About the CUNY Athletic Conference
The City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) is an NCAA Division III conference with eight members that reach across all of New York City. Since officially coming into existence in 1987, the conference has been amongst the leaders in Division III with initiatives that focus on the student as much as the athlete in student-athlete. The conference sponsors 18 championships, the Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner, the Basketball All-Star Luncheon, the SAAC Leadership Seminar and the CUNYAC Golf Classic. With the help of our corporate sponsors, the conference has been ahead of the competition. CUNYAC boasts award-winning publications, award-winning events, unmatched exposure, and one of the best websites in Division III while continuously searching for ways to improve the quality of the athletics experience.
Fast Facts
Conference Name:
The City University of New York Athletic Conference |
| Affiliation: NCAA Division III |
| Official Colors: Navy Blue (Main), Red (Secondary), White (Complimentary) |
| First Year of Formal Existence: 1987 |
Membership - Years in Parenthesis
| NCAA (8): Baruch College (1987), Brooklyn College (1996), The City College of New York (1987), Hunter College (1987), John Jay College of Criminal Justice (1987), Lehman College (1987), Medgar Evers College (1987), York (NY) College (1987) |
NCAA Automatic Qualifiers - Years in Parenthesis
| Men's Sports (4): Basketball (1994-95), Soccer (1999-00), Tennis (2006-07), Volleyball (2011-12) |
| Women's Sports (5): Basketball (1995-96), Soccer (2012-13), Softball (1999-00), Tennis (2006-07), Volleyball (1999-00) |
Commissioners/Executive Directors
Michael Steuerman (1987-91) (Four years)
Ted Hurwitz (1991-2003) (12 years)
Zak Ivkovic (2003-22) (19 years)
Carl Christian (interim) (2022-24) (Two years)
Dr. Kurt Patberg (2025-present)
Conference History
The City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) was first conceived in the early 1970s. It was during that period that the four-year college Athletic Directors began to meet as a group. Their meetings initially focused on matters pertaining to scheduling; however, it was apparent that their programs had many components in common. Notable similarities were the geographic proximity of their campuses, the large number of student-athletes already involved in inter-campus competition, and the similar academic and athletic philosophies. This underscored the need for greater unification among CUNY athletic programs.
In 1972, the CUNY Athletic Directors Association was formed. The mission of the Association was to bring the existing athletic activities into an organized conference structure. Over the next few years, to complement men's basketball (added in 1966), CUNY Championships in men's soccer, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball were contested. In 1978, the athletic directors of the ten charter member institutions (Baruch, Brooklyn, City College, Hunter, John Jay, Lehman, Medgar Evers, Queens, College of Staten Island, and York) ratified a constitution which informally brought the CUNY Athletic Conference into being. In the years that followed, Brooklyn and Queens Colleges withdrew from the conference to establish membership in NCAA Division I and II, respectively.
In April, 2025, it was announced that New Jersey City University would join the CUNYAC in 2026-27, and the Gothic Knights will compete as an affiliate member in 2025-26 in men's volleyball. The conference also recently announced Albertus Magnus as an affiliate in men's and women's tennis for 2025-26.
CUNYAC was formally sanctioned in 1987 when, with the work of Dr. Roscoe Brown, then President of Bronx Community College, the CUNY Board of Trustees passed a resolution for the remaining eight members and expanded it to include a five-member community college division (Bronx, BMCC, Kingsborough, City Tech, and Queensborough). Michael Steuerman, the Athletic Director at Bronx, was named the first-ever conference commissioner and served in that post until 1991. During Steuerman's tenure, championships in men's volleyball and both men's and women's tennis were added to the four-year college slate while men's basketball, women's volleyball, men's soccer and baseball were at the two-year level. He also oversaw the development of the various events as well as increasing the corporate support for the CUNYAC Championships.
In 1996, Brooklyn College returned from a 12-year hiatus and in 1999, New York City Technical College received NCAA approval to upgrade their program from the two-year level to the four-year level. Hostos Community College then joined the two-year level in September 2002, followed by LaGuardia Community College, who returned to the conference in 2022 following a five-year hiatus. Today the conference consists of eight NCAA Division III institutions.
As the 20th century came to a close, the conference was granted automatic qualification berths to the NCAA Division III Championships in men's soccer, women's volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball and softball. During the 2006-07 campaign men's and women's tennis were added to that list, bringing the number of "AQs" to seven. In 2012 women's soccer was added to the "AQ" slate to bring the total to eight.
Since 2003, corporate sponsorships, media opportunities, staffing, programming, and a variety of other areas have been bolstered to make CUNYAC one of the top Division III conference offices in the country.
The CUNY Athletic Conference has enjoyed a tremendous amount of national success in recent years as the Conference has raised its profile nationally. Spoils include both individual and team honors, including All-America, Academic All-America, All-Region, national statistical leaders, All-State, team regional and national rankings, Regional Championships, Final Four appearances and National Championships. Sports include basketball, swimming, indoor and outdoor track and field, baseball, cross country, soccer, volleyball, softball and tennis