Eastern Collegiate Football Conference

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
ECFC
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference logo
Established2009
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision III
Members7 (6 in 2023)
Sports fielded
  • 1 (football)
    • men's: 1
    • women's: 0
RegionNortheast
HeadquartersMarshfield, Massachusetts
CommissionerKatie Boldvich
Websiteeasterncollegiatefootball.com
Locations
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference locations

The Eastern Collegiate Football Conference is a football-only intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Founded in 2009, it combines six schools spread across the states of Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York, plus Washington, D.C.

History[]

The Eastern Collegiate Football Conference was formed in the spring of 2009 as an NCAA Division III single-sport football conference. The conference, named after the geographic location of the institutions, began competition in the fall of 2009. Founding members were Anna Maria College, Becker College, Castleton State College (now Castleton University), Gallaudet University, Husson University, SUNY Maritime, Mount Ida College, and Norwich University.

Norwich was the league's first champion, posting a perfect 6-0 conference record and defeating Mt. Ida in the season-ending ECFC Championship Game.[1] In 2010, SUNY Maritime earned the ECFC's first bid to the NCAA Division III Playoffs after a perfect 10-0 regular season record.[2] SUNY Maritime would go on to lose 60–0 to Alfred University in the First Round of the NCAA Playoffs.[3]

2015 realignment[]

In April 2015, charter member Norwich announced it would be leaving the ECFC to join the NEWMAC when that conference began sponsoring football in 2017.[4] In November 2015, Becker announced it would also be leaving the ECFC in 2017 to join what was then known as the New England Football Conference, which by the time of the college's departure would be rebranded as Commonwealth Coast Football.[5] Becker's departure would have left the ECFC without the minimum seven teams necessary to maintain the league's automatic bid to the Division III playoffs. But on January 27, 2016, the ECFC announced that Alfred State College and Dean College would be joining the conference for the 2017 season.[6]

Later developments[]

The ECFC would later see two schools announce their departure from the conference, placing its automatic bid to the Division III playoffs in doubt once again. First, Husson announced in June 2017 that it would join Commonwealth Coast Football in 2019.[7] Then, in April 2018, the financially struggling Mount Ida announced that it would close at the end of the 2017–18 school year, with the campus to be purchased by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[8] The following month, however, saw the announcement of a future member, as Keystone College, set to add football as a club sport in 2019 before upgrading to full varsity status in 2020, would join the ECFC upon reaching varsity status.[9] On June 23, 2021, SUNY Maritime's departure from the ECFC at the end of 2022 for the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference was confirmed as it would be that conference's new football affiliate for the 2023 season.[10]

Current members[]

Institution Location Nickname Founded Type Enrollment Joined Primary
Conference
Alfred State College Alfred, New York Pioneers 1908 Public 3,500 2017 AMCC
Anna Maria College Paxton, Massachusetts AMCats 1946 Private 820 2009 GNAC
Castleton University Castleton, Vermont Spartans 1787 Public
(VSC) 		2,130 2009 LEC
Dean College Franklin, Massachusetts Bulldogs 1865 Private 1,055 2017 GNAC
Gallaudet University Washington, D.C. Bison 1864 Quasi-Private/Governmental 1,274 2009 NEAC
Keystone College La Plume, Pennsylvania Giants 1868 Private 1,600 2020 CSAC
SUNY Maritime Throggs Neck, New York Privateers 1874 Public
(SUNY) 		1,289 2009 Skyline

Former members[]

Because NCAA football is a fall sport, the year of departure is the calendar year after each school's final season of competition.

Institution Location Nickname Founded Type Enrollment Joined Left Primary
Conference 		Current Football
Conference
Becker College Leicester, Massachusetts Hawks 1784 Private 1,739 2009 2017 N/A – closed in 2021
Husson University Bangor, Maine Eagles 1898 Private 2,600 2009 2019 NAC CCC Football
Mount Ida College Newton, Massachusetts Mustangs 1899 Private 1,300 2009 2018 N/A – closed in 2018
Norwich University Northfield, Vermont Cadets 1819 Private
(Military) 		2,200+ 2009 2017 GNAC NEWMAC
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
[Interactive fullscreen map]
Locations of ECFC members, 2021-2022 Blue pog.svg full Black pog.svg departing (in 2022) White pog.svg former Red text = college no longer exists

Champions[]

  • 2009 Norwich (6–0)
  • 2010 SUNY Maritime (7–0)
  • 2011 Norwich (7–0)
  • 2012 Mount Ida (6–1)
  • 2013 Gallaudet (6–1)
  • 2014 Husson (7–0)
  • 2015 Norwich (6–1)
  • 2016 Husson (6–0)
  • 2017 Husson (7–0)
  • 2018 Husson (6–0)
  • 2019 Dean (4-1)
  • 2020 None

NCAA Division III playoff performance[]

The ECFC is generally regarded as one of the weakest conferences in the country.[11] The ECFC's only Division III playoff win came in 2017. As of the 2019 season, the conference is 1–9 in the playoffs, with its member schools' games decided by an average score of 45–13. The single win was by two points, and one loss was in overtime; every other loss has been by more than two touchdowns.

Year ECFC
champion		 Playoff
opponent		 Result Score
2010 SUNY Maritime Alfred Loss 60–0
2011 Norwich Delaware Valley Loss 62–10
2012 Mount Ida Wesley Loss 73–14
2013 Gallaudet Hobart Loss 34–7
2014 Husson MIT Loss 27–20 (OT)
2015 Norwich Albright Loss 49–0
2016 Husson Western New England Loss 44–27
2017 Husson Springfield Win 23–21
2017 Husson Delaware Valley Loss 37–15
2018 Husson RPI Loss 38–14
2019 Dean Ineligible for playoff (1st-year member)
2020 None Postseason canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

References[]

  1. ^ "Norwich Defeats Mount Ida, 49-14, to Win ECFC Championship". Eastern Collegiate Football Conference. November 14, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  2. ^ Joe Guster (November 6, 2010). "Perfection! Football Ends 2010 Regular Season with 21-14 Win over Gallaudet in D.C." SUNY Maritime Privateers. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018.
  3. ^ 2010 NCAA Division III football season#Postseason
  4. ^ Pat Coleman (April 8, 2015). "New shuffle begins as NEWMAC adds football". D3Sports.com. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  5. ^ "CCC finds its seventh team". D3Football.com. November 19, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  6. ^ "ECFC gains two members". D3Football.com. January 27, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  7. ^ "Husson To Become Eighth Commonwealth Coast Football Member in 2019" (Press release). Commonwealth Coast Football. June 5, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  8. ^ DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (April 12, 2018). "Why is everyone mad about the UMass-Mount Ida deal?". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  9. ^ "Keystone College Named as ECFC's Newest Member" (Press release). Eastern Collegiate Football Conference. May 8, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  10. ^ Riley Demarell (June 23, 2021). "Maritime Football Set to Join the NEWMAC for 2023 Season". SUNY Maritime College Privateers Athletics. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  11. ^ "Re-ranking the conferences for 2015". D3Football.com. October 15, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""