Scranton, PA – Marywood University has become official members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), America’s largest sporting conference. Dr. Mary Jo Gunning, Director of Athletics and Recreation, made the announcement today. Marywood, members of the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC), becomes members of the nation's largest athletic conference and only multi-divisional conference, with approximately 300 member institutions ranging across 16 states from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois.
“Joining the ECAC will allow many different avenues to open for our student-athletes and teams” Dr. Gunning stated. “Additional opportunities for post-season tournament play and for individual awards and recognition are just two of the benefits we will see.”
Since its inception more than 70 years ago, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has emerged as the nationwide leader in service. The conference has grown significantly from 58 charter members to approximately 300 member institutions in Divisions I, II and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina. Marywood becomes the 185th Division III institution to join the ECAC.
Marywood, who recently announced the addition of men’s and women’s Swimming and Diving programs, now sponsors 16 varsity intercollegiate sports. “With Swimming and Diving not being sponsored by the CSAC at the moment, our affiliation with the ECAC will now allow those programs to compete for a conference title.”
All 16 varsity sports from Marywood will be eligible to qualify for ECAC post-season tournaments. The Pacers will compete in the ECAC South Region. “As all of Marywood’s programs become more competitive, ECAC post-season play will allow our student-athletes to experience a competitive post-season environment. In the end, the more post-season experience our teams can get, whether in the CSAC or ECAC tournaments, can only lead to a better overall experience for the student-athletes and for better success in future seasons” Gunning stated.
“Many times our teams have successful seasons but wind up just short of obtaining the CSAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament” Director of Sports Information and Head Women’s Soccer Coach Andrew Smith said. “Joining the ECAC allows our student-athletes and teams that have had successful seasons to gain valuable post-season tournament experience against other quality programs. It will also allow our student-athletes additional opportunities to earn individual recognition and awards.”
The ECAC administers nearly 100 preseason and postseason events in 37 men’s and women’s sports for over 122,000 student athletes. Please visit the web site www.ecac.org and click on Championships to view the current schedule. You can also visit www.ecacsports.com to learn more about ECAC Championships and see what other Division III schools are members.