[2] The Appalachian Athletic Conference was formed in 2000 with the additions of members from Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

[2] 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.

[3] 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.

It is the largest conference in the NAIA:[3] The AAC will have one future full member for the 2025–26 school year: The AAC currently has ten affiliate members, all but one are private schools: The AAC has one future affiliate member, which operates public and private institutions within a single entity.