# University Athletic Association

The University Athletic Association (UAA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Member schools are highly selective universities located in Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The eight members are Brandeis University, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Emory University, New York University, The University of Chicago, University of Rochester, and Washington University in St. Louis.

## Academics

All UAA member schools are private, and ranked in the top 50 of national research universities by U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges Rankings. Historically, the division was colloquially called the "egghead eight", or "nerdy nine" when Johns Hopkins was a member. This stems both from the academic strength of the member schools, and the fact that the conference prioritizes academic achievement over athletic prowess. The UAA was the only NCAA conference to have all of its member institutions affiliated with the Association of American Universities, a collection of 65 Ph.D.-granting research institutions, with 63 in the United States and two in Canada, from 2011, when Nebraska joined the previously all-AAU Big Ten, until 2019 when Dartmouth became the last Ivy League institution to join the AAU.

## History
### Chronological timeline

* 1986 - In 1986, the University Athletic Association (UAA) was founded. Charter members included Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, New York University, The University of Chicago, the University of Rochester, and Washington University in St. Louis, effective beginning the 1986-87 academic year.
* 1987 - Brandeis University joined the UAA, effective in the 1987-88 academic year.
* 2001 - Johns Hopkins left the UAA to fully align all its sports into the Centennial Conference, effective after the 2000-01 academic year.
* 2018 - The UAA dropped football as a sponsored sport, due to its members joining on other athletic conferences for that sport as affiliates or associates, effective after the 2017 fall season (2017-18 academic year).

## Member schools
### Current members

The UAA currently has eight full members, all are private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Undergraduate enrollment | Total enrollment | Nickname | USNWR Ranking | Endowment (Billion) | Joined | Fall 2020 acceptance rate | Alumni median starting salary |
| Brandeis University | Waltham, Massachusetts | 1948 | 3,608 | 5,788 | Judges | 44 | $1.07 | 1987 | 31% | $50,600 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1900 | 6,673 | 10,875 | Tartans | 22 | $2.67 | 1986 | 22% | $110,000 |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, Ohio | 1826 | 6,186 | 12,266 | Spartans | 44 | $2.35 | 1986 | 27% | $61,300 |
| Emory University | Atlanta, Georgia | 1836 | 6,861 | 12,755 | Eagles | 22 | $7.94 | 1986 | 15% | $54,600 |
| New York University | Manhattan, New York | 1831 | 26,135 | 42,189 | Violets | 25 | $5.8 | 1986 | 15% | $54,400 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 1890 | 5,941 | 14,788 | Maroons | 6 | $11.6 | 1986 | 6% | $54,400 |
| University of Rochester | Rochester, New York | 1850 | 6,386 | 9,735 | Yellowjackets | 36 | $3.71 | 1986 | 29% | $54,800 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | St. Louis, Missouri | 1853 | 7,540 | 13,527 | Bears | 15 | $15.3 | 1986 | 14% | $57,300 |

#### Notes

* ↑ All of the universities listed above are founding members except Brandeis, which joined shortly before official competition began in October 1987. Johns Hopkins University was a founding member, but no longer participates in the UAA.
* ↑ Brandeis had dual athletic conference membership with the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference from 1987–88 to 1994–95, then the Judges' women's sports left the NEWMAC in order to fully align with the UAA, along with its men's sports.
* ↑ Case Western Reserve had dual athletic conference membership with the North Coast Athletic Conference from 1986–87 to 1998–99, then the Spartans left the NCAC in order to fully align with the UAA.
* ↑ Rochester has dual athletic conference membership with the Liberty League since the 1995–96 school year.

### Former member

The UAA had one former full member, which was also a private school:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | School colors | Current conference |
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, Maryland | 1876 | Nonsectarian | 19,758 | Blue Jays | 1986 | 2001 | | Centennial |

#### Notes

* ↑ Johns Hopkins had dual athletic conference membership with the Middle Atlantic Conferences from 1986–87 to 1991–92, and later with the Centennial Conference from 1992–93 to 2000–01, then the Blue Jays left the UAA in order to fully align with the Centennial Conference.

### Membership timeline
## Conference facilities

| School | Football stadium | Football capacity | Basketball arena | Basketball capacity | Baseball stadium | Baseball capacity | Soccer stadium | Soccer capacity |
| Brandeis | Non-Football School | N/A | Auerbach Arena | 2,500 | Stein Diamond | 500 | Gordon Field | 1,000 |
| Carnegie Mellon | Gesling Stadium | 3,900 | Wiegand Gymnasium | 1,000 | Non-Baseball School | N/A | Gesling Stadium | 3,900 |
| Case Western Reserve | DiSanto Field | 2,500 | Horsburgh Gym | 1,200 | Nobby's Ballpark | 500 | DiSanto Field | 2,500 |
| Chicago | Stagg Field | 1,650 | Gerald Ratner Athletics Center | 1,900 | J. Kyle Anderson Field | | Stagg Field | 1,650 |
| Emory | Non-Football School | N/A | Woodruff P.E. Center | 2,000 | Chappell Park (baseball); George F. Cooper, Jr. Field (softball) | | Woodruff P.E. Center | |
| NYU | Non-Football School | N/A | Coles Sports Center | 1,900 | Maimonides Park | 7,500 | Gaelic Park | 2,000 |
| Rochester | Fauver Stadium | 5,000 | Louis Alexander Palestra | 1,889 | Towers Field | | Fauver Stadium | 5,000 |
| WashU | Francis Field | 3,300 | Field House | 3,000 | Kelly Field | | Francis Field | 3,300 |
* ↑ Brandeis discontinued its football program in May 1960. President Abram Sachar pointed to the cost of the team as one reason for the decision.
* 1 2 Carnegie Mellon and Case Western currently play football in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.
* 1 2 Chicago currently plays football and baseball in the Midwest Conference.
* ↑ Emory has never had an intercollegiate football team.
* ↑ NYU discontinued its football program in 1952.
* 1 2 Rochester competes in the Liberty League in baseball, football, and numerous other sports.
* ↑ WashU currently plays football in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

## Sports

The UAA sanctions competition in the following sports:
Conference sports :
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
| Baseball | Y | |
| Basketball | Y | Y |
| Cross Country | Y | Y |
| Golf | Y | Y |
| Soccer | Y | Y |
| Softball | | Y |
| Swimming & Diving | Y | Y |
| Tennis | Y | Y |
| Track and field (indoor) | Y | Y |
| Track and field (outdoor) | Y | Y |
| Wrestling | Y | |
| Volleyball | | Y |

## Participation
### Men

| | Baseball | Basketball | Cross Country | Fencing | Football | Golf | Soccer | Squash | Swimming & Diving | Tennis | Track & Field | Volleyball | Wrestling | Total |
| Brandeis | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | 8 |
| Carnegie Mellon | | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | 8 |
| Case Western Reserve | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | 9 |
| Chicago | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | 9 |
| Emory | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | 8 |
| NYU | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 11 |
| Rochester | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | 10 |
| WashU | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | 8 |
| Total | 7 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 3 | |
* 1 2 3 Football, Squash, and Volleyball are not UAA-sanctioned sports.
* ↑ Chicago competes in the Midwest Conference for baseball.
* ↑ Rochester competes in the Liberty League for baseball.
* ↑ Rochester competes in the Liberty League for indoor and outdoor track and field.