Historical Look Back at the PAC
The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), built on the basic belief that an athletic program is an integral part of college life but not an entity in itself, looks back on 70 years of growth and ahead to years of continued academic and athletic excellence. The league's name clearly reflects its founding principle that operational control of all aspects of intercollegiate athletics is ultimately the responsibility of the presidents of each member institution, and thus active presidential leadership and oversight is paramount in conference administration.
Formally organized in 1955 by Western Reserve University, John Carroll University, Case Institute of Technology, and Wayne State University*, the PAC was the result of a realization that college athletics, despite numerous virtues for the individual and the institution, were gradually becoming a financial and academic burden. If athletics were to be continued, action had to be taken to place the program on its proper level. This included the premise that benefits of participation should be provided to as many students as possible. The PAC and its membership continue its original, defining mission of promoting intercollegiate athletics and the pursuit of academic excellence.
Institutions involved understand that the key components to its progress lie in the foundation of faith in each member by each other member. It is the conviction of its membership that the PAC is the solution to the dilemma of intercollegiate athletic competition, and they have staked their athletic future on this premise.
Currently comprised of 12 select, private institutions -- Allegheny College, Bethany College, Chatham University, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Geneva College, Grove City College, Hiram College, Saint Vincent College, Thiel College, Washington & Jefferson College, Waynesburg University and Westminster College -- the PAC remains a unique organization in this day of high-pressure intercollegiate athletics, with academics at the center of each member's philosophy. Case Western Reserve University has competed as an affiliate member in the sport of football since 2012.
Hiram, which was announced as the PAC's 12th full-time member in April, 2024, began full PAC membership with all voting and membership rights on July 1, 2024. After competing in the PAC in wrestling and men's volleyball in 2024-25, the Terriers will begin competition in all sports in the 2025-26 academic year.
In March, 2025, the PAC announced that Saint Francis University will reclassify from Division I to Division III to become the conference's 13th full-time member. As Saint Francis transitions to Division III, a process which will take three years to complete, the Red Flash will have full schedules in all applicable PAC sports. Saint Francis will not be eligible for PAC Championships or compete in Conference Championship Tournaments in basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, lacrosse, baseball & softball until they are approved for active Division III membership by the NCAA. Red Flash programs in sports such as cross country, golf, swimming and diving and indoor and outdoor track and field will be able to compete at PAC Championships starting in 2026-27 but will not be eligible for all-conference recognition.
In lieu of All-PAC honors, Saint Francis athletes in all sports will be eligible for PAC Coaches Honors, an equivalent to All-PAC, until their transition to NCAA Division III status is complete.
The PAC crowns league champions and awards all-conference honors in its 24 championship sports (13 men, 11 women). The PAC began sponsorship of men's volleyball as its 24th varsity sport in the 2024-25 academic year. Head coaches determine All-PAC squads for all team sports, while in individual sports, such as cross country and golf, All-PAC accolades are based upon performances at the conference championships.
The PAC, which celebrated its 60th anniversary during the 2014-15 academic year, annually awards its All-Sports Trophies to the schools which perform best across the board in PAC competition. The men's and women's athletic programs at Grove City swept their respective All-Sports Trophies for the 2024-25 academic year, the second consecutive year the Wolverines captured both trophies. The All-Sports Trophy for the Grove City men is their fourth in the last five years and 14th in program history. This was the third All-Sports Trophy in the last four years for the Grove City women's program and 21st overall.
Staying true to its original mission of promoting intercollegiate athletics and the pursuit of academic excellence, the PAC has seen over 300 of its participating student-athletes recognized as Academic All-Americans, while the league has also produced numerous NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners. In 2024-25, a record 1,962 student-athletes were recognized on the PAC Academic Honor Rolls (897 fall, 1,065 spring), which acknowledges all participating student-athletes who earn a semester grade-point average of 3.60 or above.
* = Note that when the PAC's original formation was announced in April, 1954, Baldwin Wallace was among the original schools along with Western Reserve University, John Carroll University, Case Institute of Technology, but when the league began play in the Fall of 1955, Wayne State had replaced Baldwin Wallace.