Patriot League: Map

Categories: Patriot League > NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision conferences

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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.

About

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 existence. 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". 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 Patriot League schools. Basketball scholarships were first allowed beginning with freshmen entering the league in the fall of 1998. In 2001, when American, which gave scholarships in all sports (AU does not play football) entered the league, the league began allowing all schools to do so in sports other than football. Lafayette, the last no athletic scholarships holdout, began granting full rides in basketball and other sports with freshmen entering the school in the fall of 2006. Football scholarships are still limited strictly to need-based aid.

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. Similarly, matchups between Army

and Navy

in any sport, especially football, are always intense.

Men's Basketball

In NCAA basketball, Bucknell

and Navy 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. A Navy team - 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. Teams in other sports have been somewhat more successful when competing against scholarship schools, especially in men's lacrosse.

Profile

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 were the last Division I basketball leagues which function as a place for student athletes, rather than functioning as a de facto 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.

Membership

Full members

Locations of current Patriot League full member institutions.

There are eight full-time member schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname
American University	Washington, D.C.	1893	Private/Methodist	5,962	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/Jesuit	2,700	Crusaders
Lafayette College	Easton, Pennsylvania	1826	Private/Presbyterian	2,382	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

Partial members

There are two part-time member schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Notes
Fordham University	New York City, NY	1841	Private/Catholic	8,430	Rams	Football Only Member
Georgetown University	Georgetown,Washington, D.C.	1789	Private/Catholic	6,719	Hoyas	Football Only Member

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

Starting in 2010, Fordham will be ineligible for the Patriot League title in football because they will offer athletic scholarships in that sport; they will continue to play a full Patriot League schedule through at least 2012..

Conference facilities

School	Football stadium	Capacity	Basketball arena	Capacity
American	Non-football School	N/A	Bender Arena	4,500
Army*	Michie Stadium	40,000	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	2,500	Football-only Member	N/A
Holy Cross	Fitton Field	23,500	Hart Center	3,600
Lafayette	Fisher Field	15,207	Kirby Sports Center	3,500
Lehigh	Goodman Stadium	16,000	Stabler Arena	5,600
Navy*	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium	34,000	Alumni Hall	5,710