Wilson College will join the Colonial States Athletic Conference in 2018-19, a move that is expected to enhance the overall student-athlete experience by aligning Wilson with other small, private colleges and providing more balanced conference competition.

"The CSAC is thrilled to welcome Wilson College as a full member of the conference. Wilson is an institution on the rise and it is evident that intercollegiate athletics plays a pivotal role in the direction that the institution is heading,” said CSAC Commissioner Adrienne Mullikin. “I am confident that this partnership will be a rewarding one for both Wilson and the CSAC."

Wilson, which competes in NCAA Division III athletics, will continue to play in the North Eastern Athletic Conference in the 2017-18 academic year, according to Wilson Director of Athletics Lori Frey. She said the move to the CSAC in fall 2018 will bring a number of advantages, including allowing the college’s 10 men’s and women’s sports teams to compete against similar schools, while reducing travel time to away games—in some cases by as much as half.

“One of the primary attractions for Wilson is that all of the CSAC member institutions are private, independent colleges, which aligns us with schools who have a similar philosophy,” Frey said. “With the CSAC, we’re going to be competing against institutions that have the same priorities in the academic success of the students. The competitive levels of the schools we’ll be playing will more closely match ours and the member institutions are closer to Wilson than many of the NEAC members. All of that, to us, equates to a better experience for the student-athletes.”

The CSAC, which announced today that Bryn Athyn College will also join the conference in 2018-19, sponsors 17 men’s and women’s intercollegiate sports in NCAA Division III, including men’s and women’s cross country, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, tennis and outdoor track and field. In addition, the conference sponsors field hockey, softball, women’s volleyball and men’s golf and baseball.

Wilson joined the NEAC in 2007 when the college’s previous conference disbanded. The NEAC is currently made up of 14 public and private institutions in the Northeast. The college currently plays non-conference games against some CSAC member colleges, including Cedar Crest, Rosemont, Notre Dame of Maryland and Cairn University.

Wilson President Barbara K. Mistick agreed that the CSAC will be a good fit for Wilson, not only in terms of size, competitiveness and proximity of rival colleges, but also when it comes to conference members’ shared commitment to competitive excellence, sportsmanship and academic standards.

“We’ve had a good run with the NEAC and we are grateful to the conference,” Mistick said. “But the opportunity to elevate our student-athlete experience in 2018-19, the same year that Wilson begins play in its 10th sport—baseball—makes it the perfect time for a new beginning.”

The CSAC was established in 1992 as the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference to “meet the needs of small, private, four-year colleges in eastern Pennsylvania,” according to the conference website: csacsports.com. The conference changed its name to the Colonial States Athletic Conference in 2008. The CSAC embraces a “student-first philosophy by ensuring that institutions place the overall educational experience and successful completion of academic programs above all else.”

Beginning in fall 2018, Wilson and Bryn Athyn will join current CSAC members Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Centenary University, Clarks Summit University, Keystone College, Notre Dame of Maryland University and Rosemont College in competition. Cedar Crest and Notre Dame of Maryland are women’s colleges, providing nine schools for conference competition in women’s sports and seven for men’s teams. Most CSAC schools are located in eastern Pennsylvania, with one in Maryland and one in New Jersey.

Wilson’s athletics program, which has been a member of the NCAA since 1996, has grown to include 10 sports, including five women’s teams and five men’s. The Phoenix women’s teams play field hockey, volleyball, basketball, soccer and softball. Men’s teams currently play soccer, basketball, volleyball and golf, and recruiting for baseball is underway for the spring 2018 inaugural season.