The Northeastern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference was a college athletic conference that held dual affiliation with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). Member institutions were located in Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Maryland in the United States.
| Association | NAIA and USCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Ceased | 2019 |
| Commissioner | Meg Schebler (since 2017) |
| Sports fielded |
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| Division | Division II |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Headquarters | Delhi, New York |
| Official website | www |
History
editThe NIAC's earlier ancestor was the Sunrise Athletic Conference (SAC), which was formed in 2002 when the Maine Athletic Conference and the Mayflower Conference disbanded in the spring of 2002. Both of these conferences were NAIA conferences of long standing.[1] The conference membership held steady with nine members until Paul Smith's College and Lyndon State College left in 2010, dropping SAC membership to seven. The conference disbanded in 2011 when the College of St. Joseph, Vermont Technical College and University of Maine at Machias left the conference and the NAIA for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) and the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC).[2][3] The University of Maine at Fort Kent, University of Maine at Presque Isle, and SUNY-Canton then left with no regional NAIA competition to become independents in the USCAA.[3] In addition, Maine–Presque Isle (UMPI) transitioned to being a full independent member of NCAA Division III, while SUNY Canton was accepted into the transition process to move from the NAIA to NCAA D-III.[4] Fisher College joined the American Mideast Conference but that conference disbanded in 2012 when many of the members left for NCAA Division II.[3][5]
Formation of the NIAC
editThe Northeastern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference was announced in 2016 with a start date set for the 2017–18 academic year. The NIAC due to the lack of conference homes for several independent members of the NAIA as well as USCAA in the New York and New England region.[6] In October 2016 it was announced that five charter members would form the Northeastern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference.[6]
The NIAC's charter members include College of St. Joseph, Fisher College, State University of New York at Delhi, University of Maine–Fort Kent, and Villa Maria College. St. Joseph, Maine-Fort Kent, and Villa Maria are all members of the USCAA, while Fisher College is a member of the NAIA.[6][7] SUNY-Delhi held dual membership in both the NAIA and USCAA until 2017 when it left the NIAC and joined the newly formed American Collegiate Athletic Association in NCAA D-III.[8] St. Joseph left in 2018 to stay exclusively in the USCAA.
Green Mountain College, which joined the NIAC in 2018, left the conference after the 2019 semester when the college announced its closure that year following financial difficulties.[9][10]
Member schools
editFinal members
edit| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fisher College | Boston, Massachusetts | 1903 | Nonsectarian | 2,560 | Falcons | 2016 | 2019 | Continental[a] |
| Green Mountain College | Poultney, Vermont | 1834 | United Methodist |
N/A | Eagles | 2018 | 2019 | Closed in 2019 |
| University of Maine–Fort Kent | Fort Kent, Maine | 1878 | Public | 1,557 | Bengals | 2016 | 2019 | USCAA Independent |
| Penn State Schuylkill | Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania | 1934 | Public | 940 | Nittany Lions | 2018 | 2019 | Continental[a] |
| Washington Adventist University | Takoma Park, Maryland | 1904 | Seventh-day Adventist |
1,493 | Shock | 2018 | 2019 | Continental[a] |
- Notes
Former members
edit| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College of St. Joseph | Rutland, Vermont | 1956 | Nonsectarian | N/A | Fighting Saints | 2016 | 2018 | Closed in 2019 |
| State University of New York at Delhi (SUNY Delhi) |
Delhi, New York | 1913 | Public | 3,088 | Broncos | 2016 | 2017 | North Atlantic (NAC)[a] |
| Villa Maria College | Buffalo, New York | 1961 | Catholic (CSSF) |
544 | Vikings | 2016 | 2018 | USCAA Independent |
- Notes
- ^ Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
Sports
edit| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball |  |
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| Basketball | |
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| Cross Country | |
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| Golf | |
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| Soccer | |
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| Softball |
| |
| Tennis | |
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| Volleyball |
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References
edit- ^ http://naia.cstv.com/member-services/conferences/profiles/NAIA_ConferenceProfile_Sunrise.pdf [dead link]
- ^ Hawkins, Gary (June 30, 2011). "COLLEGE: UMA adds 3 sports". Kennebec Journal. Archived from the original on November 10, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c Mahoney, Larry (June 17, 2011). "UMFK, UMPI, UMM leave NAIA for new association". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ Brown, Gary (June 30, 2011). "DIII Membership Committee recommends four new active members". NCAA. Archived from the original on July 5, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ "UMFK adds new sports and joins NAIA". Sun Community News. Apr 18, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Unique Dual-Association Athletics Conference Established". NAIA. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ "College joins new athletic conference". Sun Community News. November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ "SUNY Delhi Accepted Into ACAA". ACAA.org. July 10, 2017.
- ^ "Green Mountain College to close by end of semester". Rutland Herald. January 23, 2019.
- ^ Fleishman, Scott (January 23, 2019). "Green Mountain College to close in spring". WCAX.