East Coast Conference
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2013) |
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| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Commissioner | Robert Dranoff (since 2008) |
| Sports fielded |
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| Division | Division II |
| Region | Northeastern United States |
| Official website | eccsports.org |
| Locations | |
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The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division II. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of Connecticut and New York, as well as the District of Columbia.
History
The East Coast Conference was founded in 1989 as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference. Its charter members included:
- Adelphi University (1989–2009)
- Concordia College (1989–2009)
- C.W. Post College (1989–2019)
- Dowling College (1989–2016)
- Mercy College (1989–present)
- Molloy College (1989–present)
- New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) (1989–present)
- Pace University (1989–1997)
- Queens College (1989–present)
- Southampton College of Long Island University (1989–2005)
Other members that joined were:
- University of Bridgeport (2000–present)
- University of New Haven (2002–2008)
- New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) (1997–2000)
- Philadelphia University (1991–2005)
- College of Saint Rose (1991–2000)
- St. Thomas Aquinas College (2000–present)
- University of the District of Columbia (2011–present)
- Roberts Wesleyan College (2012–present)
- Daemen College (2013–present)
- D'Youville College (2020–present)
- College of Staten Island (2020–present)
The ECC has become a lacrosse powerhouse, seeing six ECC teams win the Division II Men's Lacrosse championship over the past 10 years. In addition, at least 1 ECC team has competed in 13 the last 14 championship games. Recent ECC champions include Adelphi (1998, 1999, 2001), C.W. Post (1996, 2006 Tri-Champion), Dowling College (2006 Tri-Champion), NYIT (1997, 2003, 2005, 2008), and Mercyhurst College (2006 Tri-Champion, 2007)
Two changes to the conference membership were announced in the fall of 2018. First, it was announced on October 3, 2018 that Long Island University would unite its two athletic programs—the Division II LIU Post program and Division I program at LIU Brooklyn—into a single Division I program under the overall university name effective in 2019–20.[1] Second, it was announced on December 7, 2018 that beginning with the 2020 season (2019–20 school year), Frostburg State University will join the conference as an associate member in men's lacrosse, contingent on being accepted into Division II by the NCAA.[2]
The next change in conference membership was announced in March 2019, when the College of Staten Island (CSI), preparing to begin a transition from NCAA Division III, was accepted as a member effective with the 2020–21 school year.[3] The following August, Tusculum University was announced as a bowling affiliate, effective in 2019–20.[4] In March 2020, then-current Division III member D'Youville College was announced as a future member effective in 2020–21, contingent on NCAA approval of that school's transition to D-II;[5] the NCAA's acceptance was officially announced on July 10, 2020.[6]
Member schools
Current members
Reclassifying members in yellow.
Affiliate members
Former members
- ^ Long Island University merged the LIU Post athletic program with the Division I program of its Brooklyn campus after the 2018–19 school year. The new athletic program, competing as the LIU Sharks, inherited Brooklyn's memberships in Division I and the Northeast Conference.
- ^ Merged with Thomas Jefferson University, a healthcare-only institution with no athletic program, in 2017. The PhilaU athletic program, now branded as "Jefferson", moved in its entirety to the merged institution.
Former affiliate members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Nickname | Joined | Left | Sport | Primary Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chestnut Hill College | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1924 | Private (Catholic) | Griffins | 2009 | 2017 | lacrosse (M) | Central Atlantic |
| Dominican College | Orangeburg, New York | 1952 | Private (Catholic) | Chargers | 2006 | 2017 | lacrosse (M) | Central Atlantic |
| Franklin Pierce University | Rindge, New Hampshire | 1962 | Private (Nonsectarian) | Ravens | 2015 | 2018 | bowling | Northeast-10 |
| Lake Erie College | Painesville, Ohio | 1856 | Private (Nonsectarian) | Storm | 2009 | 2012 | lacrosse (M); lacrosse (W) |
Great Midwest |
| Mercyhurst University | Erie, Pennsylvania | 1926 | Private (Catholic) | Lakers | 2005 | 2012 | lacrosse (M) | Pennsylvania State |
| Seton Hill University | Greensburg, Pennsylvania | 1883 | Private (Catholic) | Griffins | 2009 | 2012 | lacrosse (M); lacrosse (W) |
Pennsylvania State |
| Wheeling Jesuit University[a] | Wheeling, West Virginia | 1954 | Private (Catholic) | Cardinals | 2009 | 2012 | lacrosse (M) | Mountain East |
- ^ Known as Wheeling University since 2019.
