The athletic conference in which a university or college competes has meaning that extends beyond the playing field. Institutions generally desire to compete against others that are similar to them in profile, including their approach to athletics, as well as being in the same geographic region. For instance, the Ivy League comprises eight highly selective private research universities in the Northeast; the Big Ten includes ten state flagship institutions (and one large private research university) in the Midwest; and in Divisions II and III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), conferences often include institutions of a similar type from within a given state. Given their similar missions and close proximity, institutions within conferences typically compete in areas outside of athletics, whether in recruiting students, hiring and retaining faculty, or attracting research funding. The commonalities between and among institutions in a conference create a peer group useful in benchmarking, one that may even heighten competition between and among members. In this chapter, I explore how the division and conference in which an institution competes has implications beyond athletics. I examine how athletic affiliation links with institutional aspirations, 55