Patriot League

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Patriot League
Patriot League
Data
Established 1986
Members 8
Sports fielded 23 sports (11 men's, 12 women's)[1]
Region Northeastern United States
States 5 - Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,
New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
and also the District of Columbia
Past names Colonial League
Headquarters Center Valley, Pennsylvania[2]
Locations

The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS; still often referred to by its former designation of Division I-AA). There are seven football members and eight members for basketball and other sports. It was founded in 1986 as the Colonial League (not to be confused with the Colonial Athletic Association), but changed its name in 1990 when it expanded to include other sports besides football.

The Patriot League, which was founded on the principles of admitting athletes who are academically representative of their class, is in its second decade of academic and athletic excellence. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of the undergraduate experience. In the most recent NCAA Graduation Rate Report of student-athletes, the Patriot League ranked first among NCAA Division I conferences.

Patriot League members are schools with very strong academic reputations that adhere strongly to the ideal of the "scholar-athlete", with the emphasis on "scholar". Its member institutions are among the oldest and most prestigious in the nation and their alumni have played leadership roles in the shaping of our country. Out-of-league play for Patriot League schools is typically with members of the Ivy League, which follow similar philosophies regarding academics and athletics.

While financial aid has always been available, athletic scholarships have only been given in recent years at some Patriot League schools, and no football scholarships are permitted at all. Moreover, conference games in some sports are set for specific days of the week to fit academic calendars, and television networks often need to work cooperatively with the Patriot League to set telecast dates, rather than dictating when games will be played in order to suit television.

Patriot League members have some of the oldest collegiate athletic programs in the country. In particular, The Rivalry between Lehigh University and Lafayette College is both the nation's most played and longest uninterrupted college football series[3]. Similarly, matchups between Army and Navy in any sport, especially football, are always intense.

In NCAA basketball, Bucknell is the only team in the conference ever to have recorded NCAA Tournament victories, winning in 2005 over Kansas and in 2006 over Arkansas. Teams in other sports have been somewhat more successful when competing against scholarship schools, especially in men's lacrosse, where the Patriot League is generally considered one of the very best conferences in the nation.

The Patriot League was profiled in the John Feinstein book, The Last Amateurs. The title is derived from the belief that the Patriot League and the Ivy League are the last Division I basketball leagues which function as a place for student athletes, rather than functioning as defacto minor professional league with players not representative of their student bodies. In it, Feinstein followed all the league's men's basketball teams during the 1999-2000 season.

There are eight full-time member schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname
American University Washington, D.C. 1893 Private/Methodist 10,842 Eagles
United States Military Academy West Point, New York 1802 Public/Federal 4,000 Black Knights
Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 1846 Private/Non-sectarian 3,555 Bison
Colgate University Hamilton, New York 1819 Private/Non-sectarian 2,800 Raiders
College of the Holy Cross Worcester, Massachusetts 1843 Private/Catholic 2,700 Crusaders
Lafayette College Easton, Pennsylvania 1826 Private/Presbyterian 2,303 Leopards
Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 1865 Private/Non-sectarian 4,577 Mountain Hawks
United States Naval Academy Annapolis, Maryland 1845 Public/Federal 4,000 Midshipmen

There are three part-time member schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Notes
Fordham University Bronx, NY 1841 Private/Catholic 8,430 Rams Football Only Member
Georgetown University Washington, D.C. 1789 Private/Catholic 6,719 Hoyas Football Only Member
Villanova University Radnor, Pennsylvania 1842 Private/Catholic 6,300 Wildcats Women's Lacrosse Only Member

American does not play football, while Army and Navy participate as Independents in the NCAAFootball Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A). Thus, Fordham and Georgetown replace them in the Patriot League for football only.

Contents

School Football stadium Capacity Basketball arena Capacity
American Non-Football School N/A Bender Arena 4,500
Army Plays Division I FBS football N/A Christl Arena 5,043
Bucknell Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium 13,100 Sojka Pavilion 4,000
Colgate Andy Kerr Stadium 10,221 Cotterell Court 3,000
Fordham Coffey Field 7,000 Football Only Member N/A
Georgetown Multi-Sport Field 4,500 Football Only Member N/A
Holy Cross Fitton Field 23,500 Hart Center 3,600
Lafayette Fisher Field 13,750 Kirby Sports Center 3,500
Lehigh Goodman Stadium 16,000 Stabler Arena 5,600
Navy Plays Division I FBS football N/A Alumni Hall 5,710

  • 1986 Holy Cross
  • 1987 Holy Cross
  • 1988 Lafayette
  • 1989 Holy Cross
  • 1990 Holy Cross
  • 1991 Holy Cross
  • 1992 Lafayette
  • 1993 Lehigh
  • 1994 Lafayette
  • 1995 Lehigh
  • 1996 Bucknell
  • 1997 Colgate
  • 1998 Lehigh
  • 1999 Colgate and Lehigh
  • 2000 Lehigh
  • 2001 Lehigh
  • 2002 Colgate and Fordham
  • 2003 Colgate
  • 2004 Lafayette and Lehigh
  • 2005 Colgate and Lafayette
  • 2006 Lafayette and Lehigh

  1. ^ Patriot League Website
  2. ^ Directions to Patriot League Office
  3. ^ The Brown and White, Lehigh University Student Newspaper


Patriot League
Bucknell • Colgate • Holy Cross • Lafayette • Lehigh
Non-football members: American • Army • Navy
Football-only members: Fordham • Georgetown
Women's Lacrosse-only member: Villanova


NCAA Division I Championship Subdivision Football Conferences
Atlantic Ten Conference – Big Sky Conference – Big South Conference – Gateway Football Conference – Great West Football Conference – Ivy League
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Northeast Conference – Ohio Valley Conference – Patriot League
Pioneer Football League – Southern Conference – Southland Conference – Southwestern Athletic Conference – Independents
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../p/a/t/Patriot_League_b43d.html"
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