Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference
Encyclopedia
The Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference was an eight-member college athletics conference founded in 1995 and given official status in 1999. It competed in NCAA
Division III and as its name implies, only offered championships in women's sports
. In the conference's later years, several of its members finally became co-educational. Following the 2006-2007 season these members, seeking homes for their newly-created men's athletic programs departed for other conferences. Other members also switched affiliations, leaving the conference without enough members to be officially sanctioned. Following the 2007 spring season, the conference ceased operations.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division III and as its name implies, only offered championships in women's sports
Women's sports
Women's sports include amateur and professional competitions in virtually all sports. Female participation in sports rose dramatically in the twentieth century, especially in the last quarter, reflecting changes in modern societies that emphasized gender parity...
. In the conference's later years, several of its members finally became co-educational. Following the 2006-2007 season these members, seeking homes for their newly-created men's athletic programs departed for other conferences. Other members also switched affiliations, leaving the conference without enough members to be officially sanctioned. Following the 2007 spring season, the conference ceased operations.
Former members
- Chatham University (moved to Presidents' Athletic ConferencePresidents' Athletic ConferenceThe Presidents' Athletic Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky....
in 2007) - Chestnut Hill CollegeChestnut Hill CollegeChestnut Hill College is a coeducational Roman Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally called Mount Saint Joseph College and assumed its current name in 1938. In...
(women's sports moved to join the men's programs in the North Eastern Athletic ConferenceNorth Eastern Athletic ConferenceThe North Eastern Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.-Members:...
in 2007) - Hood CollegeHood CollegeHood College is a co-educational liberal arts college located in Frederick, Maryland. The college serves approximately 1,050 graduate students and more than 1,400 undergraduate students.-Early History :...
(women's sports moved to join the men's programs in the Capital Athletic ConferenceCapital Athletic ConferenceThe Capital Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the eastern United States in the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Delaware....
in 2007) - Mary Baldwin CollegeMary Baldwin CollegeMary Baldwin College is a private, independent, and comprehensive four-year liberal arts women's college in Staunton, Virginia. It was ranked in 2008 by US News & World Report as a top-tier, master's level university in the South. Mary Baldwin offers pre-professional programs in law, medicine,...
(moved to the USA South Athletic ConferenceUSA South Athletic ConferenceThe USA South Athletic Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III...
in 2007) - College of Notre Dame of MarylandCollege of Notre Dame of MarylandNotre Dame of Maryland University is an independent, Catholic-affiliated, liberal arts college located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, that primarily serves female students.-History:...
(moved to the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference in 2007) - Trinity University (now independent)
- Wells CollegeWells CollegeWells College is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. Initially an all-women's institution, Wells became a co-ed college in Fall 2005....
(moved to North Eastern Athletic ConferenceNorth Eastern Athletic ConferenceThe North Eastern Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.-Members:...
in 2007) - Wilson CollegeWilson College (Pennsylvania)Wilson College, founded 1869, is a private, Presbyterian-related, liberal arts women's college located on a campus in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by two Presbyterian ministers, but named for its first major donor, Sarah Wilson of nearby St. Thomas Township,...
(moved to North Eastern Athletic ConferenceNorth Eastern Athletic ConferenceThe North Eastern Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.-Members:...
in 2007)
Championships offered
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- Field hockeyField hockeyField Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
- LacrosseLacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
- Soccer
- SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...