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The Colonial Athletic Association, also known as the '''CAA''', is a NCAA Division I College Athletic Conference whose members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia . Most of its members are Public Universities , with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered near Richmond, Virginia . The CAA is generally considered one of the better Mid-major conferences in the country. The CAA, which was founded in 1985 from the short-lived ECAC South Basketball league, currently organizes championships in 21 men's and women's sports. Though it does not currently sponsor Football , the recent addition of Northeastern University gave the conference the NCAA minimum of six football programs needed to sponsor the sport. For the 2007 football season, all of the Atlantic Ten Conference 's football programs will join the CAA football conference, as agreed to in May 2005 . The CAA has expanded in recent years, following the exits of schools such as the United States Naval Academy , University Of Richmond , East Carolina University and American University . In 2001 the 6 member conference added Towson University , Drexel University , Hofstra University , and the University Of Delaware . Four years later the league expanded again when Georgia State and Northeastern were added. On the playing field, the CAA has produced 16 national team champions in five different sports, 33 individual national champions, 11 national coaches of the year, 11 national players of the year and 12 Honda Award winners. The CAA plays its men's basketball championship in the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia . The 2006 Champions were the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, who defeated the Hofstra Pride in the final. The last CAA team to win a game in the NCAA Tournament was George Mason in 2006 when they reached the Final Four after defeating Michigan State in the first round, North Carolina in second round, Wichita State in the Sweet 16, and Connecticut in the Elite 8. In doing so, George Mason not only became the first team from the CAA to advance to the Final Four, but the first team designated as a true Mid-major to make it that far since the tournament expanded to 64 teams. Many consider David Robinson to be the best CAA participant ever, playing in the conference during his time at Navy. MEMBERS The league currently has 12 full members: Georgia State and Northeastern are the newest CAA members, having joined as of July 1 , 2005 . The CAA tournament has been contested at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia , since 1990. Prior hosts include:
Note: The conference was known as the ECAC South from 1983-1985. FOOTBALL CONFERENCE After Northeastern accepted the CAA's offer of membership, the CAA invited the University Of Richmond to become a football-only member in 2007 . Once UR accepted the offer, this left the Atlantic 10 football conference with only five members, less than the six required under NCAA rules. As a result, the remaining A-10 football programs all decided to join the CAA on a football-only basis, spelling the end of the A-10 football conference. The new CAA football conference will have the following members: Northern Division Southern Division On June 14 , 2005 , Old Dominion's Board of Visitors approved the creation of a football team by a 14-0 vote. The team is expected to begin play in 2009 . As a division of William & Mary, Old Dominion once had a football program but dropped it in 1941 . George Mason, Georgia State, & UNC-Wilmington are in the process of gauging support for football programs as well. CONFERENCE STADIUMS Note: Old Dominion will not reinstate its football program until 2009 , but already has a suitable on-campus stadium. The school currently uses it for its women's Field Hockey program. EXTERNAL LINKS > |