East Coast Conference
609 Route 109
Suite 2D
West Babylon, NY 11704

EAST COAST CONFERENCE HISTORY

The East Coast Conference (ECC) entered a new and exciting era on July 1, 2006, when it adopted a new name and branding, reflective of the growth the league has experienced since debuting as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in the late 1980s.

The ECC is the offspring of several single-sport college conferences that existed in the New York City Metropolitan Area in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. It is a direct descendant of the Big Apple Basketball Conference, which was a Men's Division II conference with six members: C.W. Post, Queens, Southampton, Mercy, Concordia, and Dowling.

In the 1980s the NCAA began to emphasize the importance of conferences in organizing competition and determining bids to NCAA tournaments. The NCAA required six teams to be recognized as a conference and the Big Apple Conference, with barely enough members to survive, was not very competitive. At the same time, local leagues such as the Empire for women's basketball; the Knickerbocker for baseball; and the Suburban for men's soccer lacked members and sufficient administrative control by athletic directors.

In 1988, the athletic directors of C.W. Post and Queens invited the athletic directors of all Division II institutions in the New York Metropolitan Area to discuss forming one multi-sport conference administered by member athletic directors to encourage all local teams to compete against each other in all sports where there were at least six teams. It was hoped that the number of teams in each sport would rise as would the quality of play. After several meetings, it was generally agreed that a multi-sport conference was a good idea and the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference was formed. Its charter members were: Adelphi, Concordia, C.W. Post, Dowling, Mercy, Molloy, N.Y. Tech, Pace, Queens, and Southampton with Dr. Richard Wettan, president; Mary Topping, vice president; Christopher Bledsoe, Secretary; Vincent Salamone, Treasurer; and Neil Judge, Representative-at-large.

The original intercollegiate competition consisted of round-robin play in men's basketball, softball, baseball, and soccer with tournaments held for men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross-country; and men's golf. The ECC currently sponsors baseball; men's and women's basketball; women's bowling; men's and women's cross country; Esports; men's and women's lacrosse; men's and women's soccer; softball; men's and women's tennis; men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field; and women's volleyball.

The convenience of scheduling, the reduction of costs, the rising quality of play, and the camaraderie of the schools led to the growth of the conference. The multi-sport nature of the conference helped to attract the College of St. Rose, and Philadelphia Textile (now Jefferson University) in 1991 and New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1997 which expanded the geographic scope of the NYCAC. This encouraged its existing members to participate in all sports sponsored by the NYCAC. The University of Bridgeport and St. Thomas Aquinas College replaced NJIT and St. Rose in 2000. The University of New Haven joined September 01, 2002.

The departure of Philadelphia and the dissolution of the LIU-Southampton campus following the 2004-05 academic year brought ECC membership to 11 and the departure of the University of New Haven, Concordia, and Adelphi brought ECC membership to eight.

In March of 2011, expansion began again as ECC member institutions voted in the University of the District of Columbia to become the ninth member of the conference effective in July of 2011.

Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y. became the tenth member in September of 2011 and officially began competition in the fall of 2012. Another Western New York institution, Daemen College, was officially accepted as the eleventh conference member in July of 2012 and began ECC play in the fall of 2013. 

After losing charter members, Dowling (closure - 2016), LIU Post (unification of Brooklyn and Post campuses - 2019), and New York Tech (suspension of athletic program - 2020) the ECC will add the College of Staten Island and D'Youville College during the 2020-21 academic year to bring the number of current members of the conference to 10.

Mission Statement: The East Coast Conference is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits.

Officers:
Office of the Commissioner
Commissioner: Dr. Robert Dranoff
Senior Associate Commissioner/SWA: Melissa Reilly
Associate Commissioner: Casey Rafferty

Athletic Directors' Executive Committee
President: Matt Kilcullen (Mercy)
Vice President: Traci Murphy (Daemen)
SWA Representative: Brianna Falese (Molloy)
Past President: Patricia Thomas (District of Columbia)
DII Management Council Representative: Dr. Robert Dranoff (ECC)

Conference Goals and Objectives
Goals:
To enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among East Coast Conference member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way.

Objectives:
* To provide opportunities for students in ECC institutions to participate in intercollegiate athletics.
* To offer a structure that can blend academic integrity and fiscal responsibility into a sound intercollegiate athletic program.
* To encourage member institutions to establish, as their highest priority, the retention and graduation of their student-athletes.
* To assist member institutions in the development of athletic programs that adhere to the high standards of the East Coast Conference and the NCAA.
* To develop and maintain a program that fosters sportsmanship, athletic excellence, and camaraderie among its members at every level, from athletes to coaches to fans to administrations.
* To develop a competitive athletic program that is an integral part of and enhances the academic mission of its member institutions.
* To provide a meaningful collegiate experience dedicated to the development of the total person.
* To recognize outstanding athletic and academic accomplishments of conference student-athletes.
* To maintain a code of conduct for administrators and coaches that will provide positive role models in the development of conference student-athletes into leaders of the future.

NCAA Division II statement: The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions, and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.

Graduation Rates:

East Coast Conference by Sport (2011-2014 Freshman Cohorts):

# student counts <4 in identified sports masked to prevent identification of individuals
* sports with national ASR cohort size less than 250