Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ( MAAC , ) is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference consisting of ten schools coming from various parts of the northeastern United States : Connecticut , Maryland , New Jersey and New York . The members are all relatively small private institutions , many of them Catholic or formerly Catholic ; the only exception being the private but secular Rider University . The conference headquarters is located in Edison , New Jersey . The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference sponsors 22 sports and has many associate member institutions . Richard J . Ensor is the commissioner of the MAAC , a post he has held since 1988 . The conference was founded in 1980 by six charter members : the U . S . Military Academy , Fairfield University , Fordham University , Iona College , Manhattan College and Saint Peter ' s College . Competition officially began the next year , in the sports of men ’ s cross - country and men ’ s soccer . Competition in men ' s and women ' s basketball began in the 1981 - 1982 season . In 1984 , the MAAC received an automatic bid to the NCAA Men ' s Basketball Tournament , where Iona was the first team to represent the MAAC on the men ' s side . In 1982 , Saint Peter ' s was the first women ' s basketball team to represent the MAAC in the NCAA Women ' s Basketball Tournament . The conference currently possesses 14 automatic bids to NCAA Championships . In 2013 , the MAAC will become eligible for its 15th NCAA Championship when Women ' s Rowing will fulfill qualifying requirements . MAAC teams have achieved national and international acclaim in many sports . In the summer of 2002 the Marist men ' s varsity eight boat advanced to the semifinals of the Temple Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta . In 2007 , the Marist women ' s basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Women ' s NCAA basketball tournament . In the fall of 2009 , the No . 11 Iona men ' s cross country team finished tied for eighth place at the NCAA Championship race , extended the Gaels ' streak to eight straight Top 10 national finishes . In basketball MAAC teams have made a total of 77 NIT appearances and 47 NCAA appearances . The league added football in 1993 , and discontinued it following the 2007 season . From 1997 to 2003 , the MAAC sponsored ice hockey . At that time , the hockey league split from the MAAC and changed its name to Atlantic Hockey . Also in 1997 , Marist College and Rider , which were both a part of the Northeast Conference , moved the majority of their intercollegiate athletic programs to the MAAC with the intent the MAAC would enhance media exposure and competition to their men ' s and women ' s Division I basketball programs . In September 2011 , the conference announced the launch of MAAC . TV , the league ' s first broadband network . The MAAC is also in the midst of a three - year agreement to have their March men ' s and women ' s basketball conference tournaments held at the MassMutual Center . Sports . The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference sponsors championship competition in ten men ' s and thirteen women ' s NCAA sanctioned sports . The conference also sponsors a championship in men ' s rowing , which is not currently sanctioned by the NCAA . Member institutions . Full member institutions . The MAAC currently has 10 member institutions . One of them , Loyola University Maryland , has announced it will leave for the Patriot League after the 2012 – 13 school year , while Quinnipiac University and Monmouth University announced on December 14 , 2012 , they will be joining the MAAC on July 1 , 2013 . Basketball . Men ' s Basketball . Men ' s Basketball NCAA Tournament at - large bids . In 2012 , Iona , which had lost in the semifinals of that year ' s MAAC tournament , received a NCAA at - large tournament bid . This was the second time the conference was awarded multiple men ' s NCAA bids . After St . Peter ’ s won the 1995 MAAC tournament , the NCAA Men ' s Basketball Tournament selection committee awarded Manhattan College an at large bid . The Jaspers proved the committee correct by defeating Oklahoma in the first round . However , the same first - round success Manhattan enjoyed in the 1995 NCAA tournament could not be matched by Iona . In the 2012 NCAAs , the Gaels unexpectedly relinquished a 25 - point , first - half lead to the Brigham Young Cougars , falling 78 - 72 in Dayton , Ohio . Further , Iona ' s offense , the highest - scoring ( per game ) in the nation , managed just 17 points in the second half of that upset . It was the largest comeback in NCAA tournament history , besting the 22 - point hole the Duke Blue Devils rallied from to defeat the Maryland University Terrapins in the Final Four of the 2001 NCAA Tournament . Football . The MAAC Football League was formed before the 1993 season and folded after the 2007 season . At its peak in 1997 , it consisted of 10 teams : Notable sports figures . Some of the notable sport figures who played collegiately and / or graduated from a MAAC school , include :