City University of New York Athletic Conference
The City University of New York Athletic Conference is an NCAA conferences|intercollegiate athletic conference] affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Its member institutions are all located in York City">York College, City University of New York">York City and are campuses of the City University of New York. The CUNYAC also has a community college division, affiliated with the National Junior College Athletic Association.
History
Recent additions
On April 16, 2025, New Jersey City University will return back to the CUNYAC, first as a men's volleyball affiliate beginning in the 2026 spring season, followed by multi-sport affiliation beginning in the 2026–27 academic year, and finally full membership beginning in the 2027–28 academic year, becoming the first full member outside of the City University of New York system. In CUNYAC's official announcement, the conference stated that NJCU was "the first of several" new members. NJCU's official announcement stated that it expected to "become a founding member of a new reconstituted, relaunched, and rebranded league for an anticipated start on July 1, 2027."Chronological timeline
NCAA Division III (Senior college division)
- 1978 – The CUNYAC was founded as the CUNY Athletic Directions Association. Charter members included Baruch College, Brooklyn College, the City College of New York, Hunter College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Lehman College, Medgar Evers College, Queens College, the College of Staten Island and York College, beginning the 1978–79 academic year.
- 1980 – Two institutions left the CUNYAC to join their respective new home primary conferences, both effective after the 1979–80 academic year:
- * Brooklyn to join the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as an Division I independent schools|NCAA D-I Independent]
- * and Queens to join the NCAA Division II ranks as an NCAA D-II Independent
- 1987 – The CUNYADA has rebranded as the City University of New York Athletic Conference in the 1987–88 academic year.
- 1996 – Brooklyn rejoined the CUNYAC in the 1996–97 academic year.
- 1999 – New York City College of Technology joined the senior college ranks of the CUNYAC in the 1999–2000 academic year.
- 2003 – New Jersey City University joined the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for baseball in the 2004 spring season.
- 2004 – New Jersey City left the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for baseball after the 2004 spring season.
- 2011 – New York City Tech left the CUNYAC to put its athletic program on hiatus after the 2010–11 academic year.
- 2015 – The University of Maine at Presque Isle joined the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for baseball during the 2016 spring season.
- 2017 – Finlandia University joined the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for baseball in the 2018 spring season.
- 2018 – Finlandia and Maine–Presque Isle left the CUNYAC as affiliate members for baseball after the 2018 spring season.
- 2019 – Staten Island left the CUNYAC to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the East Coast Conference after the 2018–19 academic year.
- 2025 – New Jersey City will join the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for men's volleyball, beginning in the 2026 spring season.
- 2026 – New Jersey City will rejoin for baseball into its CUNYAC affiliate membership, beginning the 2027 spring season.
- 2027 – New Jersey City will upgrade as a full member of the CUNYAC for all sports, beginning the 2027–28 academic year; thus becoming the first full member outside of the City University of New York System.
NJCAA (Community college division)
- 1987 – The community college division of the CUNYAC was founded. Charter members included Bronx Community College, the Borough of [Manhattan Community College], Kingsborough Community College, the New York City College of Technology and Queensborough Community College, beginning the 1987–88 academic year.
- 1999 – New York City Tech left the community college division of the CUNYAC to join the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the senior college division of the CUNYAC after the 1998–99 academic year.
- 2002 – Hostos Community College joined the community college division of the CUNYAC in the 2002–03 academic year.
- 2013 – LaGuardia Community College joined the community college division of the CUNYAC in the 2002–03 academic year.
- 2017 – LaGuardia left the community college division of the CUNYAC to put its athletic program on hiatus after the 2016–17 academic year.
- 2022 – LaGuardia rejoined the community college division of the CUNYAC in the 2022–23 academic year.
