Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

America East Conference

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Established
  
1979

Association
  
NCAA


Division
  
Division I non-football

Members
  
13 (full: 9; associate: 4)

Sports fielded
  
18 (men's: 7 sports; women's: 11 sports)

Region
  
Northeastern United States (plus California in field hockey)

The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA Division I, whose members are located mainly in the Northeastern United States. The conference was known as the Eastern College Athletic Conference-North from 1979 to 1988 and the North Atlantic Conference from 1988 to 1996.

Contents

History

The America East Conference was founded as the Eastern College Athletic Conference-North, a men's basketball-only athletic conference in 1979. The charter members were the University of Rhode Island, the College of the Holy Cross, Canisius College, Niagara University, Colgate University, Northeastern University, Boston University, the University of Maine, the University of New Hampshire and the University of Vermont. Many other events have occurred since its formation:

  • Rhode Island left in 1980.
  • Holy Cross left in 1983.
  • Siena College joined in 1984.
  • The University of Hartford joined in 1985.
  • Later, the conference became an all-sports conference, named as the North Atlantic Conference in the 1988-89 season, only for Canisius, Niagara and Siena to leave after the spring of 1989 to join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
  • Colgate left in 1990 to join the Patriot League.
  • The University of Delaware and Drexel University joined in 1991.
  • Hofstra University joined in 1994.
  • Towson University joined in 1995.
  • On July 1, 1996, the conference's name changed to its present name, the America East Conference.
  • During 2001, Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra and Towson left to join the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) while the University at Albany, Binghamton University and Stony Brook University replaced them.
  • The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) soon joined in 2003.
  • Northeastern left in 2005 to join the CAA.
  • Most recently, Boston University left to join the Patriot League on July 1, 2013, while the University of Massachusetts Lowell joined from Division II.

    • Full members

    There are nine schools with full membership:

    Associate members

    There are currently four schools with associate membership. All are in California, and moved their field hockey teams into the America East in July 2015. A fifth associate member, from Virginia, will be added in men's and women's swimming & diving in the 2017–18 school year.

    Former associate members

    Three schools have had single-sport membership in the past. Two of these, Fairfield and Providence, moved their America East sports into their all-sports conferences. The third, NJIT, left when it joined a conference that sponsored its America East sport.

    Membership timeline

    Full members (non-football) Other Conference Other Conference

    Sports sponsored

    The America East Conference sponsors championship competition in seven men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The most recent change to the roster of America East sports was announced in 2016, with the revival of men's swimming and diving effective in the 2017–18 school year.

    Men's sports

    Notes

    Women's sports

    Notes

    Facilities

    The conference does not sponsor football. Four members have football programs, all of which compete in the Colonial Athletic Association: Albany, Maine, New Hampshire, and Stony Brook.

    The conference does not sponsor ice hockey. Members who participate in that sport (UMass Lowell for men only, and Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont for both men and women) do so as members of Hockey East.

    Champions

  • List of America East Conference champions

    • References

    America East Conference Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA