The ACAA was formally announced as an
NCAA Division III athletic conference in February 2017, with plans to start offering official conference championships in the 2017–18 academic year. Unofficial championships were held during the 2016–17 season. Initial members were
Alfred State College,
Finlandia University,
Mills College,
State University of New York at Canton,
State University of New York at Delhi,
Pine Manor College,
University of Maine at Presque Isle, and
University of Valley Forge. Finlandia, Maine–Presque Isle, Mills, and Pine Manor were formerly members of the women's sports-sponsoring
Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC), which disbanded after the 2015–16 season. In November 2017, it was announced that SUNY Canton and UMPI departed the ACAA, effective July 1, 2018, and would join the
North Atlantic Conference (NAC). In January 2018, it was announced that
Mount Mary University of
Wisconsin joined the ACAA, effective in the 2018–19 academic year. Mount Mary was formerly an
NCAA Division III independent school. On February 16, 2018,
Pratt Institute announced that the college also joined the ACAA, effective in the 2018-19 academic year. Pratt was a member of the
Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) within the
United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). On June 28, 2018, it was announced that
Alfred State College was leaving the ACAA, and joined the
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC), effective in the 2019–20 school year. In July 2018, it was announced that Thomas More College, now known as
Thomas More University, joined the ACAA effective immediately for the 2018–19 season. Thomas More was previously a full member of the
Presidents' Athletic Conference. Thomas More had re-joined the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and joined the
Mid South Conference beginning the fall of 2019. On November 30, 2018, SUNY Delhi, a
North Atlantic Conference associate member in six sports (men's golf, men's lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's track & field), announced that it would leave the ACAA and become a full member of the NAC effective in the fall of 2019. At that time, five additional Delhi sports—men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball—were about to begin NAC play. Three more sports—men's and women's basketball, plus softball—remained in the ACAA until starting NAC play in 2020–21. On June 6, 2019, it was announced that the
University of Valley Forge was leaving the ACAA, and joined the
Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC), effective in the 2020–21 season. On July 11, 2019, it was announced that the
University of California, Santa Cruz would be joining the ACAA in seven sports, effective 2019-20. On May 26, 2020, it was announced that the American Collegiate Athletic Association would merge with the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), later renamed the
Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C). The ACAA will have all of its full members join the CAC in the 2020–21 school year.
Pine Manor College, which recently entered into a partnership with
Boston College, will participate in the Conference for one academic year in four sports: men's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball. After being acquired by
Boston College, Pine Manor dissolved their athletics programs effective after the 2020-21 academic year.
Chronological timeline • 2017 - The American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) was founded. Charter members included
Alfred State College,
Finlandia University, the
University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI),
Mills College,
Pine Manor College, the
State University of New York at Canton (SUNY Canton), the
State University of New York at Delhi (SUNY Delhi) and the
University of Valley Forge, effective beginning the 2017-18 academic year. • 2018 - Maine–Presque Isle (UMPI) and SUNY Canton left the ACAA to join the
North Atlantic Conference (NAC), effective after the 2017-18 academic year. • 2018 -
Mount Mary University,
Pratt Institute and
Thomas More University joined the ACAA, effective in the 2018-19 academic year. • 2019 - Two institutions left the ACAA to join their respective new home primary conferences: Alfred State to join the
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC), and Thomas More to join the
Mid-South Conference (MSC) of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), both effective after the 2018-19 academic year. • 2019 - SUNY Delhi left the ACAA to join the NAC, while remaining in the conference for some sports as an affiliate member (men's & women's basketball and softball), effective after the 2018-19 academic year. • 2019 - The
University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz) joined the ACAA, effective in the 2019-20 academic year. • 2019 - The
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater joined the ACAA as an affiliate member for men's soccer, effective in the 2019 fall season (2019-20 academic year). • 2020 - Valley Forge left the ACAA to join the
Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC), effective after the 2019-20 academic year. • 2020 - The ACAA ceased operations as an athletic conference, effective after the 2019-20 academic year; as the remaining schools (excluding full member Valley Forge and including men's soccer affiliate Wisconsin–Whitewater) were merged with those from the
Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) to form the
Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C), effective beginning the 2020-21 academic year. ==Member schools==