The Coastal Athletic Association has given commissioner Joe D’Antonio a five-year contract extension through the 2028-29 academic year. D’Antonio is only the second commissioner in CAA’s history and took over the top spot in 2016.
The CAA has seen many changes in football membership since 2022. James Madison left at the start of the 2022-23 academic year and the CAA responded by adding Hampton (2022), Monmouth (2022), Campbell (2023), and North Carolina A&T (2023). Bryant is joining in 2024 but Delaware and Richmond are leaving in 2025. D’Antonio also oversaw the conference’s name change from Colonial Athletic Association to Coastal Athletic Association in 2023.
Then there’s the contentious media rights agreement that D’Antonio was responsible for brokering with FloSports that began in 2019 and was renewed in 2023. The current deal runs through the 2026-27 academic year and has been a sticking point for many FCS fans, which may or may not have contributed to some of the conference’s high-profile membership departures.
D’Antonio is the second FCS commissioner to see a contract extension following the SWAC’s extension of Charles McClelland’s contract last week. McClelland will oversee the SWAC through the 2031-32 academic year.
Photo Credit to the CAA
