Cape Cod, Mass. – In the ECAC's ongoing efforts to annually recruit new officials and improve its officiating services for its member institutions, ECAC Commissioner Rudy Keeling is pleased to announce the addition of more than 200 new ECAC officials over the past year.

“Our primary objective in ECAC officiating over the past three years has been to attract, recruit, screen and certify new officials in all of our bureaus,” said Steve Bamford, ECAC Administrator for Officiating and Special Projects. “It’s nice to know that our efforts in this area have been rewarded.”

Since July 1, 2009, the ECAC has added 206 new officials to its roster. This includes 26 football officials, 57 soccer officials, 61 women’s basketball officials, 18 men’s basketball officials, and 44 hockey officials. 

“The lion’s share of the credit for the large number of new ECAC officials should go to our ECAC coordinators who have scoured their own regional areas to identify a list of prospective officials at the lower levels who have shown great promise and potential to be outstanding college officials,” said Bamford.

Overall, the ECAC assigns officials in 12 sports in Division I, II and III, including 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 4,400 officials last year.

About the ECAC®
The ECAC is the nation’s largest athletic and the only multi-divisional conference in the country with nearly 300 Division I, II, and III colleges and universities. The ECAC membership covers 16 states and stretches from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors nearly 100 championships in 37 men’s and women’s sports and assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports. The ECAC also administers nine affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues. Through the public relations arm of the conference, more than 2,000 student-athletes are recognized. Finally, the ECAC serves as the primary conference for select members in the sports of men’s ice hockey, women’s ice hockey, and men’s lacrosse.