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 New York to North Carolina. Most of its members are public universities, with half in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered near Richmond, Virginia.

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. It does not sponsor football, although five current members have football programs that compete in Division I-AA. However, the CAA may begin sponsoring football in 2005; the arrival of Northeastern University will give the conference the six football programs needed to sponsor the sport. For more information on this issue, see the article on the Atlantic Ten Conference, where five CAA members currently play football.

The league currently has 10 members:

• University of Delaware
• Drexel University
• George Mason University
• Hofstra University
• James Madison University
• Old Dominion University
• Towson University
• University of North Carolina at Wilmington
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• College of William and Mary

Georgia State University and Northeastern University will join the CAA in 2005.

External link

• Colonial Athletic Association