The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) is a

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in Athletic conference, conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the var ...

affiliated with the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA). Members of the conference are located in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

History

The conference is the successor to the Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC), which began in the 1940s; and later the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC) that operated during the 1980s and 1990s. The Appalachian Athletic Conference was formed in 2000 with the additions of members from Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

Recent changes

Bluefield College was a member of the AAC from 2000 until 2012 when it left to join the

Mid-South Conference The Mid-South Conference (MSC) is a List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Kentuc ...

. On March 3, 2014, Bluefield announced that it would return to the AAC in fall 2014. In 2019 the conference added Kentucky Christian University as a full member and Savannah College of Art and Design as an associate member in men's and women's lacrosse.

Chronological timeline

* 2000 – In 2000, the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) was founded from the remnants of the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC). Charter members included Bryan College,

Brevard College Brevard College is a private college in Brevard, North Carolina, United States. The college grants Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Science degrees. History Brevard College was named for Ephraim Brevard, a teacher and one of ...

, Covenant College, King College (now King University), Milligan College (now Milligan University), Tennessee Wesleyan College (now Tennessee Wesleyan University),

Virginia Intermont College Virginia Intermont College (VI) was a private college in Bristol, Virginia founded in 1884 to create additional educational opportunities for women. The college became coeducational in 1972. It experienced significant financial difficulties duri ...

and the University of Virginia–Wise (UVA Wise); as well as the additions of Alice Lloyd College, Bluefield College (now Bluefield University) and Montreat College, beginning the 2000–01 academic year. * 2002 –

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

(now Union Commonwealth University) joined the AAC in the 2002–03 academic year. * 2005 – Alice Lloyd left the AAC to rejoin the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC; now the River States Conference) after the 2004–05 academic year. * 2006 – Brevard left the AAC and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) as an NCAA D-II Independent (to later join the

South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as ...

(SAC), beginning the 2008–09 school year) after the 2005–06 academic year. * 2009 – Two institutions left the AAC to join their respective new home primary conferences, both effective after the 2008–09 academic year: ** Covenant to join the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

ranks as an NCAA D-III Independent (to later join the Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC), beginning the 2010–11 school year) ** King (Tenn.) to become an NAIA Independent (to later join the NCAA Division II ranks as an NCAA D-II Independent during the 2010–11 school year; and then subsequently join the

Conference Carolinas Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...

(CC), beginning the 2011–12 school year) * 2009 – Reinhardt College (now Reinhardt University) joined the AAC in the 2009–10 academic year. * 2010 – UVa Wise left the AAC to join the

(MSC) after the 2009–10 academic year. * 2011 – Columbia College and Atlanta Christian College (now Point University) joined the AAC in the 2011–12 academic year. * 2012 – Bluefield left the AAC to join the Mid-South after the 2011–12 academic year. * 2012 – St. Andrews University (formerly St. Andrews Presbyterian College) and the Savannah College of Art and Design at Atlanta joined the AAC in the 2012–13 academic year. * 2013 – Truett McConnell University joined the AAC in the 2013–14 academic year. * 2014 – Virginia Intermont left the AAC when the school ceased operations after the 2013–14 academic year. * 2014 – Bluefield rejoined the AAC in the 2014–15 academic year. * 2015 –

Asbury University Asbury University is a Private university, private Christian university in Wilmore, Kentucky, United States. Although it is a non-denominational school, the college is aligned with the Holiness movement, Wesleyan-Holiness movement and is a memb ...

and the

University of the Cumberlands The University of the Cumberlands is a private Christian university in Williamsburg, Kentucky, United States. Over 20,000 students are enrolled at the university. History University of the Cumberlands, first called Williamsburg Institute, was f ...

joined the AAC as affiliate members for men's and women's lacrosse in the 2016 spring season (2015–16 academic year). * 2016 –

West Virginia University Institute of Technology West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 189 ...

