West Babylon, N.Y. –The East Coast Conference announced on Thursday afternoon that Mercyhurst University will join the conference as an associate member in the sport of women's bowling.

Mercyhurst located in Erie, Pa., will commence associate membership in the ECC during their inaugural season of 2019-20. The Lakers will immediately be eligible to compete in the ECC Women's Bowling Championship and earn the league's automatic qualification into the NCAA Championship.

"We are pleased to welcome Mercyhurst University as the newest East Coast Conference women's bowling associate member," said ECC Commissioner, Dr. Robert Dranoff. "The ECC has been at the forefront of growth in the sport of women's bowling and with the addition of this new Division II program, we're happy to continue this trend."

"We are extremely excited and grateful to be accepted to the East Coast Conference as an associate member. I want to thank Dr. Dranoff and the Executive Committee for the opportunity. We look forward to taking part in our inaugural season next year," said Mercyhurst Director of Athletics, Bradley Davis. 

Mercyhurst will replace the departing LIU Post to keep the number of teams competing in the largest women's bowling conference in the NCAA at 13. With the addition of the Lakers, there are now nine associate members competing in ECC women's bowling. Adelphi University, Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Felician University, Kutztown University, Lincoln Memorial University, and Wilmington University are the other associate members.

Four full-time members of the ECC - Daemen College, Molloy College, Roberts Wesleyan College, and St. Thomas Aquinas College - currently sponsor women's bowling.