Membership

Since its inception 69 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 today having 320 member institutions in Divisions I, II and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina.

Affiliate Organizations. The ECAC provides leadership assistance for numerous affiliate organizations including the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes in America (IC4A), Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA), Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA), Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC), Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges (EAWRC), Eastern Collegiate Rowing Association, Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) and the New England Rowing Association. 

Awards. The ECAC publicizes the achievements of its member institution’s student-athletes through weekly and postseason awards. Over 700 student-athletes are honored in the fall, 1,300 in the winter and 400 during the spring through the player of the week program. Annually, the publicity bureau recognizes more than 3,300 student-athletes. At the annual Fall Convention Honors Dinner, student-athletes, administrators and officials are recognized in the following categories:

· James Lynah Distinguished Achievement Award (retired athletics administrators)
· George L. Shiebler Award (game officials)
· ECAC Jostens Institution of the Year Award (member institution)
· ECAC Jostens Male and Female Administrator of the Year Awards
· Award of Valor (student-athlete)
· Alumni Award of Valor (former varsity letter winner at a member institution)
· Robbins Scholar-Athlete Awards (male and female student-athletes in Div. I, II and III)
· Katherine Ley Award (woman athletics administrator)
· ECAC Turfer Athletic Rowing Trophy

Championships. The ECAC administers 98 preseason and postseason events in 35 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.

Convention and Meetings. The business of the ECAC is conducted during the annual Fall Convention providing the membership opportunities to discuss and vote on conference-wide issues and concerns. The ECAC Commissioner and other ECAC senior administrators also conduct regional meetings with the membership throughout the year.

Internship Program. The prestigious Asa S. Bushnell internship, named after the ECAC’s first commissioner and established in 1976, offers students from ECAC institutions hands-on experience in all areas of operation of the nation’s largest athletic conference. Former interns proudly represent the ECAC in all fields of the sports industry as directors of athletics, commissioners, broadcasting executives, professional franchise front-office positions, sports information directors and coaches.

Legislative Services. The ECAC maintains a legislative and compliance service to assist the membership with the application of NCAA and ECAC regulations. The conference sponsors workshops and seminars, processes hardship waivers and facilitates the Collegiate Commissioners Association National Letter of Intent program.

Membership Application and Annual Dues. For new members, there is a non-refundable $200 application fee and a $2500 (including the application fee) initiation fee. The remaining initiation fee may be paid in equal installments over a two-year period after the effective date of admission. The ECAC Membership Committee is responsible for reviewing applications and forwarding its recommendations to the Board of Directors. Annual dues for 2007 - 08 are $2,250.

Officiating. The ECAC assigns officials in 12 sports in Divisions I, II and III, including baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, fencing, field hockey, football, men’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and wrestling. In addition, the ECAC officiating bureaus provide clinics and workshops, improving the level of officiating and attracting the most qualified collegiate officials. The bureaus assign for both conference and NCAA championships and totaled over 46,000 assignments using more than 5,200 officials last year.

Playing Leagues. The ECAC conducts league competition for men’s and women’s ice hockey, Division III men’s ice hockey (three leagues), Division III women’s ice hockey (two leagues), men’s lacrosse and men’s gymnastics.

Special Events. The ECAC administers and hosts events such as the ECAC Lambert Football Poll, Eastern College Football Awards Banquet which honors student-athletes, coaches and teams, and its Fall Convention and Trade Show. The ECAC co-hosted the 2004 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four in Providence, the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston in 2005 for the sixth consecutive year and the NCAA Division III New England Regional Baseball Championship in May 2005 and May 2006. The ECAC will co-host the 2008 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship with Harvard University at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.

Sponsorships. The ECAC actively pursues the development of sponsorships that garner financial support of corporate and individual entities. Through sponsorship, the ECAC enhances championship events for participants while supplementing associated event operation expenses. Conference sponsors may receive, but are not limited to official access to the membership, television exposure, event signage, event entitlements, tickets and hospitality, and the opportunity to promote volume incentive buying programs.

Technology. The conference’s two Web sites feature real-time management and cutting-edge technology.  The nation’s leading online officiating system site is a password-protected extranet that allows for real-time access to its membership and officials as changes occur to their schedules. The Conference’s main Web site is managed by a custom developed auto-content management system, giving the staff the ability to release conference news as it happens. The site also offers interactive polls and features for the fans. The ECAC also is on the forefront of other Web-based technology including an officials’ payment service named OPS.

Television. ECAC Productions coordinates with institutions, television vendors and broadcast partners to produce and obtain clearances of quality sports programming to promote the conference and its members.  Televised sports events include football, men’s gymnastics, men’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s rowing and wrestling. These events are aired through partnerships with regional sports networks including Comcast (CN8), College Sports Television (CSTV), Eastern Sports Productions Network University (ESPNU), and the New England Sports Network (NESN).

ECAC.tv. In keeping with cutting edge technology, the ECAC has partnered with Penn Atlantic to offer members the chance to web stream games live on the internet. This service is a great revenue source and recruiting tool for ECAC members. Through ECAC.tv, the ECAC has the ability to showcase the excitement of college athletics within our 15-state footprint to a national and international audience. Campuses that traditionally do not receive national media exposure and recognition are in a position to market their name to a significantly larger population through ECAC.tv.