(West Virginia Tech or WVU Tech) joined the AAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's swimming in the 2016–17 academic year. * 2016 –

Allen University Allen University is a private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. It has more than 600 students and still serves a predominantly Black constituency. The campus ...

joined the AAC in the 2016–17 academic year. * 2017 **

Brenau University Brenau University is a private university in Gainesville, Georgia. Founded in 1878, the university enrolls more than 2,800 students from approximately 48 states and 17 foreign countries who seek degrees ranging from associate through doctoral ...

joined the AAC in the 2017–18 academic year. ** Two institutions joined the AAC as affiliate members (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), both effective in the 2017–18 academic year: *** Georgetown College for women's lacrosse *** and West Virginia Tech for men's wrestling * 2018 ** Cumberlands (Ky.) and Georgetown (Ky.) left the AAC as affiliate members for women's lacrosse to compete in their primary home conference in the Mid-South (where they began sponsoring that sport) after the 2018 spring season (2017–18 academic year). **

Columbia International University Columbia International University (CIU) is a private Christian university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1923. Academics CIU has six colleges: College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, Cook School of Bus ...

joined the AAC in the 2018–19 academic year. * 2019 ** Asbury left the AAC as an affiliate member for men's lacrosse as the school announced to discontinue the sport during mid-season within the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year). ** Kentucky Christian University joined the AAC in the 2019–20 academic year. ** Savannah College of Art and Design at Savannah joined the AAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's lacrosse in the 2020 spring season (2019–20 academic year). * 2020 ** Allen left the AAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and to rejoin the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) after the 2019–20 academic year. **

Webber International University Webber International University (Webber or WIU) is a private university in Babson Park, Florida. History Webber International was founded as "Webber College" by Roger Babson, an entrepreneur and business theorist in the first half of the 20t ...

joined the AAC as an affiliate member for men's lacrosse in the 2021 spring season (2020–21 academic year). * 2021 ** Asbury left the AAC as an affiliate member for women's lacrosse, men's and women's swimming after the 2020–21 academic year. ** The Tennessee campus of Johnson University joined the AAC in the 2021–22 academic year. ** Keiser University joined the AAC as an affiliate member for men's lacrosse in the 2022 spring season (2021–22 academic year). * 2022 ** Eight institutions joined the AAC as affiliate members (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), all effective in the 2022–23 academic year: *** Brewton-Parker College, Keiser, St. Thomas University and Southeastern University for men's wrestling *** Georgetown (Ky.) returned for women's lacrosse *** Life University for men's volleyball and men's wrestling *** and

Warner University Warner University is a private Christian university in Lake Wales, Florida, United States. It is affiliated with the Church of God. History "Warner Southern College" was founded in 1968 by the Southeastern Association of the Church of G ...

and Webber International for men's volleyball ** The AAC began to sponsor football, with core members Bluefield, Kentucky Christian, Point, Reinhardt, St. Andrews (N.C.), and Union (Ky.) in the 2022 fall season (2022–23 academic year). * 2023 ** Point left the AAC to join the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) after the 2023–24 academic year; while their football team still remains in the AAC as an affiliate member. ** The

University of Pikeville The University of Pikeville (UPIKE) is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Pikeville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1889 by the Presbyterian Church and is located on a campus on a hillside overlookin ...

joined the AAC in the 2023–24 academic year. * 2025 ** Kentucky Christian will leave the AAC to join the River States Conference (RSC) after the 2024–25 academic year; while their football team still remains in the AAC as an affiliate member. ** St. Andrews will leave the AAC as the school announced its closure after the 2024–25 academic year. ** Spartanburg Methodist College will join the AAC as a full member, beginning the 2025–26 academic year. ** The University of Rio Grande will join the AAC as an affiliate member for football in the 2025 fall season (2025–26 academic year).

Member schools

Current members

The AAC currently has 16 full members, all are

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

schools. It is the largest conference in the NAIA: ;Notes:

Future member

The AAC will have one future full member for the 2025–26 school year: ;Notes:

Affiliate members

The AAC currently has 14 affiliate members, all but one are

schools: ;Notes:

Future affiliate members

The AAC has one future affiliate member, which operates public and private institutions within a single entity.

Former members

The AAC had eight former full members, all but one were

schools: ;Notes:

Former affiliate members

The AAC had two former affiliate members, both were

schools. ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:2000 till:2030 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5 Colors = id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2005 text: Alice Lloyd (2000–2005) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text: River States bar:2 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2012 text: Bluefield (2000–2012) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2014 text: Mid-South bar:2 color:FullxF from:2014 till:2022 text:(2014–present) bar:2 color:Full from:2022 till:end text: bar:3 color:FullxF from:2000 till:end text: Bryan (2000–present) bar:4 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2006 text: Brevard (2000–2006) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:end text: D-II Ind. bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2008 till:2017 text:

