The City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNY Athletic Conference or CUNYAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Its member institutions are all located in New 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 (NJCAA).

History

Recent additions

On April 16, 2025, New Jersey City University announced it would return back to the CUNYAC, first as a men's volleyball affiliate beginning in the 2026 spring season (2025–26 academic year), 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." However, NJCU later announced they would instead merge with Kean University following the 2025–26 academic year, greatly downsizing their athletic department and seeking affiliation outside of the NCAA in the process.

On February 25, 2026, the CUNYAC announced that Pratt Institute would join the CUNYAC beginning in the 2027–28 academic year, taking NJCU's place as the first new member in the relaunched league. One month later, the CUNYAC announced that Saint Elizabeth University would also join the rebranded CUNYAC in the 2027–28 academic year as well.

Chronological timeline

NCAA Division III (Senior college division)

  • 1978 – The CUNYAC was founded as the CUNY Athletic Directions Association (CUNYADA). Charter members included Baruch College, Brooklyn College, the City College of New York (CCNY), 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 (NCAA) as an 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 (CUNYAC) in the 1987–88 academic year.
  • 1996 – Brooklyn rejoined the CUNYAC in the 1996–97 academic year.
  • 1999 – New York City College of Technology (New York City Tech) joined the senior college ranks of the CUNYAC in the 1999–2000 academic year.
  • 2003 – New Jersey City University (NJCU) joined the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for baseball in the 2004 spring season (2003–04 academic year).
  • 2004 – New Jersey City (NJCU) left the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for baseball after the 2004 spring season (2003–04 academic year).
  • 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 (Maine–Presque Isle or UMPI) joined the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for baseball during the 2016 spring season (2015–16 academic year).
  • 2017 – Finlandia University joined the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for baseball in the 2018 spring season (2017–18 academic year).
  • 2018 – Finlandia and Maine–Presque Isle (UMPI) left the CUNYAC as affiliate members for baseball after the 2018 spring season (2017–18 academic year).
  • 2019 – Staten Island left the CUNYAC to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the East Coast Conference (ECC) after the 2018–19 academic year.
  • 2025 – New Jersey City (NJCU) joined the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for men's volleyball, beginning in the 2026 spring season (2025–26 academic year).
  • 2026 – New Jersey City (NJCU) left the CUNYAC as an affiliate member for men's volleyball after the 2026 spring season (2025–26 academic year).
  • 2027 – Pratt Institute and Saint Elizabeth University will both join the CUNYAC beginning in the 2027–28 academic year; thus becoming the first full members 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 (New York City Tech) 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 (NCAA) 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.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Nickname

!Colors

! Joined

|-

| Baruch College

| Manhattan

| 1919

| rowspan="8" | Public

| 20,081

| Bearcats

|

| 1978

|-

| Brooklyn College

| Brooklyn

| 1930

| 14,390

| Bulldogs

|

| 1978;<br>1996

|-

| City College of New York

| Manhattan

| 1847

| 15,544

| Beavers

|

| 1978

|-

| Hunter College

| Manhattan

| 1870

| 22,538

| Hawks

|

| 1978

|-

| John Jay College of Criminal Justice

| Manhattan

| 1964

| 13,763

| Bloodhounds

|

| 1978

|-

| Lehman College

| The Bronx

| 1968

| 13,324

| Lightning

|

| 1978

|-

| Medgar Evers College

| Brooklyn

| 1970

| 3,736

| Cougars

|

| 1978

|-

| York College

| Queens

| 1966

| 6,174

| Cardinals

|

| 1978

|}

;Notes:

Future members

The senior college division of the CUNYAC will have two new full members, both private schools (and also the conference's first members outside the CUNY system).

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Nickname

!Colors

! Joining

! Current<br>conference

|-

| Pratt Institute

| Brooklyn, New York

| 1887

| Nonsectarian

| 5,356

| Cannoneers

|

| rowspan="2" | 2027

| rowspan="2" | Atlantic East (AEC)

|-

| Saint Elizabeth University

| Morristown, New Jersey

| 1899

| Catholic<br />

| 1,200

| Eagles

|

|}

;Notes:

<!--

Associate members

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined

! CUNYAC<br>sport

! Primary<br>Conference

|}

-->

Former members

The senior college division of the CUNYAC had three former full members, all were public schools:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Nickname

! Joined

! Left

! Current<br>conference

|-

| New York City College of Technology

| Brooklyn

| 1946

| rowspan="3" | Public

| Yellow Jackets

| 1999

| 2011

| None

|-

| Queens College

| Queens

| 1937

| Knights

| 1978

| 1980

| East Coast (ECC)

|-

| College of Staten Island

| Staten Island

| 1976

| 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.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Nickname

! Joined

! Left

! CUNYAC<br>sport

! Current<br>primary<br>conference

! Current<br>conference<br>in former<br>CUNYAC<br>sport

|-

| Finlandia University

| Hancock, Michigan

| 1896

| Lutheran<br>

| Lions

| 2017

| 2018

| rowspan=3 | baseball

| colspan=2 | Closed in 2023

|-

| <br>(UMPI)

| Presque Isle, Maine

| 1903

| Public

| Owls

| 2015

| 2018

| colspan=2 | North Atlantic (NAC)

|-

| New Jersey City University<br>(NJCU)

| Jersey City, New Jersey

| 1929

| Public

| Gothic Knights

| 2003

| 2004

| colspan=2 | New Jersey (NJAC)

|}

;Notes:

