The Patriot League is a NCAA Div. I conference. It was started in 1986 as a NCAA Division I-AA football conference. In 1990 many other sports were added and the league became an all-sports conference. They now compete in a wide range of sports that includes field hockey, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball and several others.

full memebers:

• Bucknell University
• Colgate University
• College of the Holy Cross
• Lafayette College
• Lehigh University
• US Military Academy (Army)
• US Naval Academy (Navy)

associate members:

• Fairfield University (field hockey)
• Fordham University (football)
• Hobart College (men's lacrosse)
• Towson University (football)
• Ursinus College (field hockey)
• Villanova University (women's lacrosse)

Back to NCAA Division I

The Patriot League was the subject of an excellent book by John Feinstein called "The Last Amateurs". The title comes from the fact that most of the Patriot League do not offer athletic scholarships.

The Patriot League is very similar to the Ivy League, as far as stressing academics before athletics.

While the conference itself is relatively young, there are still some longstanding rivalries. Lehigh vs. Lafayette is the nation's most-played football rivalry, meeting 136 times total through 2000. Army and Navy also have a heated rivalry.