 | |
| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Commissioner | Katie Boldvich |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division III |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Headquarters | Marshfield, Massachusetts |
| Region | Northeast |
| Official website | easterncollegiatefootball.com |
| Locations | |
 | |
The Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) was a football-only intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Founded in 2009, it combines four schools spread across the states of Massachusetts and New York, plus Washington, D.C.
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 Vermont State University–Castleton), 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]
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]
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]
The ECFC faced significant member attrition throughout the 2020s. It began on June 23, 2021, when SUNY Maritime announced its departure from the ECFC at the end of 2022 to join the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference as a football affiliate for the 2023 season. [10] On April 1, 2022, Keystone announced its addition to the Landmark Conference as a football affiliate also for 2023, when Landmark starts its sponsorship of that sport. [11] The loss of members continued at a rapid pace through 2023: Alfred State announced it would be joining the Empire 8 in 2025 as a football affiliate, while Anna Maria, Dean, and Castleton University (now known as Vermont State University–Castleton) announced they would all join the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, with Anna Maria to join as a full member in 2025, and Castleton & Dean to join as affiliates in 2024 and 2025, respectively. [12] [13] [14] [15] Lastly, Gallaudet, the final remaining member, announced on July 3, 2024, that they had received an invitation to join the Old Dominion Athletic Conference as an associate member for football for the 2025 season, bringing an end to the ECFC after 15 years. [16]
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred State College [a] | Alfred, New York | 1908 | Public | 3,500 | Pioneers | 2017 | Allegheny Mountain (AMCC) |
| Anna Maria College [b] | Paxton, Massachusetts | 1946 | Catholic (S.S.A.) | 820 | AMCats | 2009 | Great Northeast (GNAC) |
| Dean College [b] | Franklin, Massachusetts | 1865 | Nonsectarian | 1,055 | Bulldogs | 2017 | Great Northeast (GNAC) |
| Gallaudet University [c] | Washington, D.C. | 1864 | Quasigovernmental | 1,274 | Bison | 2009 | United East (UEC) |
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 | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Primary conference | Current football conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Becker College | Leicester, Massachusetts | 1784 | Nonsectarian | 1,739 | Hawks | 2009–10 | 2016–17 | N/A – closed in 2021 | |
| Husson University | Bangor, Maine | 1898 | Nonsectarian | 2,600 | Eagles | 2009–10 | 2018–19 | North Atlantic (NAC) | Commonwealth Coast (CCC) |
| Keystone College | La Plume, Pennsylvania | 1868 | Nonsectarian | 1,600 | Giants | 2020–21 | 2022–23 | United East (UEC) | Landmark |
| Mount Ida College | Newton, Massachusetts | 1899 | Nonsectarian | 1,300 | Mustangs | 2009–10 | 2017–18 | N/A – closed in 2018 | |
| Norwich University | Northfield, Vermont | 1819 | Private | 2,200+ | Cadets | 2009–10 | 2016–17 | Great Northeast (GNAC) | New England (NEWMAC) |
| State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime) | Throggs Neck, New York | 1874 | Public [a] | 1,289 | Privateers | 2009–10 | 2022–23 | Skyline | New England (NEWMAC) |
| Vermont State University–Castleton [b] | Castleton, Vermont | 1787 | Public [c] | 2,130 | Spartans | 2009–10 | 2023–24 | Little East (LEC) | Massachusetts (MASCAC) |
The ECFC is generally regarded as one of the weakest conferences in the country. [17] The ECFC's only Division III playoff win came in 2017. As of the 2023 season, the conference is 1–13 in the playoffs, with its member schools' games decided by an average score of __-__. 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 | SUNY Maritime* | Salisbury | Loss | 83–0 |
| 2020 | None | Postseason canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | Anna Maria | Delaware Valley | Loss | 62–10 |
| 2022 | Gallaudet | Delaware Valley | Loss | 59–0 |
| 2023 | Alfred State | Mount Union | Loss | 56–14 |
*Received auto bid in place of Dean, who was ineligible as a provisional Division III member.
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