Coastal Athletic Association facts for kids

The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) is a college sports league in the United States. It's part of the NCAA's top level, Division I. Most of its member schools are public universities located along the East Coast, stretching from Massachusetts down to South Carolina. The CAA's main office is in Richmond.

The CAA started in 1979 as the ECAC South Conference. Back then, it was mostly for schools that played basketball but weren't part of a regular conference. They joined the ECAC's South Region tournament. In the 1981–1982 season, they began playing basketball as a conference. In 1985, the league changed its name to the Colonial Athletic Association and started adding championships for other sports.

Over the years, the CAA grew. In 2005, Northeastern University joined, which helped the conference have enough teams to start sponsoring football. The football league is actually a separate group called CAA Football, but it's managed by the CAA.

Recently, in 2022 and 2023, several new schools joined the CAA, including Hampton University, Monmouth University, North Carolina A&T State University, and Campbell University. Because the conference now includes schools all along the East Coast, it officially changed its name to the Coastal Athletic Association in July 2023.

Quick facts for kids
Coastal Athletic Association

Formerly	ECAC South Conference (1979–1985) Colonial Athletic Association (1985–2023)
Association	NCAA
Founded	1979; 46 years ago (1979)
Commissioner	Joe D'Antonio (since 2016)
Sports fielded	23 men's: 10 women's: 13
Division	Division I
Subdivision	FCS
No. of teams	13
Headquarters	Richmond, Virginia
Region	East Coast
Locations

History of the CAA

Logo used until 2013

The CAA has grown a lot over the years. Some older members like the United States Naval Academy and the University of Richmond left, but new schools joined. In 2001, Towson University, Drexel University, Hofstra University, and the University of Delaware became members. A few years later, Georgia State University and Northeastern University also joined, making the conference even bigger.

In 2012, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) left the CAA. More changes happened in 2013 when Old Dominion University and Georgia State University moved to other conferences. However, the College of Charleston joined the CAA that same year.

The CAA has had many successful sports teams. Its schools have won 16 national championships in different sports. For example, the James Madison University Dukes won the 2018 Division I Women's Lacrosse championship. Also, teams like George Mason (in 2006) and the VCU Rams (in 2011) made it to the "Final Four" in men's basketball, which is a huge achievement!

In 2013, George Mason University left the CAA. Around that time, the CAA stopped sponsoring wrestling because not enough teams were playing it.

More recently, in 2021, James Madison University announced it would leave the CAA to join the Sun Belt Conference. This meant their football team would move to a higher level of play. James Madison officially left in July 2022.

To keep growing, the CAA looked for new schools. In January 2022, Hampton University, Monmouth University, and Stony Brook University were announced as new members, joining in July 2022. North Carolina A&T State University also joined in July 2022 for most sports, and their football team joined in 2023. Finally, Campbell University became a member of both the main CAA and CAA Football in 2023.

On July 20, 2023, the Colonial Athletic Association changed its name to the Coastal Athletic Association. This new name better reflects how the conference now stretches along the entire East Coast.

Commissioners

Joe D'Antonio

The commissioner is like the main leader of the conference.

Member Schools

The Coastal Athletic Association has both full members and associate members. Full members compete in most of the CAA's sports, while associate members only compete in one or a few specific sports.

Current Full Members

These are the schools that are currently full members of the CAA.

Former Full Members

These schools used to be full members of the CAA.

Associate Members

These schools are part of the CAA for specific sports only.

Current Associate Members

Sports

The CAA organizes championships in many different sports for both men and women. There are 10 men's sports and 13 women's sports. This list does not include football, which has its own separate league called CAA Football.

Men's Sports by School

This table shows which men's sports each CAA school plays.

Women's Sports by School

This table shows which women's sports each CAA school plays.

Current Champions

These are the most recent champions in various CAA sports. RS means regular-season champion, and T means tournament champion.

Men's Basketball

CAA Basketball logo

The CAA has a strong history in men's basketball. Many teams have won the regular season title or the tournament championship.

Men's CAA Tournament Championships

This table shows which schools have won the most CAA men's basketball tournament championships.

^‡Former member of the CAA

Women's Basketball

The CAA also has a rich history in women's basketball, with many teams achieving success.

Women's CAA Tournament Championships

This table shows which schools have won the most CAA women's basketball tournament championships.

^‡Former member of the CAA

Facilities

Each school in the CAA has its own sports facilities, like basketball arenas and baseball fields. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Coastal Athletic Association para niños