Dr. Robert Bohrer II, the 24th president of Hiram College, has announced the College’s plans to re-join the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) as the league's 12th full-time member. Hiram will become a full-time PAC member with all voting and membership rights effective on July 1, 2024, with competition in all sports set to begin in the 2025-26 academic year.
 
The announcement marks a return for the College to an athletic conference where it was previously a member from 1971 through the spring of 1989. During its prior 18-year tenure in the PAC, Hiram won 13 team championships, including multiple titles in men's basketball (five), women's track and field (three) and baseball (two). In addition to the 13 team championships, Hiram also has 71 individual championships achieved by 30 different student-athletes during its previous tenure in the PAC.
 
The College also won the PAC Women's All-Sports Trophy in the first year it was awarded by the league in 1985-86.

The return to the PAC will offer Hiram improvements for the student-athlete experience according to Dr. Bohrer, including reduced time out of the classroom while competing and creating a better blend of the student-athletes' interests in and out of competition.
 
"Athletics has long been an integral part of the student experience at Hiram College with more than half of our students participating in one or more sports," stated Dr. Bohrer. "We are pleased to accept the invitation to again join the Presidents' Athletic Conference, which not only means that our student-athletes will compete with schools more locally and give our fans the opportunity to support our teams at away competitions, but also that our students will spend less time out of the classroom traveling for competition, helping to promote a balanced structure between athletics and academics."

Hiram fields 23 varsity athletic teams, including 12 men's and 11 women's. The College will retain its current affiliation as a full-time member of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) until June 30, 2025.
 
While the College won't begin full-time competition status in all sports in the PAC until the 2025-26 year, Hiram will begin play in the sport of men's volleyball, which will initiate competition as the league's 24th championship sport in the 2024-25 academic year, as they were previously accepted as a PAC affiliate member.
 
"On behalf of the entire Presidents' Athletic Conference, as commissioner it is both an honor and a distinct privilege to welcome Hiram College and the Terrier athletic program back to the PAC," said PAC Commissioner Joe Onderko, currently in his 18th year leading the conference. "Hiram is a big part of the history of the PAC and adding them back to our ranks as a full member strengthens the league academically and athletically, as well as in terms of alumni and fan engagement. We are thrilled to have the Terrier athletic department return to begin competition in all league sports in 2025-26."
 
"With 12 full members, the PAC is now the largest it has ever been in its nearly 70-year history, which provides us with numerous strategic advantages as we boldly move into a new era of college athletics," Onderko added. "I am very grateful for the outstanding executive leadership of the members of the PAC Presidents' Council, currently led by Thiel College President Dr. Susan Traverso, for their vision in making us one of the elite NCAA Division III athletic conferences in the nation."

Over the last 10 1/2 years, the PAC has had 12,182 student-athletes recognized on the PAC Academic Honor Roll, which highlights those who maintain a 3.6 GPA or higher during the semester of their in-season competition. In addition, the league has had 80 student-athletes garner Academic All-America honors, and nearly 20 NCAA postgraduate scholarship winners.
 
Hiram fits the profile of high-achieving PAC programs. Since 2015-16, the College has placed 292 on the NCAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes who are at least a sophomore on an active roster and holds a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher.
 
"The PAC extends a warm welcome to Hiram College," said Susan Traverso, Ph.D., president of Thiel College and chair of the PAC Presidents' Council. "Like the other members of the PAC, Hiram understands the value of the liberal arts and appreciates the role that athletics can play in character and leadership development. Hiram’s membership in the PAC further strengthens the conference’s reputation for excellence in Division III collegiate athletics."