As part of a realignment of the Middle Atlantic Conference, Lebanon Valley College will move to a new division for the 2023-24 academic year.
The move was announced earlier this month by the Middle Atlantic Conference in the wake of Lycoming College and Wilkes University leaving the MAC to join the Landmark Conference.
LVC will transition from MAC Commonwealth to MAC Freedom in a move to align the two divisions with eight members each.
“Lebanon Valley College’s move within the conference from the MAC Commonwealth to the MAC Freedom will maintain competitive and balanced conferences that as a result will benefit our student-athletes,” Lebanon Valley College president Dr. James M. MacLaren said in a press release.
The MAC is split into separative divisions for 13 of 27 sports, including baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, field hockey, men’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball.
Following the move, the new conference structure will be as follows:
| MAC Commonwealth | MAC Freedom |
|---|---|
| Albright College | Arcadia University |
| Alvernia University | Delaware Valley University |
| Eastern University | DeSales University |
| Hood College | Fairleigh Dickinson University – Florham campus |
| Messiah University | King’s College |
| Stevenson University | Lebanon Valley College |
| Widener University | Misericordia University |
| York College | Stevens Institute of Technology |
“The intent with this move is to balance out the conferences while prioritizing geographic proximity and being cognizant of past re-alignments,” MAC executive director Megan Morrison explained in the release.
Regarding geographic proximity, LVC is moving out of the division that contains its four closest neighbors – Albright College and Alvernia University in Berks County, Messiah College in Cumberland County, and York College of Pennsylvania in York County.
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