Eastern Collegiate Football Conference

Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
(ECFC)
Established 2009
Association NCAA
Division Division III
Members 8
Sports fielded 1 (football) (men's: 1; women's: 0)
Region Northeast
Headquarters Wilmington, Vermont
Commissioner Julie Muller
Website easterncollegiatefootball.com
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 eight school from various and spread across the states of Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New York, and 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 begins sponsoring football in 2017.[4] In November 2015, Becker announced it would also be leaving the ECFC in 2017 to join the Commonwealth Coast Conference.[5] Becker's departure would have left the ECFC without the minimum 7 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]

Member schools

Institution Location Nickname Founded Type Enrollment Primary
Conference
Alfred State College Alfred, New York Pioneers 1908 Public 3,500 Independent1
Anna Maria College Paxton, Massachusetts AMCats 1946 Private 820 GNAC
Becker College Leicester, Massachusetts Hawks 1784 Private 1,739 NECC
Castleton University Castleton, Vermont Spartans 1787 Public
(VSC)
2,130 NAC
Dean College Franklin, Massachusetts Bulldogs 1865 Private 1,055 Provisional Div. III member1
Gallaudet University Washington, DC Bison 1864 Quasi-Private/Governmental 1,274 NEAC
Husson University Bangor, Maine Eagles 1898 Private 2,600 NAC
Mount Ida College Newton, Massachusetts Mustangs 1899 Private 1,300 GNAC
Norwich University Northfield, Vermont Cadets 1819 Private
(Military)
2,200+ GNAC
SUNY Maritime Throggs Neck, New York Privateers 1874 Public
(SUNY)
1,289 Skyline

1 - Alfred State and Dean will be joining the ECFC for the 2017 season.

Champions

NCAA Division III Playoff Performance

The ECFC is generally regarded as one of the weakest conferences in the country.[7] Throughout its short history, the ECFC is winless in the NCAA Division III Playoffs, posting an 0-6 record with its member schools' games decided by an average score of 51-9.

Year ECFC
Champion
Playoff
Opponent
Result Score
2010 SUNY Maritime Alfred Loss 60-0
2011 Norwich Delaware Valley Loss 62-10
2012 Mt. Ida Wesley (DE) Loss 73-14
2013 Gallaudet Hobart Loss 34-7
2014 Husson MIT Loss 27-20 (OT)
2015 Norwich Albright Loss 49-0

References

External links

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