Patriot League

The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising primarily leading private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Except for the Ivy League, it is the most selective group of higher education institutions in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and has a very high student-athlete graduation rate for both the NCAA graduation success rate and the federal graduation rate.
The Patriot League has 10 core members: American University, the United States Military Academy, Boston University, Bucknell University, Colgate University, College of the Holy Cross, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Loyola University Maryland, and the United States Naval Academy. All 10 core members participate in the NCAA Division I for all Patriot League sports that they offer. Since the conference does not offer every available NCAA sport, most schools are affiliated with other collegiate conferences for sports such as ice hockey and wrestling, and five other schools whose home conferences do not sponsor sports that they offer are aassociate members of the Patriot League for those sports.
Only half of the conference's core members compete in the Patriot League for football, as part of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision : Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, and Lehigh. Of the five other conference members, American, Boston University, and Loyola Maryland do not sponsor football, while Army and Navy play in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as football-only members of the American Athletic Conference.
Five other institutions are Patriot League members only for specific sports, and are referred to as associate members. Fordham University, Georgetown University, and the University of Richmond are associate members in football, while Georgetown and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are associate members in women's rowing. Two more schools will join as associate members for football in 2026—Villanova University and the College of William & Mary.

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About

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". An academic index ensures that athletes are truly representative of and integrated with the rest of the student body. Out-of-league play for Patriot League schools is often with members of the Ivy League, which follow similar philosophies regarding academics and athletics.
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.
The winner of the Patriot League basketball tournament receives an automatic invitation to the NCAA Division I basketball tournament every March. In recent years, Bucknell and Lehigh have both won NCAA tournament games. The Patriot League champions in a number of other sports also receive an automatic invitation to their respective NCAA tournaments.

History

The origins of the Patriot League began after the eight Ivy League schools expanded their football schedules to ten games starting in 1980. Needing opponents with a similar competitive level on a regular basis for each team's three nonconference games, the league contacted two university presidents, the Reverend John E. Brooks, S.J., of Holy Cross, and Peter Likins of Lehigh, about forming a new conference that also prohibited athletic scholarships. The result was the Colonial League, a football-only circuit that began competition in 1986. Its six charter members were Holy Cross, Lehigh, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, and Davidson. Davidson dropped out after the 1988 season for reasons related to geography, lack of competitiveness, and a reluctance to relinquish its basketball scholarships in case the conference expanded into other sports.
In 1990, the league changed its name to the Patriot League at the suggestion of Carl F. Ullrich, who would go on to become the conference's first full-time administrator. At the start of the 1990-91 academic year, the league became an all-sport conference, with 22 sports, and now had seven full members, including Fordham and the United States Military Academy (Army) as new members. In 1991, the league gained an eighth full member, the United States Naval Academy (Navy).
In 1993, the league hired Constance H. Hurlbut as executive director. She was the first woman and youngest person to be the leader of an NCAA Division I conference.
In 1995, Fordham resigned its full membership but continued as an associate member in football. In 1996, Fairfield and Ursinus joined as associate members in field hockey. In 1997, Towson joined as an associate member in football. In 1999, Hobart joined as an associate member in men's lacrosse and Villanova joined as an associate member in women's lacrosse. In 2001, American University joined as the eighth full member and [Georgetown Georgetown Hoyas|Hoyas football|Georgetown University] joined as an associate member in football. Two schools announced in summer 2012 that they would join the league for the 2013–14 academic year, with Boston University making its announcement on June 15, and Loyola University Maryland doing so on August 29.
In May 2024, the University of Richmond, who at the time was already an associate member of the league for women's golf, announced that they would also move their football program to the Patriot League for the 2025 season, becoming the Patriot League's first new football-playing member in over 20 years.
On April 25, 2025, the College of William & Mary announced that it would be joining the Patriot League as a football-only associate member, starting in the 2026 season. The move similarly follows that of fellow in-state football rival University of Richmond, and brings the historic "Capital Cup" rivalry series between both schools into the Patriot league conference schedule. About six weeks later on June 5, Big East Conference member Villanova University announced it would also join Patriot League football in 2026, which creates another natural rivalry in Georgetown.

