Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC; informally known as NOVA) is a public community college composed of six campuses and four centers in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Northern Virginia Community College is the third-largest multi-campus community college in the United States and the largest educational institution in the Commonwealth of Virginia..
NOVA started intercollegiate athletics in 2011 as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association. The college sponsors women's volleyball, men's soccer, women's cross country, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's lacrosse, and women's softball at the intercollegiate varsity level. In addition, NOVA has a club ice hockey team that is a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. NOVA added a varsity esports team in the Fall 2018 as a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports.
The college introduced Ace, the Nighthawk, in 2017 as the first mascot of the modern era of NOVA Athletics.
