West Babylon, N.Y. – The East Coast Conference will add men’s volleyball as the league’s 19th NCAA sport and 20th overall. Conference play is slated to begin in the spring of 2024.

Five schools will be part of the inaugural season including ECC full-time members Roberts Wesleyan University and St. Thomas Aquinas College. Joining them will be associate members Alliance University, American International College, and Dominican University.

The five schools will play a double round-robin schedule and will conduct a championship tournament at the conclusion of the season.

"Men's volleyball is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States and we are happy to help organize this as a conference sport for some of our regional colleagues,” said ECC Commissioner, Dr. Robert Dranoff. “We look forward to continuing to grow men's volleyball in the coming years.”

The ECC plans to seek additional membership with hopes of reaching the minimum of six members needed to pursue an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championship.

Currently, men’s volleyball is a National Collegiate sport, with Division I and II institutions playing in the same National Championship tournament.