The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Members of the conference are located in the Southeastern United States in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. History The conference is the successor to the Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC), which began in the 1940s; and later the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC) that operated during the 1980s and 1990s. The Appalachian Athletic Conference was formed in 2000 with the additions of members from Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. In 2019 the conference added Kentucky Christian University as a full member and Savannah College of Art and Design as an associate member in men's and women's lacrosse. Bluefield College was a member of the AAC from 2000 until 2012 when it left to join the Mid-South Conference. On March 3, 2014, Bluefield announced that it would return to the AAC in fall 2014. Chronological timeline 2000 - In 2000, the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) was founded from the remnants of the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC). Charter members included Bryan College, Brevard College, King College (now King University), Milligan College (now Milligan University), Tennessee Wesleyan College (now Tennessee Wesleyan University), Virginia Intermont College, and the University of Virginia–Wise (UVa Wise); as well as the additions of Alice Lloyd College, Bluefield College (now Bluefield University), and Montreat College, beginning the 2000-01 academic year 2002 - Union College joined the AAC in the 2002-03 academic year. 2005 - Alice Lloyd left the AAC to re-join the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC; now the River States Conference) after the 2004–05 academic year. 2006 - Brevard left the AAC and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an NCAA D-II Independent (to later join the South Atlantic Conference, beginning in the 2008–09 academic year) after the 2005–06 academic year. 2009 - Covenant left the AAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an NCAA D-III Independent (to later join the Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC), beginning the 2010–11 academic year) after the 2008–09 academic year. 2009 - King (Tenn.) left the AAC to become an NAIA Independent (to later join the NCAA Division II ranks as an NCAA D-II Independent during the 2010–11 academic year; before join Conference Carolinas, beginning the 2011–12 academic year) after the 2008–09 academic year. 2009