Athletic scholarships

While Patriot League colleges have always offered need-based financial aid, league members have only been allowed to give athletic scholarships in recent years. Basketball scholarships were first allowed beginning with freshmen entering the league in the fall of 1998.
In 2001, when the league admitted American, which gave scholarships in all its sports, the league began allowing all schools to do so in sports other than football. Lafayette, the last holdout with no athletic scholarships, began granting full rides in basketball and other sports with freshmen entering the school in the fall of 2006. Most Patriot League schools do not give athletic scholarships in a number of sports, and Bucknell only granted them in basketball prior to the addition of football scholarships in 2013.
In the spring of 2009, Fordham University announced that it would start offering football scholarships in the fall of 2010. This action made Fordham ineligible for the league championship in that sport, but it also prompted a league-wide discussion on football scholarships. On February 13, 2012, the Patriot League announced its members could begin offering football scholarships starting with the 2013–14 academic year. Since then, each school has been allowed no more than the equivalent of 15 scholarships to incoming football players. Presidents from six of the seven football schools indicated they would award scholarships in the fall of 2012. Georgetown University did not commit to offering scholarships. Since the transition to scholarship football was completed for the 2016–17 academic year, each football member has been allowed up to 60 scholarship equivalents per season, a total only slightly lower than the NCAA limit of 63 scholarship equivalents for FCS programs. Currently, Patriot League schools are permitted to offer up to the NCAA maximum of 63 scholarships for its football programs.

Member schools

Full members

There are ten "full" member schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Undergraduate enrollment	Endowment	Nickname	Joined	Colors
American University	Washington, D.C.	1893	United Methodist	8,463	$947,800,000	Eagles	2001
	West Point, New York	1802	Federal	4,594	N/A	Black Knights	1990
Boston University	Boston, Massachusetts	1839	Nonsectarian	18,229	$3,350,000,000	Terriers	2013
Bucknell University	Lewisburg, Pennsylvania	1846	Nonsectarian	3,724	$801,000,000	Bison	1986
Colgate University	Hamilton, New York	1819	Nonsectarian	3,164	$1,202,000,000	Raiders	1986
	Worcester, Massachusetts	1843	Catholic	3,138	$1,230,000,000	Crusaders	1986
Lafayette College	Easton, Pennsylvania	1826	Nonsectarian	2,725	$1,125,000,000	Leopards	1986
Lehigh University	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania	1865	Nonsectarian	5,451	$1,400,000,000	Mountain Hawks	1986
Loyola University Maryland	Baltimore, Maryland	1852	Catholic	3,787	$308,000,000	Greyhounds	2013
	Annapolis, Maryland	1845	Federal	4,528	N/A	Midshipmen	1991

;Notes:

Associate members

There are four associate-member schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Undergraduate enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Colors	Patriot sport	Primary conference
Fordham University	The Bronx, New York	1841	Catholic	9,904	Rams	1995		Football	Atlantic 10 (A-10)
Georgetown University	Washington, D.C.	1789	Catholic	7,598	Hoyas	2001		Football, women's rowing	Big East
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Cambridge, Massachusetts	1861	Nonsectarian	4,638	Engineers	2009		Women's rowing	New England (NEWMAC)
University of Richmond	Richmond, Virginia	1830	Nonsectarian	3,164	Spiders	2025		Football	Atlantic 10 (A-10)

;Notes:

Future associate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Undergraduate enrollment	Nickname	Joining	Colors	Patriot sport	Primary conference
Villanova University	Villanova, Pennsylvania	1842	Catholic	11,023	Wildcats	2026		Football	CAA
College of William & Mary	Williamsburg, Virginia	1693	Public	7,063	Tribe	2026		Football	Coastal (CAA)

Former full members

;Notes:

Former associate members

;Notes:

Membership timeline

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Sports

The Patriot League sponsors championship competition in 12 men's and 13 women's NCAA-sanctioned sports. Fordham, Georgetown, and Richmond are associate members for football, and Georgetown and MIT are associate members for rowing.

