East Coast Conference (Division I)

The East Coast Conference was a college athletic conference at the Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It was founded as the university division of the Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) in 1958. The MAC consisted of over 30 teams at that time, making it impossible to organize full league schedules in sports like football, basketball, and baseball. In 1958, the larger schools created their own mini conference, consisting of 11 members (7 for football).

In 1974, the larger schools in the MAC officially formed the East Coast Conference. During the 1974-75 through 1981-82 seasons, the ECC enjoyed a consistent membership of 12 teams. That stability was rocked when St. Joseph's, Temple, and West Chester departed in the summer of 1982, while Towson was added, trimming the league to 10 programs. Over the next two years, La Salle and American also said goodbye, cutting the roster to eight.

The winds of realignment would sweep across intercollegiate athletics in full force as the next decade dawned. Bucknell, Lafayette, and Lehigh left to help form the Patriot League in 1990, while Delaware and Drexel headed to the North Atlantic Conference (now known as the America East Conference) in 1991. Attempting to stem the tide, the ECC added UMBC and Central Connecticut in 1990, followed by Division I newcomers Buffalo and Brooklyn in 1991.

More erosion ensued as Rider, Towson, and UMBC moved to other leagues after the 1991–92 campaign, while Brooklyn suspended its entire athletic department. This reduced the ECC to just three members -Hofstra, Central Connecticut, and Buffalo - not enough to maintain official conference status under NCAA bylaws during the 1992–93 season. Unable to move elsewhere themselves, that trio made one last salvage effort.

Spreading far and wide, Chicago State, Northeastern Illinois, and Troy State were enlisted, doubling participation to six teams for the 1993–94 academic year. Finally, the ECC was absorbed by the Mid-Continent Conference (now The Summit League) in the summer of 1994, although Hofstra instead decided to join the North Atlantic Conference. None of the five ECC institutions which entered the Mid-Con at that time remain in the league today.

According to the MAC's website, the East Coast Conference was not a successor to the MAC. Instead, 11 of the 12 University Division members left to form the original ECC in 1974, but the primary organization continued as an NCAA Division III conference when the NCAA adopted a division structure.

Member schools In all tables in this section, school names and nicknames reflect those in use in the last school year each institution was an ECC member. Conference names in the "Next Conference" columns reflect those in use during the first school year of membership in the new league.

Founding members Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Subsequentconference Currentconference Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 1846 Private 3,655 Bison 1958 1990 Patriot(1990–present) Newark, Delaware 1743 Public 21,856 Fightin'Blue Hens 1958 1991 North Atlantic (NAC)(1991–2001) Conf. USA (CUSA)(2025–present) Drexel University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1891 Private 25,500 Dragons 1958 1991 North Atlantic (NAC)(1991–2001) Coastal (CAA)(2001–present) Gettysburg College Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 1832 Private 2,600 Bullets 1958 1974 Middle Atlantic (MAC)(1974–92) Centennial(1992–present) La Salle University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1863 Private 7,554 Explorers 1958 1983 Metro Atlantic (MAAC)(1983–92)Midwestern (MCC)(1992–95) Atlantic 10 (A-10)(1995–present) Lafayette College Easton, Pennsylvania 1826 Private 2,488 Leopards 1958 1990 Patriot(1990–present) Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 1865 Private 7,070 Engineers 1958 1990 Patriot(1990–present) Muhlenberg College Allentown, Pennsylvania 1848 Private 2,225 Mules 1958 1964 Middle Atlantic (MAC)(1964–92) Centennial(1992–present) Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey 1766 Public 65,000 ScarletKnights 1958 1962 various Big Ten (B1G)(2014–present) Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1851 Private 9,025 Hawks 1958 1982 Atlantic 10 (A-10)(1982–present) Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1884 Public 37,788 Owls 1958 1982 Atlantic 10 (A-10)(1982–2013) (2013–present)

