Allegheny Rejoins the Presidents’ Athletic Conference

photos Ed Mailliard

A Q&A with Director of Athletics & Recreation Bill Ross

Beginning this fall, Allegheny College officially returned to compete in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC). Allegheny was previously a member of the PAC from 1958 to the spring of 1984. During that time, the College collected more than 45 team championships, earned the school’s first team national championship (1983 men’s golf), and had five student-athletes win NCAA Division III individual national titles.

In this interview with Allegheny magazine, Director of Athletics & Recreation Bill Ross shares more about this exciting new era in Gator Athletics.

Q. WHAT MOTIVATED THE COLLEGE TO REJOIN THE PAC?

The NCAA recently released a report outlining the strategic positioning and mission statement for Division III. This move to rejoin the PAC will help all of our student-athletes in two key benefits of Division III athletics: a) participation in a highly competitive athletic program while retaining the full spectrum of college life, and b) reasonable practice and playing seasons and regional competition while minimizing time away from academics and keeping student-athletes on a path to graduation.

In addition, with issues such as Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) being governed at the state level, as well as the COVID19 pandemic showcasing the difference between how states operate, it makes sense for our teams to be realigned with more institutions in our backyard. Our field hockey program, however, will remain in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) as an affiliate member, as the PAC does not sponsor the sport at this time.

Q. HOW WILL THE COLLEGE’S STUDENT-ATHLETES BENEFIT FROM REJOINING THE PAC?

We are returning to our roots and coming home to the PAC. The time has come to renew old rivalries and create new ones nearby. PAC schools have exciting home game attendance data, with a large reason being that it is easier for visiting teams’ fan bases to travel to away games. This should boost our home and away game attendance, which should be a welcome sight for our teams and help create an exciting atmosphere for the fans.

Additionally, we are in a time when more and more students are choosing to stay closer to home in their college selection process (58% chose a selective liberal arts college within a 200-mile radius). This move will help solidify our place in the regional market. The media coverage the PAC receives in the Pittsburgh market is impressive; this provides an opportunity for more eyes to see or ears to hear about our athletic teams and thus the College as a whole.

Q. WHAT EXCITES YOU MOST ABOUT REJOINING THE PAC?

This move affords us the opportunity to reallocate our valuable resources to what matters most — the student-athlete experience at Allegheny. Moving to the PAC allows us to give all of our studentathletes the best possible opportunity to embrace Allegheny’s interdisciplinary and co-curricular offerings, without spending burdensome amounts of time traveling to athletic competitions. It is also exciting to be linked more with our local community and allow our community to be able to attend contests not only at home, but also on the road, as they will be much closer than we have experienced in the last nearly four decades.

Q. WHAT ARE SOME OTHER NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN GATOR ATHLETICS?

The rebrand that we launched this summer with the help of the staff in our Marketing and Communications Office, especially Assistant Director of Art & Publications Brian Martone, will help give our student-athletes and all of Gator Athletics a new identity as we move into the PAC. We could not be more excited to see the new logo filling the stands at both home and away contests moving forward. Along those lines, we recently unveiled a redesigned athletics website (alleghenygators.com) earlier this fall. We also have two major renovation projects we are working on, which will see the first of three phases of renovation at our baseball field begin with a new turf infield, new dugouts, and a brand-new backstop. The upgraded field will be named in honor of Bob Garbark '32, who spearheaded the return of baseball to the College in 1947 after a hiatus beginning in 1916. We also will be enhancing the lobby of the Wise Center and turning it into our Hall of Fame area to recognize our Hall of Fame honorees, the rich history and tradition of Gator Athletics, and the Hall of Fame’s namesake, former athletic director and coach Norm Sundstrom. And one final exciting development is that we have spent a great deal of time working with our Institutional Advancement Office and a devoted group of passionate alumni to launch a reimagined Golden Gator Club to help support our student-athletes and programs.

Q. HOW CAN ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE COLLEGE SUPPORT GATOR ATHLETICS AND STUDENT-ATHLETES?

Two main ways, if you are able, would be to join the newly reimagined Golden Gator Club and attend athletic events either on campus or at a location near you. We’ve also seen tremendous growth and excitement each year on Gator Give Day, where our alumni and friends have been beyond generous in making their gifts to our programs. Be on the lookout for correspondence from coaches on Gator Give Day on April 20, 2023, as we look to have a record-setting year yet again!

Our alumni and friends are also encouraged to reach out to our coaching staff at athletics@allegheny.edu to let them know about prospective student-athletes who may be interested and a good fit. We are always looking for the next generation of great Gators!