President's Cup

The Patriot League Presidents' Cup is awarded to the member institution with the highest cumulative sports point total for their Patriot League standings in sponsored men's and women's sports. Points are awarded based upon a combination of an institution's regular-season and tournament finishes in each sport.
President's Cup Winners :

1991 - Bucknell
1992 - Bucknell
1993 - Bucknell
1994 - Army
1995 - Army
1996 - Bucknell
1997 - Army
1998 - Bucknell
1999 - Bucknell
2000 - Bucknell
2001 - Bucknell
2002 - Bucknell
2003 - Bucknell
2004 - Bucknell
2005 - Army
2006 - Bucknell
2007 - Bucknell
2008 - Bucknell
2009 - Bucknell
2010 - Bucknell
2011 - Bucknell
2012 - Navy
2013 - Bucknell
2014 - Navy
2015 - Navy
2016 - Navy
2017 - Navy
2018 - Navy
2019 - Navy
2020 -
2021 - Navy
2022 - Navy
2023 - Navy
2024 - Navy
2025 - Army

Baseball

;Tournament champion and MVP

Basketball

;Men's tournament champion, runner-up, and MVP
;Women's tournament champion
;NCAA
In NCAA basketball, Boston, Bucknell, Navy, Lehigh, and Holy Cross are the only teams in the conference ever to have recorded NCAA Tournament victories. Bucknell won tournament games in 2005 over Kansas and in 2006 over Arkansas. Lehigh won over Duke in the first round in the 2012 tournament.
The Bison, Mountain Hawks, and Crusaders are the only teams to win in the NCAA tournament while actually representing the Patriot League. A Navy team—then representing the Colonial Athletic Association—led by future Hall of Famer David Robinson won three tournament games while advancing to the regional finals in 1986, while BU won two games in the 1959 tournament before falling in the regional finals. Holy Cross was among the best teams in the country in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and won the 1947 national championship with a team that included future Hall of Famer Bob Cousy. Its combined record in the NCAA tournament is 8–12. After a 63-year drought, Holy Cross defeated Southern University in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Bryan Cohen of Bucknell was named Patriot League Defensive Player of Year in 2010, 2011, and 2012; he was the only player in league history to win the award three times.

Field hockey

;Tournament champion

1994 – Lehigh
1995 – Lafayette
1996 – Colgate
1997 – Holy Cross
1998 – Holy Cross
1999 – Lafayette
2000 – Holy Cross
2001 – Fairfield
2002 – Lafayette
2003 – American
2004 – American
2005 – American
2006 – American
2007 – American
2008 – American
2009 – American
2010 – American
2011 – Lafayette
2012 – Lafayette
2013 – American
2014 – Boston
2015 – Boston
2016 – American
2017 – Boston
2018 – Boston
2019 – American
2020-21 – Bucknell
2021 – American
2022 – Lehigh
2023 – American
2024 – Lafayette

Football

;League champions:

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
2007 – Fordham
2008 – Colgate
2009 – Holy Cross
2010 – Lehigh
2011 – Lehigh
2012 – Colgate
2013 – Lafayette
2014 – Fordham
2015 – Colgate
2016 – Lehigh
2017 – Colgate and Lehigh
2018 – Colgate
2019 – Holy Cross
2020 – Holy Cross
2021 – Holy Cross
2022 – Holy Cross
2023 – Lafayette and Holy Cross
2024 – Lehigh and Holy Cross
2025 – Lehigh

The Patriot League prohibited athletic scholarships for football from its founding until the league presidents voted to approve football scholarships starting with the 2013 recruiting class. Since then, each school has been allowed no more than the equivalent of 15 scholarships to incoming football players in any given season. With the transition to scholarship football having been completed in 2016, each school is now allowed a maximum of 60 scholarship equivalents per season, three short of the NCAA FCS maximum. However, Georgetown does not offer scholarships.
Until 1997, Patriot League teams did not participate in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. This practice was in step with the Ivy League's policy of not participating in the playoffs, since the Patriot League was founded with the Ivy League's athletics philosophy. Since 1997, the league champion receives an automatic playoff berth. If there are co-champions, a tie-breaker determines the playoff participant, though the other co-champion is eligible to be selected with an at-large invitation.
Colgate was the first team to receive the league's automatic berth, in 1997. The following year, Lehigh won the league's first playoff game. This was also the first year in which a Patriot League team, Colgate, received a playoff invitation without being a league co-champion. Fordham has since repeated that feat in 2013, 2015 and 2022.
Because the Georgetown Hoyas opted out of the 2020-21 NCAA Division I FCS football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Patriot League split into a north and south division for the first time. This led to the first ever Patriot League Football Championship Game

