| Colonial Athletic Association Announces Expansion |
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By Pamela Stone Colonial Athletic Association
12/13/2000
Delaware, Hofstra, Drexel and Towson to Join for 2003-04 Campaign Washington, D.C. Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Thomas E. Yeager today announced that the University of Delaware, Drexel University, Hofstra University and Towson University will join the conference effective July 1, 2003. "Today marks the beginning of the new CAA spreading from New York City to eastern North Carolina," noted Yeager. "The conference has experienced considerable growth since 1985 and we expect the new alignment to be a catalyst for even greater success in the years ahead. Our four incoming members boast programs that are highly-regarded on a national level in terms of both academic and athletic excellence. These schools will mesh well with the existing membership of the Colonial Athletic Association and enhance our reputation as we move forward. Their arrival will open new markets in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Delaware which will provide a significant increase in exposure for each of our programs." The four newcomers, who are all currently members of the America East Conference, will join George Mason University, James Madison University, UNC Wilmington, Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University and the College of William & Mary to form a 10-team conference which will conduct championships in 20 sports. With their arrival, women's softball and men's lacrosse championships will be established with the possibility of other championships being added in the future. CAA institutions have produced 15 national team champions in four different sports, 33 national champions, 10 national coaches of the year, nine national players of the year, 11 Honda Sports Award winners, 10 NCAA post-graduate scholars and five Rhodes Scholars. In 1999-2000, the CAA was the highest-rated non-BCS conference in the all sports ranking. According to data compiled by the Big 12 Conference, CAA men's teams ranked #9 while the women's programs were #13. Recently, ODU captured the NCAA field hockey title while student-athlete Marina DiGiacomo received the Honda Sports Award for field hockey.
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