Empire 8

The Empire 8 (E8) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. The E8 sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's field hockey, men's football, men's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and women's volleyball. The E8 shares offices with the United Volleyball Conference, a separate Division III league that competes solely in men's volleyball.

Empire 8
FormerlyIndependent College Athletic Conference (1964–1991)
Empire Athletic Association (1991–1999)
AssociationNCAA
Founded1964
CommissionerChuck Mitrano (since 2001)
Sports fielded
  • 22
    • men's: 11
    • women's: 11
DivisionDivision III
No. of teams10 (9 in 2023)
HeadquartersRochester, New York
RegionNew York
Official websitewww.empire8.com
Locations
Location of teams in {{{title}}}

History
Empire 8 Conference
🌍
This is a stopgap mapping solution, while attempts are made to resolve technical difficulties with {{OSM Location map}}
Locations of Empire 8 members, 2021-2022 full member affiliate member future member (joining in 2022)

The Empire 8 can trace its beginnings back to 1964 with the founding of the Independent College Athletic Conference (ICAC). At this time, the conference was made up of Alfred University, Clarkson University, Hobart College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), St. Lawrence University, and Union College. After Union left the league, Ithaca College and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) joined the ICAC.

In 1991, the ICAC regrouped to become the Empire Athletic Association (EAA), with Clarkson leaving and Hartwick College joining to replace the spot. Hobart/William Smith, RPI, and St. Lawrence left in 1993, to be replaced by Elmira College, Nazareth College, and Utica University. Alfred re-joined and St. John Fisher College joined the league in 1998.

The EAA became the Empire 8 Athletic Conference in 1999, hosting 13 sports.

Stevens Institute of Technology joined as a field hockey member beginning in 2006 and became a full member in 2007. RIT announced on June 5, 2009 that it planned to leave the Empire 8 for the Liberty League beginning in the fall of the 2011–12 season. Houghton College also announced that they would join the Empire 8 in the 2012–13 season as they transitioned from a school of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to NCAA Division III status; they became full D-III members in 2016.

The most recent changes to the conference's membership were published in the 2018–19 school year. First, Stevens announced in August 2018 that it would leave the E8 at the end of the 2018–19 school year to rejoin the Middle Atlantic Conferences after an absence of more than 40 years. Stevens joined the MAC's Freedom Conference.[1] In January 2019, the E8 reported that Stevens would eventually be replaced by Keuka College in 2020–21,[2] and in March, The Sage Colleges merged Russell Sage College and Sage College of Albany, effectively making the former women-only Russell Sage co-educational in fall 2020.[3]

On July 15, 2020, the Empire 8 postponed all fall sports, but provided conference championships in those sports in spring 2021.[4] On August 26, 2021, Medaille posted its admission to the E8 in 2022–23 from the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.[5]

