# Sunrise Athletic Conference

The Sunrise Athletic Conference was a college athletic conference founded in 2002 and affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Its member institutions were in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont.

## History

The SAC was founded when both the Maine Athletic Conference and the Mayflower Conference disbanded in the spring of 2002. Both of these conferences were NAIA conferences of long standing. The conference formed with eight inaugural members: the College of St. Joseph, Fisher College, Lyndon State College, the University of Maine at Fort Kent, the University of Maine at Machias, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Paul Smith's College and Vermont Technical College.
Royal Goheen became the commissioner of the Sunrise Conference and continued to serve as the only commissioner in the history of the SAC until it disbanded. In 1997, Goheen took on the role as the commissioner of the Maine Athletic Conference before its disbandment. In 2010 he was elected to the NAIA Hall of Fame.
In 2004, the Sunrise Conference added the State University of New York at Canton after the university joined the NAIA as part of a transition from two-year to four-year institution. The conference held steady with nine members until Paul Smith's College and Lyndon State College left in 2010, dropping SAC membership to seven.
The conference disbanded in 2011 when the College of St. Joseph, Vermont Technical College and the University of Maine at Machias left the conference and the NAIA for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) and the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC). The University of Maine at Fort Kent, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and the State University of New York at Canton then left with no regional NAIA competition to become independents in the USCAA.
In addition, Maine–Presque Isle is transitioning to an independent member of NCAA Division III, while SUNY Canton was accepted into the transition process to move from the NAIA to NCAA D-III. Fisher College joined the American Mideast Conference.

### Chronological timeline

* 2002 – In the spring of 2002, the Sunrise Athletic Conference (a.k.a. the Sunrise) was founded due to dissolutions of the Maine Athletic Conference and the Mayflower Conference. Charter members included the College of St. Joseph, Fisher College, Lyndon State College (now Vermont State University at Lyndon), the University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK), the University of Maine at Machias (UMM), the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI), Paul Smith's College and Vermont Technical College (now Vermont State University at Randolph), beginning the 2002–03 academic year.
* 2004 – The State University of New York at Canton (a.k.a. SUNY Canton) joined the Sunrise in the 2004–05 academic year.
* 2006 – Lyndon State (now Vermont State–Lyndon) left the Sunrise to join the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) after the 2005–06 academic year.
* 2010 – Paul Smith's left the Sunrise and the NAIA to join the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) and the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) after the 2009–10 academic year.
* 2011 – The Sunrise would cease operations as an athletic conference after the 2010–11 academic year; as many schools left to join their respective new home primary conferences, beginning the 2011–12 academic year: Fisher to join the American Mideast Conference, while the rest would leave the NAIA and join the USCAA: St. Joseph, Vermont Tech (now Vermont State–Lyndon), Maine–Machias to join the YSCC; and Maine–Fort Kent, Maine–Presque Isle and SUNY Canton to join as USCAA Independents (the latter two are either accepted or in the process into transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division III).

## Member schools
### Final members

The Sunrise had seven full members in the conference's final season, only two were private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference | Current conference |
| Fisher College | Boston, Massachusetts | 1903 | Nonsectarian | 1,121 | Falcons | 2002 | 2011 | American Mideast (2011–12) | Continental (2012–present) |
| University of Maine at Fort Kent | Fort Kent, Maine | 1878 | Public | 1,339 | Bengals | 2002 | 2011 | USCAA Independent (2011–present) | USCAA Independent (2011–present) |
| University of Maine at Machias | Machias, Maine | 1909 | Public | 1,200 | Clippers | 2002 | 2011 | Yankee (YSCC) (2011–20) | Suspended athletics |
| University of Maine at Presque Isle | Presque Isle, Maine | 1903 | Public | 1,600 | Owls | 2002 | 2011 | USCAA/D-III Independent (2011–17) American (ACAA) (2017–18) | North Atlantic (NAC) (2018–present) |
| College of St. Joseph | Rutland, Vermont | 1956 | Catholic (Diocese of Burlington) | 500 | Saints | 2002 | 2011 | Yankee (YSCC) (2011–19) | Closed in 2019 |
| State University of New York at Canton | Canton, New York | 1906 | Public | 3,320 | Kangaroos | 2004 | 2011 | USCAA/D-III Independent (2011–17) American (ACAA) (2017–18) | North Atlantic (NAC) (2018–present) |
| Vermont Technical College | Randolph, Vermont | 1866 | Public technical college | 1,453 | Knights | 2002 | 2011 | Yankee (YSCC) (2011–present) | Yankee (YSCC) (2011–present) |

#### Notes

* 1 2 3 Part of the University of Maine System.
* 1 2 3 Currently an USCAA athletic conference.
* 1 2 3 4 Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
* ↑ Part of the State University of New York System.

### Former members

The Sunrise had two other full members during the conference's tenure, one was a private school:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference(s) | Current conference |
| Lyndon State College | Lyndon, Vermont | 1911 | Public | 1,519 | Hornets | 2002 | 2006 | D-III Independent (2006–08) | North Atlantic (NAC) (2008–present) |
| Paul Smith's College | Paul Smiths, New York | 1946 | Nonsectarian | 1,000 | Falcons | 2002 | 2010 | Yankee (YSCC) (2010–present) | Yankee (YSCC) (2010–present) |

#### Notes

* ↑ Currently known as Northern Vermont University–Lyndon since 2018.
* ↑ Part of the Vermont State Colleges System.
* ↑ Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
* ↑ Paul Smith's is now competing as the Paul Smith's Bobcats.
* ↑ Currently an USCAA athletic conference.

### Membership timeline

Full member (non-football)

## Sports

Conference sports :
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
| Baseball | Y | |
| Basketball | Y | Y |
| Cross Country | Y | Y |
| Golf | Y | |
| Soccer | Y | Y |
| Softball | | Y |
| Volleyball | | Y |