CMU & Case Western Joining PAC in football

WEXFORD, Pa. – The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) has accepted Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio, as affiliate members in the sport of football, beginning in the 2014-15 academic year. The addition of the CMU and CWRU football programs will raise the number of football programs in the PAC from nine to 11 beginning in the 2014 season. The affiliation with CMU and Case comes 14 years after Westminster College joined the conference.

The PAC will play an unbalanced football schedule with eight conference and two non-conference games beginning that season.

"This is an exciting time for the Presidents' Athletic Conference, as we are very pleased to be adding two of the leading higher education institutions in the nation as PAC affiliate members in the sport of football," said Richard G. Jewell, president of Grove City College and the current chair of the PAC Presidents' Council. "Both Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve hold integral roles in our league's storied history, and we are thrilled that they will be joining our future efforts to continue establishing the PAC as one of the nation's elite NCAA Division III conferences."

Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon were each previously full members of the PAC. Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve (Adelbert), which merged to form Case Western Reserve in 1967, were both charter members of the PAC from 1955 until the two schools began fielding one team in 1970, and from then until the school's departure from the conference in 1984. Carnegie Mellon was a full PAC member from 1968-89.

"On behalf of the entire conference, I would like to welcome Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve football back home to the PAC," said Joe Onderko, PAC Executive Director. "Head coaches Rich Lackner at CMU and Greg Debeljak at Case, along with their respective coaching

staffs, have each built quality Division III football programs that are widely respected and should instantly raise the level of competition in the PAC to new heights. In addition, both programs share the PAC's commitment to the highest level of student-athlete academic success and development."

Both schools will remain full members of the University Athletic Association (UAA) in all other varsity sports. The University of Chicago and Washington (Mo.) University, who also currently play football in the UAA, will join the newly-formed Southern Athletic Association (SAA) as football affiliate members, beginning in 2015. The four UAA schools will continue to play each other in football, utilizing available non-conference dates. The annual "Academic Bowl" game between Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve will become a part of "PAC Football Rivalry Week" in the final weekend of each season. All "Rivalry Week" games will not be subject to the unbalanced conference schedule.

"Our football program, department and university are thrilled to accept the opportunity to join the Presidents' Athletic Conference as an affiliate member in the sport of football along with our peer, Carnegie Mellon University," said Case Western Reserve Director of Athletics Dr. Dave Diles. "We are dedicated to becoming a highly contributing member of this respected conference, and supporting our shared goals of intercollegiate participation noted for sportsmanship, ethical conduct, studentathlete academic achievement and spirited competition. The leadership team of the PAC demonstrated great understanding and professionalism relative to our ongoing and comprehensive commitment to the UAA, and the unique circumstances connected to football within our association."

"This is a landmark day for Carnegie Mellon athletics and our football program," said Carnegie Mellon Director of Athletics Susan Bassett. "Joining the PAC is an excellent opportunity for our football student-athletes and coaches. The PAC has a tradition of excellence on and off the football field. We are looking forward to competing at a high level with institutions that share similar academic and

athletic philosophies with Carnegie Mellon."

Both football programs had significant success during their initial tenures as PAC members. Carnegie Mellon captured or shared seven conference football titles in the PAC (1977-79, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1989 (co-champions with Washington & Jefferson)), while Western Reserve was a three-time PAC football champion (1955, 1958, 1960). The addition of the Tartan and Spartan football programs continues an extended period of membership growth for the PAC. The conference has added five full-time members and lost none over the past 11 years (see PAC membership timeline addendum on page three) and the addition of CMU and CWRU as affiliate members raises the total number of league members to 12 (10 full, two affiliate), the largest number in the history of the conference.

"Clearly, the addition of these excellent institutions to the PAC is yet more evidence that the demand for membership in our conference has never been stronger," stated Onderko. "I believe this is a credit to our Presidents' Council members, who have forged a consistent long-term vision for the conference and have actively and tirelessly worked to strengthen and improve our league in every possible way, resulting in this recent period of membership growth in the PAC."