Siena College is an independent Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Loudonville, in the town of Colonie, New York, United States. Siena is a four-year, coeducational, independent college in the Franciscan tradition, founded by the Franciscan Friars in 1937. It has 3,000 full-time students and offers undergraduate degrees in business, liberal arts, and sciences. Tuition for the 2011-2012 academic year is $28,910 and standard room and board is $11,434. It was named after Saint Bernardino of Siena, the illustrious 15th century Franciscan scholar and friar. The college is a suburban campus taking up 174 acres (70 ha) at the northern edge of Loudonville. The campus includes: Siena offers 18 NCAA Division I sports, 17 of which participate in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), with field hockey participating in the Northeast Conference (NEC). The college generally only competed against local schools in athletics until being elevated to the Division I level in 1976. At this time, Siena became a member of the ECAC, and later the North Atlantic Conference, a forerunner to the present day America East Conference.