Membership timeline
Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football-only) Associate member (sport)
Sports
The East Coast Conference sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in the following sports:
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball |  |
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| Basketball | |
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| Bowling |
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| Cross Country | |
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| Lacrosse | |
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| Soccer | |
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| Softball |
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| Tennis | |
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| Track & Field Indoor | |
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| Track & Field Outdoor | |
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| Volleyball |
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Men's sponsored sports by school
| School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross Country |
Lacrosse | Soccer | Tennis | Track & Field Indoor |
Track & Field Outdoor |
Total ECC Sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport |
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|
4 | ||||
| Daemen |
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6 | ||
| District of Columbia |
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|
4 | ||||
| D'Youville |
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|
4 | ||||
| Mercy |
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|
4 | ||||
| Molloy |
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|
7 | |
| New York Tech |
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|
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|
|
|
6 | ||
| Queens |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
7 | |
| Roberts Wesleyan |
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|
|
|
|
|
6 | ||
| St. Thomas Aquinas |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
| Staten Island |
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|
|
|
|
|
6 | ||
| Totals | 8 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 62 |
| Affiliate Members | |||||||||
| Frostburg State |
|
1 | |||||||
| Georgian Court |
|
1 | |||||||
| Holy Family |
|
1 | |||||||
| Lincoln (PA) |
|
1 | |||||||
Women's sponsored sports by school
| School | Basketball | Bowling [a] | Cross Country |
Lacrosse | Soccer | Softball | Tennis | Track & Field Indoor |
Track & Field Outdoor |
Volleyball | Total ECC Sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport |
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6 | ||||
| Daemen |
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8 | ||
| District of Columbia |
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|
|
6 | ||||
| D'Youville |
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|
|
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|
|
|
8 | ||
| Mercy |
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|
|
|
|
5 | |||||
| Molloy |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10 |
| New York Tech |
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7 | |||
| Queens |
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9 | |
| Roberts Wesleyan |
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8 | ||
| St. Thomas Aquinas |
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|
8 | ||
| Staten Island |
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|
7 | |||
| Totals | 11 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 70 |
| Affiliate Members | |||||||||||
| Adelphi |
|
1 | |||||||||
| Felician |
|
1 | |||||||||
| Georgian Court |
|
1 | |||||||||
| Holy Family |
|
1 | |||||||||
| Kutztown |
|
1 | |||||||||
| Lincoln (PA) |
|
1 | |||||||||
| Lincoln Memorial |
|
1 | |||||||||
| Salem |
|
1 | |||||||||
| Tusculum |
|
1 | |||||||||
- ^ De facto Division I sport. The NCAA sponsors a single national bowling championship open to members of all three divisions.
Other sponsored sports by school
| School | Men | Women | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Football[a] | Golf | Swimming & Diving |
Volleyball [b] | Wrestling | Fencing [b] | Field Hockey |
Golf | Gymnastics [b] | Rowing | Swimming & Diving | |||
| Bridgeport | METS | ECAC | METS | ||||||||||
| Daemen | IND | IND | |||||||||||
| D'Youville | TBA[c] | TBA[c] | TBA[c] | TBA[c] | |||||||||
| Mercy | ECAC | ||||||||||||
| Molloy | IND | ||||||||||||
| Queens | METS | NIWFA | METS | ||||||||||
| Roberts Wesleyan | IND | IND | |||||||||||
| St. Thomas Aquinas | CSFL | IND | IND | ||||||||||
| Staten Island | METS | METS | |||||||||||
- ^ Although football is an official NCAA sport, the only ECC member with a football program, St. Thomas Aquinas, plays sprint football, a weight-restricted variant that is not governed by the NCAA.
- ^ a b c De facto Division I sport. The NCAA conducts a combined Division I/II championship in men's volleyball, and a single championship open to members of all three divisions in fencing and women's gymnastics.
- ^ a b c d Three of the four sports sponsored by D'Youville but not by the ECC—men's and women's golf and men's volleyball—were housed in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in the coronavirus-shortened 2019–20 athletic year.
References
- ^ "Long Island University Announces Unification Into One LIU Division I Program" (Press release). LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds. October 3, 2018. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ "ECC Adds Frostburg State University as Men's Lacrosse Associate Members". Frostburg State University Athletics (Press release). West Babylon, New York: East Coast Conference. December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "ECC Accepts College of Staten Island as League's 10th Member" (Press release). East Coast Conference. March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
- ^ "Tusculum Joins ECC as Women's Bowling Associate Member" (Press release). East Coast Conference. August 23, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- ^ "ECC to Add D'Youville as Conference's 11th Member" (Press release). East Coast Conference. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- ^ "Division II Announcement" (Press release). D'Youville Saints. July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.