Member schools
NCAA Division III (Senior college division)
Current members
The senior college division of the CUNYAC currently has eight full members, all public schools.| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined |
| Baruch College | Manhattan | 1919 | Public | 15,500 | Bearcats | 1978 |
| Brooklyn College | Brooklyn | 1930 | Public | 15,385 | Bulldogs | 1978; 1996 |
| City College of New York | Manhattan | 1847 | Public | 13,244 | Beavers | 1978 |
| Hunter College | Manhattan | 1870 | Public | 21,309 | Hawks | 1978 |
| John Jay College of Criminal Justice | Manhattan | 1964 | Public | 14,000 | Bloodhounds | 1978 |
| Lehman College | The Bronx | 1968 | Public | 10,615 | Lightning | 1978 |
| Medgar Evers College | Brooklyn | 1970 | Public | 7,081 | Cougars | 1978 |
| York College | Queens | 1966 | Public | 6,000 | Cardinals | 1978 |
;Notes:
Future members
The senior college division of the CUNYAC will have one new full member, also a public school.| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joining | Current conference |
| New Jersey City University | Jersey City, New Jersey | 1929 | Public | 6,800 | Gothic Knights | 2027 | New Jersey (NJAC) |
;Notes:
Former members
The senior college division of the CUNYAC had three former full members, all were public schools:| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference |
| New York City College of Technology | Brooklyn | 1946 | Public | 15,368 | Yellow Jackets | 1999 | 2011 | None |
| Queens College | Queens | 1937 | Public | 18,494 | Knights | 1978 | 1980 | East Coast (ECC) |
| College of Staten Island | Staten Island | 1976 | Public | 11,263 | Dolphins | 1978 | 2019 | East Coast (ECC) |
;Notes:
Former associate members
The senior college division of the CUNYAC has two former associate members, both public schools, One of these, New Jersey City, will become a CUNYAC affiliate in men's volleyball in 2025 and in most other sports in 2026 before becoming a full member of the new conference to be formed by CUNYAC members in 2027.;Notes:
Membership timeline
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id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used
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bar:1 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:Baruch
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1980 text:Brooklyn
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1996 till:end text:
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:CCNY
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:Hunter
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:John Jay
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:Lehman
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:Medgar Evers
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1980 text:Queens
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1978 till:2019 text:Staten Island
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:York
bar:11 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2011 text:New York City Tech
bar:12 color:AssocOS from:2003 till:2004 text:NJCU
bar:12 color:AssocOS from:2025 till:2027 text:
bar:12 color:FullxF from:2027 till:end
bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2018 text:UMPI
bar:N color:powderblue from:1978 till:1987 text:CUNYADA
bar:N color:blue from:1987 till:end text:CUNYAC
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text:^"City University of New York 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 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.
NJCAA (Community college division)
Current members
The community college division of the CUNYAC currently has six full members, all are public schools:| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined |
| Bronx Community College | The Bronx | 1957 | Public | 9,003 | Broncos | 1987 |
| Borough of Manhattan Community College | Manhattan | 1963 | Public | 21,986 | Panthers | 1987 |
| Hostos Community College | The Bronx | 1968 | Public | 6,499 | Caimans | 2002 |
| Kingsborough Community College | Brooklyn | 1963 | Public | 18,634 | Wave | 1987 |
| LaGuardia Community College | Queens | 1968 | Public | 17,569 | Red Hawks | 2022 |
| Queensborough Community College | Queens | 1959 | Public | 15,000 | Tigers | 1987 |
;Notes:
Former members
The community college division of the CUNYAC had two former full members, both were public schools:| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference |
| New York City College of Technology | Brooklyn | 1946 | Public | 15,368 | Yellow Jackets | 1987 | 1999 | None |
;Notes:
Membership timeline
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id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used
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bar:1 color:FullxF from:1987 till:end text:Bronx CC
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1987 till:end text:Borough of Manhattan CC
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1987 till:end text:Kingsborough CC
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1999 text:New York City Tech
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1987 till:end text:Queensborough CC
bar:6 color:FullxF from:2002 till:end text:Hostos CC
bar:7 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2017 text:LaGuardia CC
bar:7 color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text:
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text:^"City University of New York 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 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.