The Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference, formerly the Colonial Athletic Association Football Conference, branded as CAA Football, is a collegiate

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller Division (sport), divisions, with the best teams competing at successively ...

affiliated with the

NCAA 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. ...

's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states, from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

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 ...

. Most of its members are

public universities A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

, and the conference is headquartered in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. The conference is run by the same administration as the multisport conference

Coastal Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

(CAA; formerly the Colonial Athletic Association) but is legally a different entity.

History

CAA Football was formed in 2005, although it did not begin play until 2007, as a separate conference independent of the CAA, but administered by the CAA front office. In the 2004–05 academic year, the CAA had five member schools that sponsored football, all of them as football-only members of the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

. In 2005, Northeastern accepted the CAA's offer of membership, giving the CAA the six football-playing members it needed under NCAA rules to organize a football conference. At that time, the CAA announced it would launch its new football conference in 2007. Next, the CAA invited the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

to become a football-only member effective in 2007. Once UR accepted the offer, this left the A10 football conference with only five members, less than the six required under NCAA rules. As a result, the remaining A10 football programs all decided to join the CAA for football only, ending A10 football. Since the CAA football conference had the same members as the A10 the previous year, it can be said that the CAA football conference is the A10 football conference under new management. The CAA football conference's earliest roots are in the

New England Conference The New England Conference (full name: New England College Conference of Intercollegiate Athletics) was a collegiate sports conference in the Eastern United States, more specifically in New England, that operated from 1923 to 1947. As four of its ...

, founded in 1938 by four state-supported universities in that region plus Northeastern; three of the public schools are currently in CAA Football. However, neither the multi-sports CAA nor CAA Football includes the New England Conference in CAA Football history. After the departure of Northeastern in 1945, the remaining members joined New England's other land-grant colleges, Massachusetts State College (now the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

) and the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

, to form the

Yankee Conference The Yankee Conference was a collegiate sports conference in the eastern United States. From 1947 to 1976, it sponsored competition in many sports, but was a football-only league from mid-1976 until its dissolution in 1996. It is essentially the a ...

under a new charter in 1946, with competition starting in 1947. That conference eventually dropped all sports other than football in 1975. Starting in the 1980s, it expanded to include many schools outside its original New England base. After the NCAA voted to limit the influence of single-sport conferences, the Yankee merged with the A-10 in 1997. CAA Football went through many changes during the early 2010s with the loss of

Georgia State Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the second large ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and Old Dominion and the addition of Albany, Elon, and Stony Brook. Stability was maintained for a decade before the departure of

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

in 2021 leading to the addition of Campbell,

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, North Carolina A&T, and Bryant from 2022 to 2024.

Timeline

*May 4, 2005 – CAA Football was formed with inaugural members

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, including the Zucker Scho ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, Northeastern,

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Towson Towson () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is t ...

(UMass), Villanova, and William & Mary. *May 31, 2006 – Old Dominion, at the time a member of the all-sports CAA, announced plans to add football for the 2009 season and join CAA Football in 2011. *June 11, 2009 –

, at the time a member of the all-sports CAA, announced the addition of Football in 2011, and joining the CAA football conference in 2012. *November 9, 2009 – Northeastern announced plans to drop football after the 2009 season. *December 3, 2009 –

also announced that the university would no longer be sponsoring football. *June 1, 2010 – Due to the reduction of the conference, CAA Football did not use the division format for the 2010 season. *April 20, 2011 –

UMass The University of Massachusetts is the public university system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, a medical school in Worcester and a law school in Dartmouth ...

announced that it would transition to FBS beginning fall 2011, and would become a football-only member of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC). *April 7, 2012 –

began an FBS transition in advance of its 2013 move to the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

. *May 17, 2012 – Old Dominion announced its plans to join

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

and transition to FBS status for the 2013 season. *August 7, 2012 – Albany and Stony Brook both accepted offers of membership in CAA Football for the 2013 season. *May 23, 2013 – Elon announced that the school would become a member of CAA Football and the all-sports CAA for the 2014 season. * November 6, 2021 –

announced its departure for the

and upgrade to FBS. Originally, JMU was slated to play the 2022 season as an FCS Independent before joining the Sun Belt in 2023, but JMU ended up joining a year earlier. *January 25, 2022 –

and

accept invitations to join CAA Football and the all-sports CAA for the 2022 season. Stony Brook, which joined CAA Football in 2013, also becomes a member of the all-sports conference. *February 22, 2022 – North Carolina A&T accepts an invitation to join CAA Football for the 2023 season, a year after joining the all-sports CAA. *August 3, 2022 – Campbell also accepts an invitation to join both sides of the CAA for the 2023 season. *July 20, 2023 – CAA Football changed its full name to the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference. * August 10, 2023 – Bryant accepts an invitation to join CAA Football for the 2024 season. * November 28, 2023 –

announced its plans to join

and transition to FBS status for the 2025 season. * May 14, 2024 –

announced its departure from the CAA to join the

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising primarily leading Private university, private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United ...

as an associate member for football for the 2025 season. * April 25, 2025 – William & Mary announced its departure from the CAA to join the

as an associate member for football for the 2026 season. * June 5, 2025 – Villanova announced its departure from the CAA to join the

as an associate member for football for the 2026 season.

