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Eastern Collegiate Football Conference

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Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
AssociationNCAA
Founded2009
CommissionerKatie Boldvich
Sports fielded
  • 1 (football)
DivisionDivision III
No. of teams4
HeadquartersMarshfield, Massachusetts
RegionNortheast
Official websiteeasterncollegiatefootball.com
Locations
Location of teams in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference

The Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) is 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.

History

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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]

2015 realignment

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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

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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]

2020s realignment & dissolution

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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]

Member schools

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Current members

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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)
Notes
  1. ^ Joining the Empire 8 upon dissolution of the ECFC after the 2024 season.
  2. ^ a b Joining the MASCAC upon dissolution of the ECFC after the 2024 season.
  3. ^ Joining the ODAC upon dissolution of the ECFC after the 2024 season.

Former members

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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)
Notes
  1. ^ Part of the State University of New York System.
  2. ^ Castleton University merged with Northern Vermont University and Vermont Technical College to become Vermont State University on July 1, 2023.
  3. ^ Part of the Vermont State Colleges System.

Champions

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Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
100km
62miles
Alfred State
Norwich
Husson
Becker
Mount Ida
SUNY Maritime
Keystone
Gallaudet
Anna Maria
Dean
.
Castleton
Locations of ECFC members: full departing former
Red text = college no longer exists
  • 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
  • 2021 Anna Maria (5–1)
  • 2022 Gallaudet (5–1)
  • 2023 Alfred State (3–1)

NCAA Division III playoff performance

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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.

References

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  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. ^ "Keystone Joins Landmark as Football Affiliate". Towson, Maryland: Landmark Conference. April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  12. ^ "Alfred State College to Join Empire 8 as Football Affiliate Member in 2025" (Press release). Empire 8 Conference. October 10, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  13. ^ "Anna Maria College Accepts Invitation to Join MASCAC" (Press release). Anna Maria College Athletics. October 4, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  14. ^ "Dean College Football to Join MASCAC in 2025" (Press release). Dean College. October 10, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  15. ^ "Football to Join MASCAC in 2024". Castleton, Vermont: CastletonSports.com. January 5, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  16. ^ "Gallaudet football to join the ODAC as an Associate Member in 2025" (Press release). Gallaudet University. July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  17. ^ "Re-ranking the conferences for 2015". D3Football.com. October 15, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
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