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:end text: USA South bar:5 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2009 text: Covenant (2000–2009) bar:5 shift:(-20) color:OtherC1 from:2009 till:2010 text: D-III Ind. bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2010 till:2012 text: Great South bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2013 text: D-III Ind. bar:5 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2022 text: USA South bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: C.C. of the South bar:6 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2009 text: King (Tenn.) (2000–2009) bar:6 shift:(-20) color:OtherC1 from:2009 till:2010 text: NAIA Ind. bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2010 till:2011 text: D-II Ind. bar:6 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:end text:

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

bar:7 color:FullxF from:2000 till:end text: Milligan (2000–present) bar:8 color:FullxF from:2000 till:end text: Montreat (2000–present) bar:9 color:FullxF from:2000 till:end text: Tennessee Wesleyan (2000–present) bar:10 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2014 text: Virginia Intermont (2000–2014) bar:11 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2010 text: UVa Wise (2000–2010) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:2012 text: Mid-South bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:2013 text: G-MAC bar:11 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2019 text: Mountain East bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text:

bar:12 color:FullxF from:2002 till:2022 text: Union (Ky.)/Union Commonwealth (2002–present) bar:12 color:Full from:2022 till:end text: bar:13 color:FullxF from:2009 till:2022 text: Reinhardt (2009–present) bar:13 color:Full from:2022 till:end text: bar:14 color:FullxF from:2011 till:end text: Columbia (S.C.) (2011–present) bar:15 color:FullxF from:2011 till:2022 text: Point (2011–2023) bar:15 color:Full from:2022 till:2023 text: bar:15 color:AssocF from:2023 till:end text: SSAC (AAC fb.-only, 2023–present) bar:16 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2022 text: St. Andrews (2012–2025) bar:16 color:Full from:2022 till:2025 text: bar:17 color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text: Savannah A&D–Atlanta (2012–present) bar:18 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text: Truett–McConnell (2013–present) bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2021 text: Asbury (m. lacrosse, 2015–2019; w. lacrosse, m./w. swimming, 2015–2021) bar:20 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:end text: Cumberlands (Ky.) (m. lacrosse, 2015–present; w. lacrosse, 2015–2018) bar:21 color:FullxF from:2016 till:2020 text: Allen (2016–2020) bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text: SIAC bar:22 color:AssocOS from:2016 till:end text: West Virginia Tech (m./w. swimming, 2016–present; m. wrestling, 2017–present) bar:23 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text: Brenau (2017–present) bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2018 text: Georgetown (Ky.) (w. lacrosse, 2017–2018; 2022–present) bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text: bar:25 color:FullxF from:2018 till:end text: Columbia International (2018–present) bar:26 color:FullxF from:2019 till:2022 text: Kentucky Christian (2019–2025) bar:26 color:Full from:2022 till:2025 text: bar:26 color:AssocF from:2025 till:end text: RSC (AAC fb.-only, 2025–present) bar:27 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text: Savannah A&D–Savannah (m./w. lacrosse, 2019–present) bar:28 shift:(-100) color:AssocOS from:2020 till:end text: Webber International (m. lacrosse, 2020–present; m. volleyball, 2022–present) bar:29 color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text: Johnson–Tennessee (2021–present) bar:30 shift:(-70) color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end text: Keiser (m. lacrosse, 2021–present; m. wrestling, 2022–present) bar:31 shift:(-30) color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text: Brewton–Parker (m. wrestling, 2022–present) bar:32 shift:(-30) color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text:

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

(m. volleyball, m. wrestling, 2022–present) bar:33 shift:(-30) color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text: St. Thomas (Fla.) (m. wrestling, 2022–present) bar:34 shift:(-30) color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text: Southeastern (Fla.) (m. wrestling, 2022–present) bar:35 shift:(-30) color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text: Warner (m. volleyball, 2022–present) bar:36 color:Full from:2023 till:end text: Pikeville (2023–present) bar:37 shift:(-30) color:FullxF from:2025 till:end text: Spartanburg Methodist (2025–future) bar:38 shift:(-30) color:AssocF from:2025 till:end text:

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

(football, 2025–future) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:2000 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Appalachian Athletic Conference membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

Conference sports

The Appalachian Athletic Conference currently fields 24 sports (13 men's and 11 women's):

Notes

References

External links

* {{NAIA conference navbox Articles which contain graphical timelines