Old Dominion Athletic Conference

The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) is an NCAA Division III athletic conference. Its 14 member schools are located primarily in Virginia, with other members in North Carolina and Washington, D.C. Along with the American Southwest Conference (ASC) and Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), it is the largest all-sports conference in Division III. The only larger D-III conferences are two single-sport groups—the cross-country league operated by the Middle Atlantic Conferences, with 17 members (for both men and women), and the New England Football Conference (NEFC), with 16. The NEFC will drop to eight members after the 2012 football season.

History


The conference was founded in 1975 as the Virginia College Conference. On January 1, 1976, the name was changed to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The 1976–77 season was the first in which championships were offered. In 1982–83, women's sports were added. In 1988, Virginia Wesleyan was added as a member, and, in 1990, Guilford became the first member located outside Virginia. Catholic University was a full-sport member in the 1980s along with Maryville College. Both resigned their memberships in the mid-to-late 1980s. In 1999, Catholic returned as a football-only member. The only other school that has left the conference is Mary Baldwin College, which left in 1999 to join the Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference.

In 2010 the ODAC announced the addition of Shenandoah University to its full-time membership, with its first full year of involvement during the 2012-13 academic year.

The league office moved its physical location from Salem, Virginia, to Forest, Virginia, just outside of centrally located Lynchburg, and contracted with Jim Ward Design for its new marks.

The conference hosts the Division III championships in football and men's basketball, both of which are held in Salem, Virginia. DIII softball has called Salem home along with Division III women's lacrosse and volleyball. Since 1993 - the conference and city have hosted over 50 Division III National Championships.

Current members
† - Women's college, therefore not competing in men's sports ^ - Men's college, therefore not competing in women's sports
 * Notes
 * - Formerly Randolph-Macon Woman's College, now co-educational (Randolph since 2007-08)

Membership timeline
Purple denotes football playing member. Green denotes non-football playing member. Red denotes associate member (football-only). Blue denotes associate member (swimming only).

Sports
The conference sponsors championships in the following sports: