Keystone College Will Join PAC Beginning in 2008-09

Keystone College President Dr. Edward G. Boehm, Jr. has announced that Keystone has accepted an invitation to join the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) beginning in the 2008-09 academic year.

“We are thrilled at this opportunity to join an established conference such as the PAC,” Dr. Boehm said. “Membership in the PAC provides us with the opportunity to compete against institutions that are similar to us both academically and athletically. Keystone College is very grateful to our athletic director, Dr. Matthew Grimaldi, and his colleagues, who worked diligently to prepare us for this important step in our de­velopment as a baccalaureate college.”

With the addition of field hockey as a varsity program beginning in 2008, Keystone will have the opportunity to compete for PAC championships in 12 of the 16 sports that the institution offers.  The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams compete as associate members of the Mason-Dixon Conference. 

The 2007-08 academic year will be Keystone’s final year as a member of the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC).  Over the past three years as a member of the NEAC, Giants athletic teams have captured 16 regular season and tournament con­ference championships, in addition to four ECAC titles. 

Beginning in 2008 the membership of the PAC will consist of: Cabrini College, Cedar Crest College, Centenary College, College of Notre Dame, Eastern University, Gwynedd-Mercy College, Immaculata University, Keystone College, Marywood Uni­versity, Neumann College, Philadelphia Biblical University, and Rosemont College. 

“The proximity of several of the institutions will allow Keystone to develop natural geographical rivalries.  In addition, because of the locations of the majority of the in­stitutions, our student-athletes will experience less time out of the classroom due to travel,” Dr. Grimaldi said.

Keystone currently sponsors 15 intercollegiate varsity programs: men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, softball, baseball, and golf. Field hockey joins the slate in 2008. 

The Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) was formed in 1992 to meet the needs of various small, private, four-year colleges in eastern Pennsylvania. As these col­leges developed athletically, there was a need to address the individual and collec­tive concerns of each institution regarding intercollegiate athletics.