Presidents' Athletic Conference Information

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 sixty 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 nine select private institutions - Bethany College, Chatham University, Geneva College, Grove City 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.