Member institutions

Current members

;Notes:

Former members

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:2007 till:2029 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a current member id:FullXF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a former member id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Full from:2007 till:2025 text:

(2007–2025) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text: CUSA bar:2 color:FullXF from:2007 till:2009 text:

(2007–2009, then dropped football) bar:3 color:FullXF from:2007 till:end text:

(2007–2022) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text:

Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered stretching across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the Parallel 36°30′ north. Several climates can be found in the re ...

bar:4 color:Full from:2007 till:end text:

(2007–present) bar:5 color:Full from:2007 till:end text:

(2007–present) bar:6 color:FullXF from:2007 till:2009 text: Northeastern (2007–2009, then dropped football) bar:7 color:Full from:2007 till:end text:

(2007–present) bar:8 color:Full from:2007 till:2025 text:

(2007–2025) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text:

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

bar:9 color:Full from:2007 till:end text:

(2007–present) bar:10 color:FullXF from:2007 till:2011 text:

(2007–2011) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2016 text:

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:2016 till:2025 text: FBS Ind. bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text:

bar:11 color:Full from:2007 till:2026 text: Villanova (2007–2026) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2026 till:end text:

bar:12 color:Full from:2007 till:2026 text: William & Mary (2007–2026) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2026 till:end text:

bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2009 till:2011 text: FCS Independent bar:13 color:FullXF from:2011 till:2013 text: Old Dominion (2011–2013) bar:13 shift:30 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2014 text: Ind. bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:2022 text:

C-USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern United States, Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Associ ...

bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text:

bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:2012 text: FCS Independent bar:14 color:FullXF from:2012 till:2013 text:

(2012-2013) bar:14 shift:90 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2013 text:

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

bar:15 color:Full from:2013 till:end text: Albany (2013–present) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2008 text: FCS Ind. bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:2008 till:2013 text:

Big South The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

bar:16 color:Full from:2013 till:end text: Stony Brook (2013–present) bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2014 text: SoCon bar:17 color:Full from:2014 till:end text: Elon (2014–present) bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2018 text:

MEAC The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the Nation ...

bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:2018 till:2019 text: FCS Ind. bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:2022 text:

bar:18 color:Full from:2022 till:end text:

(2022–present) bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2013 text:

bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2014 text: FCS Ind. bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:2022 text:

bar:19 color:Full from:2022 till:end text:

(2022–present) bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:2008 till:2018 text:

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:2018 till:2023 text:

bar:20 color:Full from:2023 till:end text: Campbell (2023–present) bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2021 text:

bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:2021 till:2023 text:

bar:21 color:Full from:2023 till:end text: North Carolina A&T (2023–present) bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2008 text: NE-10 bar:22 color:OtherC2 from:2008 till:2009 text: FCS Ind. bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2009 till:2022 text:

bar:22 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:2023 text:

bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:2024 text: BSOVC bar:22 color:Full from:2024 till:end text: Bryant (2024–present) bar:N color:blue from:2007 till:end text:CAA Football ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:2007 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"CAA Football membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six 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 champions

All-time conference championships

Co-championships are designated by ''italics''. BOLD denotes the team won the National Championship ^‡Former member of CAA Football *The CAA's

2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season The 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The regular ...

was played in Spring 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Several teams opted out, and some games were canceled. The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens completed the season with a 5-0 overall record, 4–0 in conference, and won the North Division title; the James Madison Dukes completed the season with a 5-0 overall record, 3–0 in conference, and won the South Division title. A vote of the CAA athletic directors, not including Delaware or James Madison, was held to determine a champion. The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens were declared the 2020 CAA football champions as a result of this vote and were awarded the automatic qualifier for the FCS playoffs.

NCAA FCS national championships

All-time NFL Draft selections

Conference facilities

Departing members in pink. Future members in gray.

References

External links

* {{NCAA Division I FCS conference navbox Organizations based in Richmond, Virginia Sports in the Eastern United States Sports organizations established in 2005 Articles which contain graphical timelines