Metro Conference
 | |
| Formerly | Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, 1980–2026) |
|---|---|
| Association | NCAA |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Commissioner | Travis Tellitocci (since 2023) |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| Subdivision | Non-football |
| No. of teams | 13 (12 in 2027) |
| Headquarters | Edison, New Jersey |
| Region | Northeastern United States |
| Broadcaster | ESPN |
| Website | themetro |
| Locations | |
 | |
The Metro Conference (Metro), formerly known as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) from 1980 to 2026, is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.
Members are all relatively small private institutions, a majority Catholic or formerly Catholic, with the only exceptions being two secular institutions: Rider University and Quinnipiac University.
The Metro currently sponsors 25 sports and has 17 associate member institutions.
History
[edit]
68miles
full, 
departing fullThe conference 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.[1] Competition officially began the next year, in the sports of men's cross-country and men's soccer.[1]
Competition in men's and women's basketball began in the 1981–1982 season.[1] In 1982, Saint Peter's was the first women's team to represent the MAAC in the NCAA women's basketball tournament. In 1984, the Metro received an automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, where Iona was the first team to represent the MAAC on the men's side.
The conference currently possesses 15 automatic bids to NCAA championships.[1] In 2012–13, the MAAC became eligible for its 15th NCAA championship automatic bid when women's rowing fulfilled the qualifying requirements.[1]
The league added football in 1993, but discontinued it following the 2007 season.
From 1997 to 2003, the MAAC sponsored ice hockey. At that time, the hockey league split from the MAAC and changed its name to the Atlantic Hockey Association (now Atlantic Hockey America after its 2024 merger with College Hockey America). Also, Marist College and Rider University moved the majority of their intercollegiate athletic programs to the MAAC in 1997 with the intent that the MAAC would enhance media exposure and competition for their men's and women's Division I basketball programs.[2]
In 2011, the conference launched MAAC.TV, the league's first broadband network.
In March 2012, for the first time in 16 years, the MAAC had two teams advance to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, with Loyola earning the league's automatic bid and Iona garnering an at-large bid.[1]
In July 2013, Quinnipiac University and Monmouth University joined the MAAC to replace Loyola University Maryland, departing to the Patriot League.[3] Field hockey was added for the 2013–14 academic year.[4] However, field hockey was dropped after the 2018 season. The MAAC field hockey league was effectively taken over by the Northeast Conference (NEC), which reinstated the sport the following year.[5] The conference decided to no longer host a conference championship for men's rowing after the 2016 season, which is governed by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association.
In 2022, Monmouth left the MAAC to join the Colonial Athletic Association, now known as the Coastal Athletic Association.[6] The MAAC responded by entering into negotiations with Mount St. Mary's University, a full but non-football NEC member. ESPN reported on April 27, 2022 that the addition of Mount St. Mary's for 2022–23 and beyond would be finalized in early May.[7] The last of these developments came shortly after the MAAC's greatest success in men's basketball, when Saint Peter's became the first 15-seed ever to reach an NCAA regional final, losing there to eventual national runner-up No. 8 North Carolina. Mount St. Mary's would be confirmed as Monmouth's replacement on May 2.[8]
Also in 2022, four schools that were already MAAC affiliates added men's lacrosse to their MAAC memberships. All were full members of conferences that dropped the sport following the addition of men's lacrosse by the Atlantic 10 Conference. LIU, Sacred Heart, and Wagner are members of the Northeast Conference (now officially NEC),[9] and VMI is a member of the Southern Conference. LIU is the only one of the four that had not previously housed men's lacrosse in the MAAC.[10]
Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University joined the conference for the 2024-25 season.[11]
Athletic and academic success
[edit]Over the conference's history, MAAC teams have achieved national acclaim in many sports. In the summer of 2002, the Marist men's varsity eight boat advanced to the semifinals of the Temple Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta.[12] In 2007, the Marist women's basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.[13] The Red Foxes have recorded five NCAA wins since their run in 2007. In the fall of 2011, the Iona men's cross country team finished tied for ninth place at the NCAA Championship race, extending the Gaels' streak to 10 straight Top 10 national finishes.[1] During the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the Saint Peter's Peacocks became the first 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight.[14] With an overall record of 22–12, Saint Peter's had the best NCAA postseason run with the most wins in a single NCAA Tournament by any MAAC program (men or women) in the conference's 41-year history.[15] In basketball, MAAC teams have made a total of 80 NIT appearances and 50 NCAA basketball tournament appearances.[1]
Notable MAAC student athletes include Mary Beth Riley, a 1991 graduate of Canisius, who was the first recipient of the NCAA Woman of the Year Award and Erin Whalen, a member of the Iona women's rowing team who in the fall of 1998 was awarded one of the nation's 32 Rhodes Scholarships for academic achievement and civic leadership.[1]
2023–present: New leadership; rebranding to the Metro
[edit]On August 17, 2022, MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor announced his intent to retire after the 2022–23 season after serving in the role since 1988.[16] On February 7, 2023, the MAAC announced that Travis Tellitocci, previously with the Ohio Valley Conference as its assistant commissioner for football, basketball and officiating, would replace Ensor as just the fourth commissioner in MAAC history.[17]
On May 28, 2026, the MAAC announced its intention to rebrand to The Metro Conference, effective July 1, 2026, in an effort to eliminate confusion with the Mid-American Conference's acronym.[18]
Member institutions
[edit]Current
[edit]Current full members
[edit]The Metro currently has thirteen full member institutions; all are private schools. Of these, all but Quinnipiac, Rider, and Marist are Catholic, though Marist is formerly Catholic.
- Notes
- ↑ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- ↑ Formerly part of the Marist Brothers of the Schools until 2003.
- ↑ Current accurate amount in endowment is $97,400,667.
- ↑ The Mount St. Mary's campus has an Emmitsburg mailing address, but lies in unincorporated Frederick County.
- ↑ Mailing address is "Niagara University, New York".
- ↑ Sacred Heart was founded by the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, but has been led and primarily staffed by