A Colonial Athletic Association, as well referred to as a CAA, occurs as NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in East Coast states from either Massachusetts to Georgia. Virtually all of its members come public universities, with 5 within Virginia alone, and a conference is headquartered touching Richmond, Virginia.

A CAA, which was founded within 1985 from the short-transient ECAC South basketball league, currently organizes championships around Twenty-one men's & women's sports. Though it doesn't presently sponsor football, the recent addition of Northeastern University gave a conference a NCAA minimal of hexad football software required to sponsor the sport. Within an agreement reached May 2005, by 2007 all of the football software in the Atlantic Ten Conference will join the CAA football conference.

A CAA has expanded within recent years. as a result a exits of schools like a Naval Academy, University of Richmond, and American University. Around 2001 a Sextuplet member conference added Towson University, Drexel University, Hofstra University, and a University of Delaware. 4 years late a league expanded once again while Georgia State and Northeastern were added.

A CAA plays its men's basketball championship in the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. A 2005 Champions were a Old Dominion Monarchs, world health organization defeated a Virginia Commonwealth Rams in the final. the previous CAA team to winside a game in the NCAA Tournament was UNC-Wilmington in 2002 against USC. Members

A league presently has Twelve fully members: University of Delaware (future football member) Drexel University George Mason University Georgia State University Hofstra University (future football member) James Madison University (future football member) Northeastern University (future football member) Old Dominion University Towson University (future football member) University of North Carolina at Wilmington Virginia Commonwealth University College of William and Mary (future football member)

Georgia State & Northeastern come a fresh CAA members, with joined when of July One, 2005.

Football conferences

When Northeastern accepted a CAA's offer of membership, a CAA invited a University of Richmond to become the football-merely member within 2007. Another time UR accepted a offer, this left a Atlantic 10 football conference with single 5 members, to a lesser degree a 6 expected under NCAA system. Following, The left over A-10 footbentirely software all decided to join the CAA in a football-exclusively basis, spelling the prevent of the A-10 football conference.

A fresh CAA football conference have had a resulting members:

Northern Division

Hofstra Maine UMass New Hampshire Northeastern Rhode Island

Southern Division

Delaware James Madison Richmond Towson Villanova William & Mary

In June 14, 2005, Old Dominion's Board of Visitors approved the creation of the eleven by the 14-0 vote. A team is required to run play inside 2009. As a section of William & Mary, Old Dominion once had a football program but dropped it in 1941. UNC Wilmington is in the run of gauging trend lines for the football program too.