History of the AAC

The Appalachian Athletic Conference evolved from the Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC), an NAIA conference organized in the 1940s and dissolved in the early 1980s when institutions in the eastern part of the state seceded to form the Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference (TVAC). The Conference became the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC) when Bluefield College joined in the early 1990s and later the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) with the addition of Montreat College, Alice Lloyd College, and Union College in 2001. The Conference currently has ten members in six Southeastern States: Bluefield (Va.), Bryan (Tenn.), Columbia (S.C.), Milligan (Tenn.), Montreat (N.C.), Point (Ga.), Reinhardt (Ga.), Tennessee Wesleyan, Union (Ky.), and Virginia Intermont.

The AAC sponsors championships in fifteen sports: cross country, soccer, basketball, outdoor track & field, golf, baseball, and tennis for men; cross country, soccer, volleyball, basketball, outdoor track & field, golf, softball, and tennis for women.
 

Guiding Principles

 Vision

That we would be a top-tier affiliated collegiate athletic Conference that fully supports the overall educational programs of its members by providing high quality athletic competition which enhances the academic and character development of its students.

 

Mission

 

The mission of the Conference is to promote the education and development of students and to provide athletic competition among its member institutions for the purpose of designating champions in sponsored sports, to increase visibility of its members to their publics, and to promote the highest ethical standards of character, conduct, sportsmanship, and fair play.

 

Values

 

We recognize the value of athletic competition on our campuses for the purposes of developing character and school spirit and aim to live out the NAIA five core values on the field of play, on our campuses, and in our communities:

·        respect,

·        responsibility,

·        integrity,

·        servant leadership,

·        sportsmanship.
   

Board of Directors

 

Mr. Dean Collins Point University
Dr. Thomas McFarland Union College
Dr. Thomas Isherwood Reinhardt University
Dr. Bill Greer Milligan College
Dr. Harley Knowles Tennessee Wesleyan College
Dr. Stephen Livesay Bryan College
Dr. David Olive Bluefield College
Dr. Clorisa Phillips Virginia Intermont College
Dr. Dan Struble Montreat College
Dr. Caroline Whitson Columbia College