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MAC Commonwealth Conference

The MAC Commonwealth, in full Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth, is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. It is one of the three conferences that operate under the umbrella of the Middle Atlantic Conferences; the others being the MAC Freedom and the Middle Atlantic Conference, a grouping used for some sports that consists of MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom schools. Member institutions are located in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

01Member schools

The conference has had two significant membership changes in the 2020s. First, the MAC announced in April 2019 that York College of Pennsylvania would join from the Capital Athletic Conference in 2020. The following month, the MAC announced that upon York's arrival, the MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom would be realigned so that each would have 9 members. Eastern moved from the MAC Freedom to the MAC Commonwealth, while Arcadia and Lycoming moved in the opposite direction. Then in 2023, Lycoming and Wilkes left both the MAC Freedom and the overall MAC, leading the MAC to move Lebanon Valley from MAC Commonwealth to MAC Freedom in order to balance the membership numbers.

Current members

The MAC Commonwealth currently has nine full members, all are private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Colors Joined Football?
Albright College Reading, Pennsylvania 1856 Methodist 2,304 Lions       1945 Yes
Alvernia University Reading, Pennsylvania 1958 Catholic 2,872 Golden Wolves     2009 Yes
Eastern University St. Davids, Pennsylvania 1952 Baptist 3,420 Eagles     2020 Yes
Hood College Frederick, Maryland 1893 Reformed 1,174 Blazers     2012 No
Messiah University Grantham, Pennsylvania 1909 Christian 3,305 Falcons     1983 No
Neumann University Aston, Pennsylvania 1965 Catholic
(Franciscan)
3,000 Knights       2026 No
Stevenson University Stevenson, Maryland 1947 Nonsectarian 3,621 Mustangs     2012 Yes
Widener University Chester, Pennsylvania 1821 Nonsectarian 6,402 Pride     1946 Yes
York College of Pennsylvania York, Pennsylvania 1787 Nonsectarian 5,564 Spartans     2020 No
Notes

Enrollment source:

Former members

The MAC Commonwealth had six former full members, all were private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
Football?
Arcadia University Glenside, Pennsylvania 1853 Presbyterian 2,473 Knights 2008 2020 MAC Freedom No
Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania 1899 Church of the Brethren 2,416 Blue Jays 1928 2014 Landmark No
Juniata College Huntingdon, Pennsylvania 1876 Church of the Brethren 1,449 Eagles 1938 2007 Landmark Yes
Lebanon Valley College Annville, Pennsylvania 1866 Methodist 1,712 Flying Dutchmen 1945 2023 MAC Freedom Yes
Lycoming College Williamsport, Pennsylvania 1812 Methodist 1,272 Warriors 2007 2020 Landmark Yes
Moravian College Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 1742 Moravian 1,792 Greyhounds 1945 2007 Landmark Yes
Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania 1858 Lutheran 1,900 Crusaders 1922 2007 Landmark Yes
Notes

Membership timeline

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football)   Associate member (sport) 

02Sports

The MAC Commonwealth sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's field hockey, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's tennis, and women's volleyball. In addition, members also compete in the Middle Atlantic Conference in men's and women's cross country, women's flag football, men's football, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, men's volleyball, and men's and women's wrestling.

Men's Sports

School Baseball Basketball Golf Lacrosse Soccer Tennis Total MAC Commonwealth Sports
Albright Y Y Y Y Y Y 6
Alvernia Y Y Y Y Y Y 6
Eastern Y Y Y Y Y Y 6
Hood Y Y Y Y Y N 5
Messiah Y Y N Y Y Y 5
Neumann Y Y N Y Y Y 5
Stevenson Y Y Y Y Y Y 6
Widener Y Y N Y Y N 4
York Y Y Y Y Y Y 6
Totals 9 9 6 9 9 7 49

Women's Sports

School Basketball Field Hockey Lacrosse Soccer Softball Tennis Volleyball Total MAC Commonwealth Sports
Albright Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Alvernia Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Eastern Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Hood Y Y Y Y Y N Y 6
Messiah Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Neumann Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Stevenson Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Widener Y Y Y Y Y N Y 6
York Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7
Totals 9 9 9 9 9 7 9 61

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the MAC that are played by MAC schools

School Acrobatics & Tumbling Beach Volleyball Bowling Equestrian
Alvernia AMCC Y
Stevenson Y Y
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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article MAC Commonwealth Conference, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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