Dear Student-Athletes, Parents, Fans, and Colleagues,
It is with great pleasure that I invite you to explore our new
website and conference.
The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) was founded in 2004 as a "re-formed" conference. The original conference had five institutions, of which three are still conference members. The NEAC was founded to allow twelve formerly independent institutions, the opportunity to provide better overall experiences for student-athletes and athletic staff.
In 2004, the membership included the expansion to twelve institutions: Baptist Bible College, Bard College, Cazenovia College, Chestnut Hill College, D'Youville College, Keuka College, Keystone College, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, Philadelphia Biblical University, Polytechnic University, Purchase College, and Villa Julie College.
At the conclusion of 2006-2007, the conference had a shifting of membership losing five institutions and gaining three new members. The departing members are Bard, Chestnut Hill, Polytechnic, Purchase, and Villa Julie. The new members are Penn State Harrisburg, Wells College, and Wilson College. At the conclusion of 2007-2008 the conference will lose an additional three institutions while gaining two new members. The departing members are: Baptist Bible, Keystone, and Philadelphia Biblical. The new members are SUNY Cobleskill and SUNY Institute of Technology.
The NEAC has accepted four associate member institutions for 2008-2009; they are Medaille College for men's and women's lacrosse, Rutgers University - Camden for men's golf, SUNY Oneonta for men's tennis, and the University of Dallas in men's soccer, men's golf, men's & women's cross country, and men's & women's basketball. The University of Dallas will also bring women's volleyball to the NEAC in 2009-2010.
The NEAC will be losing D'Youville College at the conclusion of 2008-2009. In 2009-2010, the NEAC will welcome the College of St. Elizabeth and Penn State - Abington as full members.
The NEAC is an NCAA Divsion III recognized conference with a wide geographic spread including institutions in NY and PA. In 2008-2009, the NEAC has NCAA automatic qualifiers in the sports of Baseball, Men's & Women's Basketball, Golf, Men's & Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Tennis, and Women's Volleyball. The conference also offers Men's & Women's Cross Country, Men's & Women's Lacrosse, and Men's Tennis. While young, the NEAC has proven to be a respectable conference that has sent several teams to post-season competition participating in the NCAAs, ECACs, and NCCAAs.
While there is wide membership diversity, the conference promotes strong NCAA competition, the ideals of sportsmanship, and support of the education of the student-athlete. We also have proven to have strong leadership from the President's Council, strong dedication from the Athletic Directors, strong vision from the Coach's and other groups, and sincere interest from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to successfully prove ourselves to other member conferences and institutions.
On behalf of the NEAC, I wish all student-athletes a positive and rewarding experience, I wish all parents and fans the joy of experiencing great competition in the promotion of NEAC teams and individual athletes, and I wish my fellow colleagues respect and dedication at the highest levels of collegiate sports competition.
Sincerely,
Candice Poiss Murray
North Eastern Athletic Conference Commissioner
2007 NACWAA Conference Administator of the Year, Click here to read press release.
