College of Charleston joining CAA
The College of Charleston's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept the Colonial Athletic Association's invitation to join the conference, the school announced Friday.
"We are very excited about joining the Colonial Athletic Association," President P. George Benson said. "It is a great fit for the College, both athletically and academically. This move is a significant step forward in the College's efforts to become a national university."
College of Charleston will compete in 14 sports beginning in the fall of 2013, including men's basketball. Other members include Delaware, Drexel, George Mason, Hofstra, James Madison, Northeastern, Towson, UNC Wilmington and William & Mary.
"Speaking for the entire membership, we are extremely excited that the College of Charleston will be joining the CAA," Commissioner Tom Yeager said. "We believe their nationally-recognized athletic and academic programs will be a great institutional fit with other CAA institutions. Charleston will enhance the competition level in the conference and add to our group of nationally-prominent teams in a number of sports."
The CAA has had 16 national team champions in five sports, 33 individual national champs, 12 national players of the year and 12 national coaches of the year.
"We are very excited to have the opportunity to join an outstanding conference, the Colonial," College of Charleston Director of Athletics Joe Hull said. "The Colonial is a high-quality league in so many ways. The competition will be tough, but I believe we will be prepared to compete for conference championships across the board immediately.
The CAA is in a five-year, multi-million dollar contract with NBC Sports Group.
College of Charleston has been in the Southern Conference since 1998. It will join the CAA on July 1.