Lacrosse

;Men's league champions:

1991 – Army
1992 – Army
1993 – Army
1994 – Army
1995 – Army
1996 – Bucknell
1997 – Army
1998 – Army
1999 – Army and Lehigh
2000 – Hobart and Lehigh
2001 – Bucknell
2002 – Army, Bucknell and Hobart
2003 – Army and Bucknell
2004 – Navy
2005 – Navy
2006 – Navy
2007 – Navy
2008 – Colgate
2009 – Navy
2010 – Army
2011 – Bucknell
2012 – Lehigh
2013 – Lehigh
2014 – Loyola
2015 – Colgate
2016 – Loyola
2017 – Loyola
2018 – Loyola
2019 – Army
2020 -
2021 - Lehigh
2022 - Boston
2023 - Army
2024 - Lehigh
2025 – Colgate

, the Army Black Knights men's lacrosse team has thirteen conference championships, the most of any school in the conference. Prior to the 2004 season, no conference tournament was held to determine a single winner.
;Women's league champions:

1991 – Lafayette
1992 – Lafayette
1993 – Lafayette
1994 – Lehigh
1995 – Lafayette
1996 – Lafayette
1997 – Lafayette
1998 – Lafayette
1999 – Colgate
2000 – Lafayette
2001 – Lafayette
2002 – Lafayette
2003 – American
2004 – Colgate
2005 – Colgate
2006 – Holy Cross
2007 – Holy Cross
2008 – Colgate
2009 – Colgate
2010 – Navy
2011 – Navy
2012 – Navy
2013 – Navy
2014 – Loyola
2015 – Loyola
2016 – Loyola
2017 – Navy
2018 – Navy
2019 – Loyola
2020 –
2021 – Loyola
2022 – Loyola
2023 – Loyola
2024 – Loyola
2025 – Navy

Soccer

;Men's tournament champion, runner-up, and MVP
;Women's league champions:

1990 - Colgate
1991 – Colgate
1992 – Colgate
1993 – Army West Point
1994 – Colgate
1995 – Colgate
1996 – Colgate
1997 – Colgate
1998 – Colgate
1999 – Colgate
2000 – Holy Cross
2001 – Bucknell
2002 – American
2003 – Navy
2004 – Colgate
2005 – Bucknell
2006 – Navy
2007 – Navy
2008 – Army West Point
2009 – Colgate
2010 – Lehigh
2011 – Army West Point
2012 – Colgate
2013 – Boston
2014 – Boston
2015 – Boston
2016 – Bucknell
2017 – Bucknell
2018 – Boston
2019 – Navy
2020-21 – Navy
2021 – Bucknell
2022 – Bucknell
2023 – Bucknell
2024 – Boston
2025 – Army West Point

Facilities

Future members in green.

	Coffey Field	7,000
	Cooper Field	4,418
[Richmond Spiders\|]	E. Claiborne Robins Stadium	8,217
	Villanova Stadium	12,500
	Walter J. Zable Stadium	12,672

;Notes

Media

The Patriot League Network was created in collaboration with Campus Insiders on 29 July 2013. The league had previously offered live events via streaming media since the autumn of 2006. The network was absorbed into ESPN+ on 16 September 2020.

Literature

The Patriot League was profiled in the John Feinstein book The Last Amateurs. The title is derived from the belief that the Patriot League was the last Division I basketball league that plays a conference tournament and functions as a place for student-athletes rather than a de facto minor professional circuit with players not representative of their student bodies. The book is Feinstein's chronicle of all seven of the league's men's basketball teams at the time during the 1999-2000 season.