LANCASTER, Pa. – On Thursday morning, the Chair of the Atlantic East's Presidents' Council and Gwynedd Mercy University President, Deanne Horner D'Emilio, JD announced the addition of Pratt Institute as the conference's eighth full-time member. Pratt Institute will move to the Atlantic East in the 2024-2025 year from the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference.
President D'Emilio stated, "We are thrilled to welcome Pratt Institute into the Atlantic East Conference. Their history, location, unique academic offerings, and growing athletic programs make them an ideal member for the Atlantic East."
Founded in 1887 and located in Brooklyn, New York, with a population of approximately 5,100 undergraduate and graduate students, Pratt is one of the newest members of NCAA Division III. The Cannoneers attained full membership in 2022 after a four-year exploratory and provisional process. A world-class and internationally ranked college with programs in art, design, architecture, liberal arts and sciences, and information studies, Pratt is one of the very few Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) institutions to sponsor athletics at the NCAA level.
"We are delighted to be part of the Atlantic East Conference, an important organization that fosters athletic competition among academically selective, private colleges," said Pratt President Frances Bronet. "Athletics are an important part of the college experience and Pratt's program has expanded greatly over the last four years. Pratt students challenge themselves in the classroom, studio, and on the field - all engaged and interconnected arenas for powerful independent and team-based learning practices."Â
The Cannoneers have a history of athletics that includes the 1959 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship and 18 conference titles in the Hudson Valley Athletic Conference, their former conference prior to commencing the NCAA process. As a growing athletic program with approximately 160 student-athletes that combine for a cumulative grade point average over 3.5, they embrace the Division III model and will be a great addition to the conference.Â
As a former member of the NCAA Division III Membership Committee, Atlantic East Commissioner Jessica Huntley was fortunate enough to become familiar with Pratt Institute during their application process into the NCAA. "I took a campus visit in 2019 and I was impressed with their staff, students, facilities, and academic profile as one of the best art, design, and architecture schools in the world. They have made tremendous strides in athletics over the past few years since starting the NCAA process and we are thrilled to welcome them as a full member of the Atlantic East."
Pratt will bring 14 varsity sports to the Atlantic East Conference starting in 2024–25. The Cannoneers will compete in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's volleyball. Pratt also has a co-ed equestrian team that competes in the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association.
"Joining the Atlantic East is a great opportunity for Pratt and this is the perfect time to make the move as we continue to grow and elevate our department," added Pratt Director of Athletics and Recreation Walter Rickard. "The institutions in the conference have the academic and athletic profiles we've been looking for and adding a regular conference schedule will enhance our student-athlete experience greatly. I'd like to extend a big thanks to Commissioner Huntley and the Atlantic East athletic directors and presidents for extending the invitation to join."
The Activity Resource Center, nicknamed the ARC, is Pratt's athletic and recreation facility. The 41,000-square-foot floor, which was renovated in the summer of 2022, hosts the basketball and volleyball competition court, two indoor tennis hard courts, a multipurpose recreation court, and a 200-meter indoor track. The facility is scheduled to undergo a multi-million dollar renovation to its locker rooms, common spaces, and the lobby areas that is slated to be completed by the start of their tenure in the conference. Their tennis teams host matches at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open, and their soccer teams play their home games at Randall's Island Park.
ABOUT PRATT INSTITUTE
Pratt Institute provides the creative leaders of tomorrow the professional knowledge and experience to make a better world. A world-class and internationally ranked college with programs in art, design, architecture, liberal arts and sciences, and information studies, Pratt offers nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The Institute's impact expands beyond its 25-acre residential campus in Brooklyn to cutting-edge facilities throughout the borough, a landmark building and public gallery in Manhattan, as well as an extension campus, PrattMWP College of Art and Design in Utica, New York. On Governors Island, Pratt is a core partner on the Stony Brook University team selected to develop the New York Climate Exchange, a research and educational hub poised to establish New York City as the global leader for the most pressing issue of our time: climate change. Another extension of Pratt's campus is the Research Yard, a 20,000-square-foot facility that brings together the research activities of Pratt Institute under one roof in the Brooklyn Navy Yard (BNY). Since its founding in 1887, Pratt has prioritized diversity and inclusion, welcoming students from all walks of life while developing and sustaining pathways to more equitable workplaces and careers.
ABOUT ATLANTIC EAST
The Atlantic East Conference is a member of NCAA Division III comprising seven institutions in a three-state area - Cabrini, Gwynedd Mercy, Immaculata, Marywood and Neumann Universities in Pennsylvania; Centenary University in New Jersey, and Marymount University in Virginia.
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