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| The six new Capital Athletic Conference schools are scattered across the country, and will be reduced to five once Pine Manor closes. |
The Capital Athletic Conference is absorbing the six existing members of the American Collegiate Athletic Association and will expand briefly to 11 member institutions before settling to eight in 2021-22. The schools become official members effective June 15, 2020, practically immediately in terms of conference changes.
The CAC Board of Directors voted unanimously to offer full membership to UC Santa Cruz, Finlandia, Mills, Mount Mary, Pine Manor and Pratt. The schools inhabit some of the most far-flung parts of Division III, including the only two D-III schools in Northern California and the only D-III school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Pine Manor will be a member of the CAC for just one season before it is absorbed by Boston College.
The move allows the CAC to retain its automatic bids going forward, after Southern Virginia and St. Mary's (Md.) announced their departures from the CAC on consecutive days in December 2019. A year earlier, Penn State-Harrisburg left to rejoin its old conference, the NEAC, while Frostburg State left the CAC to move to NCAA Division II.
"The Capital Athletic Conference is pleased to welcome these six institutions as the league's newest members," said Mary Washington president Troy Paino, Chair of the CAC Board of Directors. "We look forward to the bright future this newly-structured league will be able to offer our schools and student-athletes."
"Mills College is excited to be joining the CAC at a time when working together to support our student-athletes is especially critical. Kudos to the many hardworking people and institutions that have made this happen, and I look forward to seeing the Mills Cyclones compete in the new conference," said Beth Hillman, Mills College president and Chair of the ACAA Presidents Council.
Mills is a women-only school in Oakland and competes in just cross country, rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis and volleyball. Mount Mary is a women-only school in Milwaukee. Pratt is a provisional member of NCAA Division III. Of the six schools, only Finlandia and UC Santa Cruz offer men's and women's sports and will be members of the conference in 2021-22.
"This is an exciting, new era for the Capital Athletic Conference. The addition of these six schools will provide excellent opportunities for both our institutions and our student-athletes to experience new venues and conference opponents," said Salisbury athletic director Gerry DiBartolo, Chair of the CAC Athletic Council. "I am thankful to the leadership of the CAC Board of Directors for its guidance in leading this expansion effort."
"This is a great opportunity, not only for athletics, but for Finlandia University as a whole," said Finlandia athletic director Curtis Wittenberg. "We now have the chance to potentially qualify for the NCAA Tournament in all of our sports which will help increase the recruiting regions for our programs."
The conference is expected to be rebranded with a new name and logo over the coming months.
The CAC conducts conference championships in 18 sports (eight men and ten women). Men's championships include cross country, soccer, basketball, indoor track and field, lacrosse, baseball, outdoor track and field, and tennis. Women's championships include cross country, field hockey, soccer, volleyball, basketball, indoor track and field, lacrosse, softball, outdoor track and field, and tennis.
The teams will not participate in any regular-season play and will qualify for the conference's automatic bid based on postseason tournaments only. Championship host sites will be predetermined at the beginning of each season.