Sept. 17, 2010
Patriot League 20th Anniversary Page
Center Valley, Pa. - The Patriot League will mark its 20th Anniversary as an all-sport conference during the 2010-11 academic year with a variety of retrospective initiatives highlighting the achievements and personalities of former and current student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
Founded in 1986 as a football-only conference, the Patriot League expanded to include 22 sports, 11 men and 11 women, in 1990 and began competition that fall. It was and remains comprised of some of the most academically respected institutions in the country. Throughout its 20 years, the League's mission has not strayed from its origins. Each institution is committed to admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class.
After four years as a football-only entity, charter members Bucknell University, Colgate University, Fordham University, the College of the Holy Cross, Lafayette College and Lehigh University were joined by the United States Military Academy to found the all-sport Patriot League in 1990, with the United States Naval Academy joining as a full member in 1991. Fordham resigned its full membership in 1995 but remains an associate member in football to this day. In 2001, the League's footprint expanded to Washington, D.C. with the additions of American University as a full member and Georgetown University as an associate member in football. The League expanded to add rowing as its 23rd championship sport in 2005.
Since its original founding in 1986, many other of the nation's prestigious institutions have been affiliated with the Patriot League in various sports as associate members. Among them: Davidson College (football, 1987-88); Fairfield University (field hockey, 1996-2003); Hobart College (men's lacrosse, 2000-04); the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (rowing, 2010-present); Towson University (football, 1997-2003); Ursinus College (field hockey, 1996-2001); and Villanova University (women's lacrosse, 1999-2006).
Since the summer, Q&A interviews have been performed with nine outstanding former student-athletes who reflected on how their experiences competing in the Patriot League shaped their lives to the present day, with more written and audio features to come throughout the year. In addition, video interviews will be conducted with each former League Executive Directors, including Dr. Alan Childs, Carl Ulrich and Connie Hurlbut, whose groundbreaking election in 1993 marked the first time a woman had been chosen to lead an NCAA Division I conference.
Moreover, current and former coaches, administrators and other professional personnel will reflect on their experiences working with the conference during significant periods of its 20-year history. Features will be streamed on the League's All-Access platform available exclusively at www.patriotleague.org and made available via the League's social media platforms at Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
The Patriot League will produce its annual Women in Sport magazine, which continually profiles and highlights the accomplishments of exceptional female student-athletes at the League's schools. In honor of the 20th Anniversary, the publication will feature stories on several women who participated in multiple sports while balancing the academic and athletic rigors at their chosen institutions.
In addition, 20-year retrospectives will posted on the specific webpages of the 21 sports celebrating their 20th Anniversary in 2010-11. These features will provide an overview as to how the competition and its teams have cycled and evolved from 1990 to now.
For more information on the Patriot League's 20th Anniversary celebration, visit the 20th Anniversary page by clicking HERE.