Atlantic 10 Conference
| Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) |
|
|---|---|
 |
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| Established | 1976 |
| Association | NCAA |
| Division | Division I non-football |
| Members | 14 (14 full; 2 associate) |
| Sports fielded | 21 (men's: 9; women's: 12) |
| Region |
Eastern United States Midwestern United States |
| Former names | Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (1976–77) Eastern Athletic Association (1977–82) Eastern 8 (unofficial, 1976–82) |
| Headquarters | Newport News, Virginia |
| Commissioner | Bernadette McGlade |
| Website | www |
| Locations | |
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The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference with schools located mostly on the United States Eastern Seaboard, as well as some in the Midwest. Member schools are located in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Missouri as well as in the District of Columbia. Although some of its members are state-funded, half of its membership is made up of private, Catholic institutions. Despite the name, there are 14 full-time members, and two affiliate members that participate in women's field hockey only.
The Atlantic 10 Conference was founded in 1975 as the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (ECBL) and began conference play in 1976. At that time, basketball was its only sport. After its first season, it added sports other than basketball and changed its name to the Eastern Athletic Association. However, despite its official names, it was popularly known as the Eastern 8, as it then had eight members (Villanova, Duquesne, Penn State, West Virginia, George Washington, Massachusetts, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers).
After changes in membership that saw charter members Villanova and Pittsburgh leave (in 1980 and 1982, respectively) and new members St. Bonaventure (1979), Rhode Island (1980), Saint Joseph's (1982), and Temple (1982) enter, establishing the league with 10 members, the conference adopted the current Atlantic 10 name in 1982.
Further membership changes saw the league expand to its maximum of 16 members. From 1997 through 2006, the league also operated a football conference; during that period, more than 20 schools were participating in A-10 competition in at least one sport. This ended when the A-10 football programs all departed to join a new football conference sponsored by the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). In 2012, Butler joined the conference after leaving the Horizon League and VCU joined after leaving the CAA.
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