ECAC West

ECAC West was a college athletic conference which operated in the northeastern United States until 2017. It participated in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference. The conference ceased to exist after the end of the 2016–17 season when most joined the newly-formed United Collegiate Hockey Conference or Northeast Women's Hockey League.

Eastern College Athletic Conference - West
ECAC West
Established1984
Dissolved2017
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision III
Members12
Sports fielded
RegionNew York, Pennsylvania and Maryland
HeadquartersDanbury, Connecticut
CommissionerRudy Keeling
WebsiteMen: http://www.ecacsports.com/index.aspx?path=mhockey_mwest
Women: http://www.ecacsports.com/index.aspx?path=whockey
Locations

History

ECAC West was officially formed in 1984 when ECAC 2 was split in two and both new conferences dropped down to Division III. The conference consisted entirely of schools from upstate New York until 1988 when Mercyhurst joined. In 1992 all universities that were members SUNYAC and a few other schools left when Mercyhurst took part in the effort was made to restart the Division II Championship, leaving just seven teams in the ECAC West. After two more schools dropped their programs the conference was down to five teams in 1994 but it began to recover when Niagara joined in 1996. In 1998 the conference lost two programs when the MAAC began sponsoring a Division I ice hockey conference followed by a third just one year later. When the Division II Tournament ended in 1999 the conference returned to D-III and was left with only four schools but in 2001 it began to sponsor women's hockey as well and its ranks immediately swelled to nine universities. The conference roster continued to grow, reaching 15 in 2016–17 but after that season all but one league member left to join either the United Collegiate Hockey Conference or Northeast Women's Hockey League with the lone remaining school (Hobart) joining the New England Hockey Conference.

ECAC West Tournaments
Main article: ECAC West Men's Tournament

Members[1]
Location Athletic nickname Colors Founded Joined (M) Left (M) Current Conference (M)† Joined (W) Left (W) Current Conference (W)†
Binghamton University Binghamton, New York Bearcats                1946 1987 1992 Dropped Program – – –
State University of New York at Brockport Brockport, New York Golden Eagles           1867 1984 1992 SUNYAC – – –
University at Buffalo Buffalo, New York Bulls           1846 1984 1987 Dropped Program – – –
Buffalo State College Buffalo, New York Bengals           1871 – – – 2001 2017 NEWHL
Canisius College Buffalo, New York Golden Griffins           1870 1987 1998 Atlantic Hockey – – –
Chatham University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Cougars           1869 – – – 2002 2017 UCHC
State University of New York at Cortland Cortland, New York Red Dragons           1868 1984 1992 SUNYAC 2001 2017 NEWHL
Elmira College Elmira, New York Soaring Eagles           1855 1984 2017 UCHC 2001 2017 UCHC
State University of New York at Fredonia Fredonia, New York Blue Devils                1826 1987 1992 SUNYAC – – –
State University of New York at Geneseo Geneseo, New York Knights           1871 1984 1992 SUNYAC – – –
Hamilton College Clinton, New York Continentals           1793 1984 1992 NESCAC – – –
Hobart College Geneva, New York Statesmen           1822 1985 2017 NEHC – – –
Lebanon Valley College Annville, Pennsylvania Flying Dutchmen           1866 2004 2017[a 1] UCHC – – –
Manhattanville College Purchase, New York Valiants           1815 1999 2017 UCHC – – –
Mercyhurst University Erie, Pennsylvania Lakers           1926 1988 1999 Atlantic Hockey – – –
Nazareth College Pittsford, New York Golden Flyers           1924 2012 2017 UCHC – – –
Neumann University Aston, Pennsylvania Knights                1965 2001 2017 UCHC 2001 2017 UCHC
Niagara University Lewiston, New York Purple Eagles           1856 1996 1998 Atlantic Hockey – – –
State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, New York Lakers           1891 1984 1992 SUNYAC 2006 2017 NEWHL
State University of New York at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, New York Cardinals           1889 1984 1992 SUNYAC 2001 2017 NEWHL
State University of New York at Potsdam Potsdam, New York Bears           1816 1984 1992 SUNYAC 2008 2017 NEWHL
Rochester Institute of Technology Henrietta, New York Tigers                1829 1984 2005 Atlantic Hockey 2007 2012 CHA
University of Scranton Scranton, Pennsylvania Royals           1888 1991 1994 Dropped Program – – –
St. Bonaventure University Allegany, New York Bonnies           1858 1986 1993 Dropped Program – – –
Stevenson University Stevenson, Maryland Mustangs 1947 2016 2017 UCHC – – –
Union College Schenectady, New York Dutchmen           1795 1984 1991 ECAC Hockey – – –
Utica College Utica, New York Pioneers           1946 2001 2017 UCHC 2001 2017 UCHC
William Smith College Geneva, New York Herons           1908 – – – 2014 2017 UCHC

† as of 2018

  1. Lebanon Valley suspended their program from 2010 to 2016.

Membership timeline
Stevenson UniversityHobart and William Smith CollegesNazareth CollegeLebanon Valley CollegeChatham UniversityBuffalo State CollegeUtica CollegeNeumann UniversityManhattanville CollegeNiagara UniversityUniversity of ScrantonMercyhurst UniversityCanisius CollegeState University of New York at FredoniaBinghamton UniversitySt. Bonaventure UniversityHobart and William Smith CollegesElmira CollegeRochester Institute of TechnologyState University of New York at PotsdamState University of New York at PotsdamState University of New York at OswegoState University of New York at OswegoState University of New York at PlattsburghState University of New York at PlattsburghState University of New York at CortlandState University of New York at CortlandHamilton CollegeState University of New York at GeneseoState University of New York at BrockportUnion CollegeUniversity at Buffalo

  Men     Women     Both  

References
  1. "NCAA - ECAC West history and statistics". Hockey DB. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
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