Notes

Subsequent members Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Subsequentconference Currentconference American University Washington, D.C. 1846 Private 6,776 Eagles 1965 1984 Coastal (CAA)(1984–2001) Patriot(2001–present) Brooklyn College Brooklyn, New York 1930 Public 16,463 Bulldogs 1991 1992 N/A C.U. New York (CUNYAC)(1996–present) Buffalo, New York 1846 Public 29,850 Bulls 1991 1994 Mid-Continent (Mid-Con)(1994–98) Mid-American (MAC)(1998–present) Central Connecticut State University New Britain, Connecticut 1848 Public 11,865 Blue Devils 1990 1994 Mid-Continent (Mid-Con)(1994–97) Northeast (NEC)(1997–present) Chicago State University Chicago, Illinois 1867 Public 7,131 Cougars 1993 1994 various Northeast (NEC)(2024–present) Hofstra University Hempstead, New York 1935 Private 12,400 FlyingDutchmen 1965 1994 North Atlantic (NAC)(1994–2001) Coastal (CAA)(2001–present) (UMBC) Catonsville, Maryland 1966 Public 13,979 Retrievers 1990 1992 Big South (BSC)(1992–98)Northeast (NEC)(1998–2003) America East (AmEast)(2003–present) Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, Illinois 1867 Public 11,149 Golden Eagles 1993 1994 Mid-Continent (Mid-Con)(1994–98) N/A Rider University Lawrenceville, New Jersey 1865 Private 5,400 Broncs 1966 1992 Northeast (NEC)(1992–97) Metro Atlantic (MAAC)(1997–present) Towson State University Towson, Maryland 1866 Public 22,285 Tigers 1982 1992 Big South (BSC)(1992–95)America East (AmEast)(1995–2001) Coastal (CAA)(2001–present) Troy State University Troy, Alabama 1887 Public 19,579 Trojans 1993 1994 Mid-Continent (Mid-Con)(1994–97)Trans Atlantic (TAAC)(1997–2005) Sun Belt (SBC)(2005–present) West Chester University West Chester, Pennsylvania 1880 Public 14,211 Golden Rams 1969 1982 Pennsylvania (PSAC)(1982–present)

Notes

Membership timeline

Champions Men's basketball

Regular season 1959 St. Joseph’s 1960 St. Joseph’s 1961 St. Joseph’s 1962 St. Joseph’s 1963 St. Joseph’s 1964 Temple 1965 St. Joseph’s 1966 St. Joseph’s 1967 Temple 1968 La Salle 1969 Temple 1970 St. Joseph’s (East) / Rider (West) / Lehigh (West) / Lafayette (West) 1971 St. Joseph’s (East) / Lafayette (West) 1972 Temple (East) / Rider (West) 1973 St. Joseph’s (East) / Lafayette (West) 1974 St. Joseph’s (East) / La Salle (East) / Rider (West) 1975 American (East) / La Salle (East) / Lafayette (West) 1976 St. Joseph’s (East) / Lafayette (West) 1977 Temple (East) / Hofstra (East) / Lafayette (West) 1978 La Salle (East) / Lafayette (West) 1979 Temple (East) / Bucknell (West) 1980 St. Joseph’s (East) / Lafayette (West) 1981 American (East) / Lafayette (West) / Rider (West) 1982 Temple (East) / West Chester (West) 1983 American (East) / La Salle (East) / Hofstra (East) / Rider (West) 1984 Bucknell 1985 Bucknell 1986 Drexel 1987 Bucknell 1988 Lafayette 1989 Bucknell 1990 Towson/Hofstra/Lehigh 1991 Towson 1992 Hofstra 1993 No Championship 1994 Troy State

Conference tournament 1975 La Salle 1976 Hofstra 1977 Hofstra 1978 La Salle 1979 Temple 1980 La Salle 1981 St. Joseph’s 1982 St. Joseph’s 1983 La Salle 1984 Rider 1985 Lehigh 1986 Drexel 1987 Bucknell 1988 Lehigh 1989 Bucknell 1990 Towson 1991 Towson 1992 Towson 1993 No tournament 1994 Hofstra

References

http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/BK07.pdf http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/AMSO/