The conference, which has always featured some of the nation’s elite Division III programs, will be especially tough on the women’s side, where six teams have spent time in the d3hoops.com Top 25 rankings. Currently, the University of Rochester is ranked first in the poll, with Brandeis University seventh and New York University 13th. Wash. U., the University of Chicago and Emory University have also been ranked in the top 25. Every team but Carnegie Mellon University has a winning record this season.

“Those rankings are based mostly on wins and losses, so they aren’t as telling [as] the fact that every year, multiple teams from the UAA make it to the tournament, and the conference championship is usually up for grabs until the last game,” women’s senior co-captain Jill Brandt said.

The women have won at least a share of 17 UAA titles in the league’s 21 seasons of existance, but lost out to Chicago in the final game of last season. The team has already defeated the Maroons to start UAA play but still has 13 UAA games, including another against Chicago, before the season’s end.

“We try to set the tone of the games with our intensity and we force our opponents to match what we bring to the table. I also think it’s more intense because we know these teams. We play these girls twice a year, so there is a little bit of a revenge factor that comes into play,” Brandt said.

The men, likewise, have opened their season with a defeat of 2008 UAA Champion Chicago in their quest for a ninth conference title. The No. 3 Bears are joined in the top 25 poll by No. 19 Carnegie Mellon University, which has jumped out to a 2-1 conference record.

“I feel like there is a slightly different mind-set going into conference. We all know that the key to the NCAA tournament is in winning the conference, and the UAA is so highly competitive that we know we must be sharp every night. Coach emphasizes that every game, we are competing against a team that is capable of beating us,” junior center Zach Kelly said.

The men, who have only lost once since winning the 2008 NCAA Division III National Championship, feel no added pressure despite the fact that teams in all sports historically play better against the defending champions.

“This team really doesn’t feel much pressure. The last two years, we’ve learned to deal with high expectations.  We know that no matter who we play or what we’re ranked, we just need to go out there and play our game. We realize that the only aspect of the game we can control is ourselves,” junior co-captain Cameron Smith said.

The uniqueness of the UAA in Division III college basketball also brings with it added challenges and opportunities for each of its eight teams.

“Almost all of the conference games feel like rivalry games, so the intensity does change. Because there is no conference tournament, each game is an important step in reaching our team’s goals,” senior co-captain Jaimie McFarlin said. The UAA is the only conference in which the winner gains an automatic NCAA tournament berth that does not feature a conference tournament, making the regular season title even more important.

In addition, the UAA was founded so that similar academic institutions could compete against each other in athletics, and as a result, the UAA is not a regionally-designed conference like most others in Division III. With schools located across the entire eastern half of the United States, athletes gain the unique experience of traveling to some of the nation’s most famous cities and playing conference games every Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

“I love traveling across the country. Getting to know each city is really something special in the UAA. Because our team has players and alumni from around the country, our conference schedule allows our friends and families to come to games in the Midwest and East Coast,” McFarlin said.

“I enjoy playing in a conference that is loaded with great teams and knowing that a win is a little more satisfying than playing a less talented team out of conference. I also enjoy the Friday night home games that provide us with a great basketball atmosphere. I hate the end of road trips when it’s late Sunday night, and I realized that I have a test early Monday morning,” Kelly added.

The men, 11-1 (1-0 UAA), and women, 9-3 (1-0 UAA), continue UAA play tonight against Case Western and Sunday afternoon against Emory.