recipient of the NCAA Woman the Year Award. In the fall of 1998, Erin Whalen, a member of the Iona Women’s Rowing team, was awarded one of the nation’s 32 Rhodes Scholarships for academic achievement and civic leadership.

MAAC student athletes continue to excel in the classroom at high rates. Following a one-year hiatus, the NCAA announced the latest four-year Academic Progress Rates (APR), and 41 MAAC teams achieved perfect APR scores (1,000) – 30 women’s and 11 men’s – while 10 league sports saw an increase in their average rate since the last annual report was announced in May 2020. Siena College led all MAAC institutions with six teams earning a perfect mark.

First-class facilities are the standard within the MAAC, as teams regularly play in top-notch arenas, such as Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, MassMutual Center, KeyBank Center, MVP Arena (formerly Times Union Center), Webster Bank Arena, Mohegan Sun Arena, and Sun National Bank Center. In October of 2022, the MAAC announced three-year partnerships with Clover Stadium for the MAAC Baseball Championship and SPIRE Academy for the MAAC Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. The Clover Stadium agreement made Pomona, NY the home of the 2023, 2024, and 2025 MAAC Baseball Championships. The SPIRE partnership made Geneva, Ohio the host site for the MAAC Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships for 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Several MAAC schools have enjoyed success in national postseason play. Saint Peter’s Men’s Basketball made March Madness history in 2022 when they became the first-ever 15-seed and MAAC Men’s Basketball program to reach the Elite Eight. The Peacocks defeated second-seeded Kentucky, seventh-seeded Murray State, and third-seeded Purdue on their historic run.

In 2018, Quinnipiac Women’s Basketball picked up its third NCAA Tournament win in the previous two years. The Bobcats defeated Miami in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 1 UConn in the Second Round. In 2017, Quinnipiac won its first NCAA Championship game in program history and became the first MAAC women’s basketball program to advance to the Sweet 16 since Marist in 2007. The Bobcats defeated Marquette and Miami en route to their Sweet 16 appearance against South Carolina. In 2015, Siena’s Women’s Basketball team became the first MAAC Women’s Basketball program to make it to a postseason championship game. The Saints advanced all the way to the title contest of the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) where Siena fell to Louisiana-Lafayette. In 2007, the Marist Women’s Basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to the eventual National Champion, Tennessee. The Red Foxes have recorded an additional five NCAA wins since their run in 2007.

The Saint Peter’s Men’s Basketball team claimed the 2017 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) title, to become the first MAAC program to win a national postseason championship since Siena’s Men’s Basketball team in 2014. The Saints earned the league’s first basketball postseason championship in its history by winning the 2014 College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

In baseball in 2021, the MAAC received its first at-large selection to an NCAA regional in conference history when Fairfield earned the third-seed in the Austin Regional. The Stags made it all the way to the Austin Regional Final, defeating fourth-seeded Southern and second-seeded Arizona State. Fairfield began the regular season 28-0 in conference play and finished 39-5 overall.

LEADER IN INNOVATION

The MAAC Council of Presidents approved bylaws to launch an Esports League and Championships in 2020. The presidents approved Esports as an official MAAC co-ed club sport. The decision came after two years of evaluation and co-sponsorship of events with the ECAC, including the highly successful HV Gamer Con 2019 in Albany, NY. In 2022, the MAAC held its first in-person Esports Championships at the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City. Team champions were Iona (Rocket League), Marist (Overwatch and League of Legends), and Quinnipiac (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate). Marist was named 2022 Program of the Year. Esports returns to the Showboat Hotel in 2023 as the sports continues to grow at member schools.

The MAAC has also been a leader in the forefront of technology, expanding the acclaim of the league into cyberspace. In 2017, the league reached a conference- wide agreement with SIDEARM Sports (extended in 2020), to design and host the MAAC web page. MAACSports.com has been a great success, providing fans with fresh content, up-to-date results, live and on-demand video, and an online merchandise store. The site was redesigned in the fall of 2021.

In May 2014, the MAAC continued to grow its partnership with ESPN by announcing the launch of the MAAC Branded ESPN+/3 Channel. All MAAC- and school-produced digital contact can be viewed through this channel. In the 2017-18 academic year, the MAAC entered into a new eight-year agreement with ESPN and produced a total of 325 events on the ESPN family of networks.

The first MAAC events on ESPN+ were Men’s & Women’s Lacrosse games produced by Monmouth University. The 2018 Baseball Championship was the first MAAC championship to air entirely on ESPN+. As a part of the current MAAC-ESPN partnership, ESPN+ will become home to hundreds of MAAC games, championships, and shows that are easily accessible to MAAC fans throughout the country.

Under the ESPN agreement, 2019-20 marked the first year that all MAAC institutions will have school production facilities and by the end of 2024-25 the conference and schools will produce more than 700 collegiate athletic events and shows on the ESPN family of networks. The MAAC President for the 2022-23 academic year is Rev. James J. Maher, President of Niagara University. The Vice-President is Judy D. Olian, PhD, President of Quinnipiac University, Commissioner Richard J. Ensor, Esq. serves as the league’s Secretary/Treasurer, Marianne Reilly, Director of Athletics at Manhattan College, will chair the Committee on Athletic Administration, and Elizabeth Donohue, Associate Director of Athletics/SWA/ Compliance at Marist College, will serve as Vice Chair.