Atlantic 10

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Atlantic 10

Established	1975
Classification	Division I
National Titles
Commissioner	Bernadette McGlade
Members	12
Sports Fielded
States	New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Missouri
Headquarters
Website	Atlantic10

History

On March 2, 1975, the idea of what is now the Atlantic 10 Conference was conceived. What started as an eight-school, men's basketball-only affiliation has grown into a 14-university, 21-sport league that is universally hailed as one of the best conferences in the country.

The genesis of this tradition of success can be traced to March 2, 1975, when eight university representatives met in Harrisburg, PA, to discuss the formation of a new collegiate basketball association. A similar meeting was also held on May 23 of that year, with the final formation of the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League announced on August 13, 1975. The NCAA granted allied affiliation status upon the ECBL on October 15, 1975, and granted the league an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament on June 17, 1976.

The ECBL began operation at the start of the 1976-77 season with Duquesne, George Washington, Massachusetts, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Villanova, and West Virginia as its charter members. Several changes happened quickly in the ECBL, the first coming in 1977-78 when the league changed its name to the Eastern Athletic Association - better known as the Eastern 8 - to reflect its changing mission. That year, the Eastern 8 became more than a basketball league as the men's sports of baseball, cross country, golf, swimming, and tennis were added to the championship schedule.

The next major change came in 1981 when the office of the commissioner was instituted. Leland Byrd, who had served as president and executive director of the league since its inception, as well as athletic director at West Virginia, was named the Conference's first commissioner and established the commissioner's office in Pittsburgh. Byrd guided the Eastern 8 through several membership changes as Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph's, and Temple replaced Pittsburgh and Villanova. After membership stabilized, the Eastern 8 transformed into the Atlantic 10 Conference with Byrd orchestrating the drive to make the league more broad-based as the women's sports of basketball, gymnastics, softball, tennis, and volleyball were added.

In May 1984, Byrd resigned as commissioner and was replaced by Charlie Theokas, who remained at the Atlantic 10 for 15 and a half months, bringing the league to national consciousness with his "Think Atlantic 10" campaign. On December 31, 1985, Theokas resigned to accept the athletic director's position at Temple and was replaced by Ron Bertovich, who officially assumed the commissioner's position in May 1986 after serving as interim commissioner following Theokas' departure. In eight years as commissioner, Bertovich expanded the Conference staff to better meet the growing needs of the membership and established the Atlantic 10 Television Network, which developed into a major regional outlet and won multiple Emmy Awards. In addition, he oversaw further membership changes as Xavier was added to the league while Penn State, Rutgers, and West Virginia departed. Furthermore, he continued the league's emphasis on broad-based programs as the Atlantic 10 expanded its championship list with the additions of women's cross country, field hockey, men's and women's soccer, women's swimming & diving, and men's and women's indoor track & field, as well as the reinstitution of men's swimming & diving.

On April 13, 1994, Bertovich resigned his position to accept the job of vice president and general manager of Empire Sports Network in Buffalo. On June 14, 1994, Linda Bruno was officially introduced as the Atlantic 10's fourth commissioner. As commissioner, Bruno has strengthened the Atlantic 10's membership with the additions of Charlotte, Dayton, Fordham, La Salle, Richmond, and Saint Louis. She also negotiated television deals with ESPN and was among the first to sign a contract with College Sports Television. CSTV will serve as the syndicator of A-10 games regionally and nationally, as well as the marketing arm of the Conference. Under her leadership, the Atlantic 10 has increased its championship schedule to 21 sports with the additions of women's rowing, men's and women's outdoor track & field, and women's lacrosse. In 1997, Bruno also spearheaded the league's entrance into Division I football with the formation of the Atlantic 10 Football Conference, which has seen three of its members (Massachusetts, Delaware, James Madison) win national titles in its nine-year existence. At the end of the 2006 season, the Atlantic 10 Football conference folded and merged with the Colonial Athletic Association