Sunrise Athletic Conference
The Sunrise Athletic Conference was a college athletic conference founded in 2002 and affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Its member institutions were in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont.
| Sunrise Athletic Conference | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 2002 |
| Dissolved | 2011 |
| Association | NAIA |
| Division | Division II |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Region | Region X of the NAIA Northeastern United States |
| Commissioner | Dr. Royal Goheen |
| Website | http://www.sunriseconference.com |
| Locations | |
 | |
History
The SAC was founded when both the Maine Athletic Conference and the Mayflower Conference disbanded in the spring of 2002. Both of these conferences were NAIA conferences of long standing.[1] The conference formed with eight inaugural members: the College of St. Joseph, Fisher College, Lyndon State College, University of Maine at Fort Kent, University of Maine at Machias, University of Maine at Presque Isle, Paul Smith's College and Vermont Technical College.
Royal Goheen became the commissioner of the Sunrise Conference and continued to serve as the only commissioner in the history of the SAC until it disbanded. In 1997, Goheen took on the role as the commissioner of the Maine Athletic Conference before its disbandment. In 2010 he was elected to the NAIA Hall of Fame.[2]
In 2004, the Sunrise Conference added State University of New York at Canton after the university joined the NAIA as part of a transition from two-year to four-year institution. The conference held steady with nine members until Paul Smith's College and Lyndon State College left in 2010, dropping SAC membership to seven.
The conference disbanded in 2011 when the College of St. Joseph, Vermont Technical College and University of Maine at Machias left the conference and the NAIA for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) and the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC).[3][4] The University of Maine at Fort Kent, University of Maine at Presque Isle, and SUNY Canton then left with no regional NAIA competition to become independents in the USCAA.[4]
In addition, Maine–Presque Isle is transitioning to an independent member of NCAA Division III, while SUNY Canton was accepted into the transition process to move from the NAIA to NCAA D-III.[5] Fisher College joined the American Mideast Conference.[4]
Chronlogical timeline
- 2002 - In the spring of 2002, the Sunrise Athletic Conference (a.k.a. the Sunrise) was founded due to dissolutions of the Maine Athletic Conference and the Mayflower Conference. Charter members included the College of St. Joseph, Fisher College, Lyndon State College (now Northern Vermont University at Lyndon), University of Maine at Fort Kent, University of Maine at Machias, University of Maine at Presque Isle, Paul Smith's College and Vermont Technical College, effective beginning the 2002-03 academic year.
- 2004 - The State University of New York at Canton (a.k.a. SUNY Canton) joined the Sunrise, effective the 2004-05 academic year.
- 2006 - Lyndon State (now Northern Vermont–Lyndon) left the Sunrise to join the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), effective after the 2005-06 academic year.
- 2010 - Paul Smith's left the Sunrise and the NAIA to join the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), primarily competing in the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC), effective after the 2009-10 academic year.
- 2011 - The Sunrise would cease operations as an athletic conference, effective after the 2010-11 academic year; as many schools left to find new conference homes, effective beginning the 2011-12 academic year: Fisher to join the American Mideast Conference, while the rest would leave the NAIA and join the USCAA: St. Joseph, Vermont Tech, Maine–Machias to primarily compete in the YSCC; and Maine–Fort Kent, Maine–Presque Isle and SUNY Canton to join as USCAA Independents (the latter two are either accepted or in the process into transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division III).
Member schools
Final members
- Notes
- St. Joseph (Vt.) dropped athletics as the school was closed after the 2018–19 school year.
Former members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference |
Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyndon State College[lower-alpha 1] | Lyndon, Vermont | 1911 | Public | 1,350 | Hornets | 2002–03 | 2005–06 | D-III Independent (2006–07 to 2007–08) |
North Atlantic (NCAA D-III) (2008–09 to present) |
| Paul Smith's College | Paul Smiths, New York | 1946 | Private | 1,000 | Falcons | 2002–03 | 2009–10 | YSCC (USCAA) (2010–11 to present) | |
- Notes
- Currently known as Northern Vermont University–Lyndon since 2018.
Membership timeline
Sports
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball |  | |
| Basketball | | |
| Cross Country | | |
| Golf | | |
| Soccer | | |
| Softball | | |
| Volleyball | |
Conference championships
|
Women Volleyball
Men Cross Country
Women Cross Country
Men Soccer
|
Women Soccer
Men Basketball
Women Basketball
|
Men Golf
Baseball
Softball
|
References
- http://naia.cstv.com/member-services/conferences/profiles/NAIA_ConferenceProfile_Sunrise.pdf
- Staff (Aug 24, 2010). "NAIA Announces 2010-11 Hall of Fame Class". Victory Sports Network. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- Hawkins, Gary (June 30, 2011). "COLLEGE: UMA adds 3 sports". Kennebec Journal. Archived from the original on November 10, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- Mahoney, Larry (June 17, 2011). "UMFK, UMPI, UMM leave NAIA for new association". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- Brown, Gary (June 30, 2011). "DIII Membership Committee recommends four new active members". NCAA. Archived from the original on July 5, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011.