The Metro
Atlantic Athletic Conference
By Matt Shetler
The Metro Atlantic Athletic
Conference (MAAC) is a Division I athletic conference that
operates in the Northeast, United States. The MAAC is made up of
ten members that compete in twenty-five Division I sports.
Mostly all members are Catholic or former Catholic institutions.
The MAAC headquarters are located in Edison, New Jersey and the
conference commissioner is Richard J. Ensor, a post he has held
since 1988.
The MAAC was founded in 1980, with six charter members: the U.S.
Military Academy, Fairfield University, Fordham University, Iona
College, Manhattan College and St. Peter’s College. The MAAC
officially began competition the following year in men’s
cross-country and men’s soccer. The MAAC would begin competing
in men’s and women’s basketball in the 1981-82 season and would
receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in 1984. Army
and Fairfield would leave the conference, as would new additions
Holy Cross and La Salle. In addition to the four charter members
that are still in the conference, other current members include:
Canisius College, Loyola College in Maryland, Marist College,
Niagara University, Rider University and Siena College.
The conference would adopt football in 1993, but would fold
after the 2007-08 season. MAAC football consisted of eight
current league members along with the Georgetown Hoyas and
Duquesne Dukes. From 1995 until the end of the conference,
Duquense was a dominant power, winning eleven of the final
thirteen MAAC titles, including the final nine in a row.
The best moments for the MAAC have definitely come in the NCAA
Tournament. The 2006-07 Marist women’s basketball team became
the first MAAC school to advance to the Sweet 16. In the men’s
tournament, five MAAC schools have won first round games. In
1990, led by future NBA player Lionel Simmons, La Salle received
a #4 seed and won its opening round game.
The other MAAC teams to win in the tournament were major upsets.
In 1995 and 2004, the Manhattan Jaspers pulled off first round
upsets, defeating the Oklahoma Sooners (1995) and Florida Gators
(2004). Also recently in 2008, the # 13 seed Siena Saints
defeated the # 4 seed Vanderbilt in the opening round of the
tournament. The MAAC is also known for producing former NBA
all-star Rick Smits, who attended Marist College.