Membership timeline

<timeline>

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:1978 till:2032

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5

Colors =

id:line value:black

id:bg value:white

id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports

id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football

id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only

id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only

id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference

id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used

PlotData=

width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:Baruch (1978–present)

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1980 text:Brooklyn (1978–1980)

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1996 till:end text: (1996–present)

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:CCNY (1978–present)

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:Hunter (1978–present)

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:John Jay (1978–present)

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:Lehman (1978–present)

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:Medgar Evers (1978–present)

bar:8 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1980 text:Queens (1978–1980)

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1978 till:2019 text:Staten Island (1978–2019)

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1978 till:end text:York (1978–present)

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2011 text:New York City Tech (1999–2011)

bar:12 color:AssocOS from:2003 till:2004 text:NJCU (2003–2004)

bar:12 color:AssocOS from:2025 till:2026 text:(2025–2026)

bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2018 text:UMPI (2015–2018)

bar:14 color:FullxF from:2027 till:end text:Pratt (2027–future)

bar:15 color:FullxF from:2027 till:end text:Saint Elizabeth (2027–future)

bar:N color:powderblue from:1978 till:1987 text:CUNYADA

bar:N color:blue from:1987 till:end text:CUNYAC

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1980

TextData =

fontsize:M

textcolor:black

pos:(0,20) tabs:(400-center)

text:^"City University of New York Athletic Conference (senior college division) membership history"

  1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) 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.

<#

</timeline>

NJCAA (community college division)

Current members

The community college division of the CUNYAC currently has six full members, all are public schools:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined

|-

| Bronx Community College

| The Bronx

| 1957

| rowspan="6" | Public

| 6,787

| Broncos

| 1987

|-

| Borough of Manhattan Community College

| Manhattan

| 1963

| 20,123

| Panthers

| 1987

|-

| Hostos Community College

| The Bronx

| 1968

| 5,478

| Caimans

| 2002

|-

| Kingsborough Community College

| Brooklyn

| 1963

| 18,165

| Wave

| 1987

|-

| LaGuardia Community College

| Queens

| 1968

| 14,494

| Red Hawks

| 2022

|-

| Queensborough Community College

| Queens

| 1959

| 10,337

| Tigers

| 1987

|}

;Notes:

Former members

The community college division of the CUNYAC had two former full members, both were public schools:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Nickname

! Joined

! Left

! Current<br>conference

|-

| New York City College of Technology

| Brooklyn

| 1946

| Public

| Yellow Jackets

| 1987

| 1999

| None

|}

;Notes:

Membership timeline

<timeline>

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:1987 till:2027

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5

Colors =

id:line value:black

id:bg value:white

id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports

id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football

id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only

id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only

id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference

id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used

PlotData=

width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1987 till:end text:Bronx CC (1987–present)

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1987 till:end text:Borough of Manhattan CC (1987–present)

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1987 till:end text:Kingsborough CC (1987–present)

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1999 text:New York City Tech (1987–1999)

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1987 till:end text:Queensborough CC (1987–present)

bar:6 color:FullxF from:2002 till:end text:Hostos CC (2002–present)

bar:7 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2017 text:LaGuardia CC (2013–2017)

bar:7 color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text: (2022–present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1988

TextData =

fontsize:M

textcolor:black

pos:(0,20) tabs:(400-center)

text:^"City University of New York Athletic Conference (community college division) membership history"

  1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) 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.

<#

</timeline>

Sports

NCAA Division III

The CUNYAC sponsors Division III intercollegiate athletic competition in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's volleyball.

Men's sports

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%"

|-

! School!! Baseball !! Basketball !! Cross<br>country !! Soccer !! Swimming<br/>& Diving !! Tennis !! Track & Field<br/>(Indoor) !! Track & Field<br/>(Outdoor) !! Volleyball !! Total

|-

|Baruch || || || || || || || || || || 7

|-

|Brooklyn || || || || || || || || || || 6

|-

|CCNY || || || || || || || || || || 8

|-

|Hunter || || || || || || || || || || 7

|-

|John Jay || || || || || || || || || || 6

|-

|Lehman || || || || || || || || || || 9

|-

|Medgar Evers || || || || || || || || || || 6

|-

|York (NY) || || || || || || || || || || 8

|}

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the CUNYAC that are played by CUNYAC schools

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%"

|-

! School!! Fencing !! Rifle !! Wrestling

|-

|Hunter || MACFA || || IND

|-

| John Jay || || MARC ||

|}

Women's sports

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%"

|-

! School !! Basketball !! Cross<br>country !! Soccer !! Softball !! Swimming<br/>& Diving !! Tennis !! Track & Field<br/>(Indoor) !! Track & Field<br/>(Outdoor) !! Volleyball !! Total

|-

|Baruch || || || || || || || || || || 6

|-

|Brooklyn || || || || || || || || || || 7

|-

|CCNY || || || || || || || || || || 6

|-

|Hunter || || || || || || || || || || 8

|-

|John Jay || || || || || || || || || || 7

|-

|Lehman || || || || || || || || || || 9

|-

|Medgar Evers || || || || || || || || || || 6

|-

|York (NY) || || || || || || || || || || 9

|}

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the CUNYAC that are played by CUNYAC schools

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%"

|-

! School!! Fencing !! Rifle

|-

|CCNY || EWFC ||

|-

|Hunter || NIWFA ||

|-

| John Jay || || MARC

|}

Community college

The CUNYAC sponsors community college (NJCAA) intercollegiate athletic competition in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's soccer, and women's volleyball.

References