Things looking up for Presidents' Athletic Conference; Grove City picked to repeat

Things are changing for the good in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

The conference will grow to 12 teams beginning in 2025-26 when Hiram returns as a full-time member.

Conference President Joe Onderko discussed Tuesday at the PAC Media Day at Saint Vincent College the conference’s plan next year to divide into two six-team divisions.

He also told the coaches, sports information directors and assembled media the NCAA Division III will expand to a 40-team bracket by adding eight more at-large bids.

He hoped that would allow the PAC to have more than one team in the NCAA playoffs.

“With the strength and depth of our conference, it gives us a significant opportunity to get a second team,” Onderko said. “People are starting to recognize the strength of our conference. Grove City beating Susquehanna and losing to eventual NCAA DIII champion Cortland showed that, and our success in the ECAC Bowls. We’re 9-4 in those games.”

The Presidents’ Athletic Conference, along with the Ohio Athletic Conference, the North East Conference and Heartland Conference, will be playing in the Opendorse Bowl Series. The teams with the highest rankings not to make the NCAA playoffs will play a doubleheader Nov. 23 at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

“We’re headed to uncharted territory,” Onderko said. “The increased national respect our conference is receiving, it’s an exciting time.”

Grove City, which won its third PAC title in 2023, was selected as the favorite to defend its title in 2024 in a vote by PAC head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media.

Grove City received 29 first-place votes and 444 total points in the poll.

“Polls are a reflection of last year, and this is a reminder of how special the 2023 season was,” Grove City coach Andrew DiDonato said. “After 0-10 (in 2016), we said focus on vision, not circumstance, and we say the same thing after going 10-0. So we are excited to get back to focus on our vision and lay one brick each day.”

Carnegie Mellon University was picked second with eight first-place votes and 417 points, while Washington & Jefferson College was selected third with three first-place votes and 378 points.

Case Western Reserve University was fourth with 335 points, followed by Westminster College with the final two first-place votes and 310 points, Allegheny College (219), Geneva College (192), Saint Vincent College (154), Waynesburg University (133), Thiel College (129) and Bethany College (61).

“If we want to get back to the top, we had to change our approach,” W&J coach Mike Sirianni said. “We looked at a lot of things we need to change. We have to get tougher and stronger. Every team has almost everyone back. You have to play hard all the time.

“We have to create a Michael Jordan mentality: ‘We’ll do whatever it takes to win. We can be friends off the field, but we’re taking everything personal.’”

The annual event started with the presentation of the Dow Carnahan Media Award to the late Bob Barrickman. He was an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, Barrickman was a household name for more than 40 years in Beaver County. He worked as a sports writer for the Beaver County Times, and also was employed with the Pittsburgh Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In addition, he worked with local radio stations, including WBVP, as well as the MSA/TribLive Network, where he covered local high schools, as well as Geneva College athletics, for more than four decades.