The Presidents' Athletic Conference Print Historical Look Back at the PAC The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), built on the basic belief that an athletic program is an integral part of college life but not an entity in itself, looks back on over sixty years of growth and ahead to years of continued academic and athletic excellence. The league's name clearly reflects its founding principle that operational control of all aspects of intercollegiate athletics is ultimately the responsibility of the presidents of each member institution, and thus active presidential leadership and oversight is paramount in conference administration. Formally organized in 1955 by Western Reserve University, John Carroll University, Case Institute of Technology, and Wayne State University*, the PAC was the result of a realization that college athletics, despite numerous virtues for the individual and the institution, were gradually becoming a financial and academic burden. If athletics were to be continued, action had to be taken to place the program on its proper level. This included the premise that benefits of participation should be provided to as many students as possible. The PAC and its membership continue its original, defining mission of promoting intercollegiate athletics and the pursuit of academic excellence. Institutions involved understand that the key components to its progress lie in the foundation of faith in each member by each other member. It is the conviction of its membership that the PAC is the solution to the dilemma of intercollegiate athletic competition, and they have staked their athletic future on this premise. Currently comprised of 11 select, private institutions -- Allegheny College, Bethany College, Chatham University, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Geneva College, Grove City College, Saint Vincent College, Thiel College, Washington & Jefferson College, Waynesburg University and Westminster College -- the PAC remains a unique organization in this day of high-pressure intercollegiate athletics, with academics at the center of each member's philosophy. Carnegie Mellon University and Case Western Reserve University have competed as affiliate members in the sport of football since 2012. The PAC crowns league champions and awards all-conference honors in its 23 championship sports (12 men, 11 women). Head coaches determine All-PAC squads for all team sports, while in individual sports, such as cross country and golf, All-PAC accolades are based upon performances at the conference championships. The PAC, which celebrated its 60th anniversary during the 2014-15 academic year, annually awards its All-Sports Trophies to the schools which perform best across the board in PAC competition. The men's athletic program at Grove City and women's athletic program at Allegheny captured their respective All-Sports Trophies for the 2022-23 academic year. The All-Sports Trophy for the Grove City men is their second in the last three years and 12th in program history. This was the first All-Sports Trophy for the Allegheny women's program, who spent the last 39 years in the North Coast Athletic Conference before returning to the PAC in 2022-23. Staying true to its original mission of promoting intercollegiate athletics and the pursuit of academic excellence, the PAC has seen over 300 of its participating student-athletes recognized as Academic All-Americans, while the league has also produced numerous NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners. In 2022-23, a record 1,744 student-athletes were recognized on the PAC Academic Honor Rolls (823 fall, 921 spring), which acknowledges all participating student-athletes who earn a semester grade-point average of 3.60 or above. * = Note that when the PAC's original formation was announced in April, 1954, Baldwin-Wallace was among the original schools along with Western Reserve University, John Carroll University, Case Institute of Technology, but when the league began play in the Fall of 1955, Wayne State had replaced Baldwin-Wallace.