Chronological timeline
  • 1964 - The Empire 8 was founded of the Independent College Athletic Conference (ICAC). charter members included Alfred University, Clarkson College of Technology (now Clarkson University), Hobart College (later William Smith College followed suit when women's sports was added into the conference), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), St. Lawrence University, and Union College, effective beginning the 1964-65 academic year.
  • 1971 - Union (N.Y.) left the ICAC, effective after the 1970-71 academic year.
  • 1971 - Ithaca College and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) joined the ICAC, effective in the 1971-72 academic year.
  • 1991 - Alfred and Clarkson left the ICAC, effective after the 1990-91 academic year.
  • 1991 - The ICAC has been regrouped to become the Empire Athletic Association ( EAA), effective in the 1991-92 academic year.
  • 1991 - Hartwick College joined the EAA, effective in the 1991-92 academic year.
  • 1993 - Hobart/William Smith, Rensselaer Poly (RPI) and St. Lawrence left the EAA, effective after the 1992-93 academic year.
  • 1993 - Elmira College, Nazareth College and Utica College (now Utica University) joined the EAA, effective in the 1993-94 academic year.
  • 1998 - St. John Fisher College joined the EAA, with Alfred re-joining alongside, effective in the 1998-99 academic year.
  • 1999 - The EAA has been rebranded as the Empire 8 Athletic Conference (Empire 8 or E8), hosting 13 sponsored sports, effective in the 1999-2000 academic year.
  • 2006 - Stevens Institute of Technology (Stevens Tech or Stevens) joined the Empire 8 as an affiliate member for field hockey, effective in the 2006 fall season (2006-07 academic year).
  • 2007 - Stevens upgraded to join the Empire 8 for all sports, effective in the 2007-08 academic year.
  • 2011 - Rochester Tech (RIT) left the Empire 8 for the Liberty League, effective after the 2010-11 academic year. Salisbury U. (MD) joined for football.
  • 2012 - Houghton College joined the Empire 8, effective in the 2012-13 academic year.
  • 2015 - Salisbury U. (MD) left to join the NJAC.
  • 2017 - Ithaca left the Empire 8 to join the Liberty League, effective after the 2016-17 academic year.
  • 2017 - Russell Sage College (then a women's college) and Sage College of Albany joined the Empire 8, effective in the 2017-18 academic year.
  • 2019 - Stevens left the Empire 8 to re-join back to the Middle Atlantic Conferences (particularly the MAC's Freedom Conference), effective after the 2018-19 academic year.
  • 2020 - Keuka College joined the Empire 8, effective in the 2020-21 academic year
  • 2020 - The Sage Colleges merged Russell Sage and Sage College of Albany, effective making the former women-only Russell Sage co-educational, effective in the 2020-21 academic year.
  • 2022 - Medaille College will join the Empire 8, effective beginning the 2022-23 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The Empire 8 currently has ten full members, all are private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Football?
Alfred University Alfred, New York 1836 Nonsectarian 2,189 Saxons 1964,
1998[lower-alpha 1]		 Yes
Elmira College Elmira, New York 1855 Nonsectarian 768 Soaring Eagles 1993 No
Hartwick College Oneonta, New York 1797 Nonsectarian 1,208 Hawks 1991 Yes
Houghton College Houghton, New York 1883 Wesleyan 927 Highlanders 2012 No
Keuka College Keuka Park, New York 1890 Baptist 1,535 Wolves 2020 No
Medaille University Buffalo, New York 1937 Private 3,925 Mavericks 2022 No
Nazareth College Pittsford, New York 1924 Nonsectarian 2,791 Golden Flyers 1993 No
Russell Sage College Albany and Troy, New York 1916 Nonsectarian 2,389 Gators 2017 No
St. John Fisher University Rochester, New York 1948 Nonsectarian 3,610 Cardinals 1998 Yes
Utica University Utica, New York 1946 Nonsectarian 4,614 Pioneers 1993 Yes
Notes
  1. Alfred left the Empire 8 (then known as the ICAC) after the 1990–91 school year; before re-joining back, effectively the 1998–99 school year.

Affiliate members

The Empire 8 currently has four affiliate members; all but one are public schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Empire 8
sport		 Primary
conference
State University of New York at Brockport Brockport, New York 1867 Public[lower-alpha 1] 7,592 Golden Eagles 2014–15 football New York State (SUNYAC)
State University of New York at Cortland Cortland, New York 1868 6,832 Red Dragons 2015–16 New York State (SUNYAC)
State University of New York at Morrisville Morrisville, New York 1908 2,486 Mustangs 2015–16 United East (UEC)
State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, New York 1861 7,636 Lakers 2017–18 men's golf New York State (SUNYAC)
Washington & Jefferson College Washington, Pennsylvania 1781 Nonsectarian 1,168 Presidents 2002–03 field hockey Presidents' (PAC)
Notes
  1. Part of the State University of New York System.


Future affiliate members
Institution Location Founded Joining Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Sport Primary
conference
Hilbert College Hamburg, New York 1957 2024 Private 800 Hawks football AMCC

Former members

The Empire 8 had nine former full members, all were private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
Clarkson University Potsdam, New York 1896 Nonsectarian 3,539 Golden Knights 1964–65 1990–91 Liberty
Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, New York 1822 (Hobart)
1908 (William Smith)		 Nonsectarian 2,118 Statesmen (Hobart)
Herons (William Smith)		 1964–65 1992–93 Liberty
Ithaca College Ithaca, New York 1892 Nonsectarian 6,800 Bombers 1971–72 2016–17 Liberty
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
(RPI)		 Troy, New York 1824 Nonsectarian 7,521 Engineers 1964–65 1992–93 Liberty
Rochester Institute of Technology
(RIT)		 Henrietta, New York 1829 Nonsectarian 17,652 Tigers 1971–72 2010–11 Liberty
The Sage Colleges
Sage College of Albany (co-ed)		 Albany, New York 1949 Nonsectarian 1,600 Gators 2017–18 2019–20 N/A[lower-alpha 1]
St. Lawrence University Canton, New York 1856 Nonsectarian 2,431 Saints 1964–65 1992–93 Liberty
Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey 1870 Nonsectarian 5,260 Ducks 2007–08[lower-alpha 2] 2018–19 MAC Freedom
Union College Schenectady, New York 1795 Nonsectarian 2,194 Dutchmen (men's)
Dutchwomen (women's)		 1964–65 1970–71 Liberty
Notes
  1. The Sage College of Albany was merged into Russell Sage College.
  2. Stevens competed in the Empire 8 as an associate member for field hockey during the 2006 fall season (2006–07 school year).

Former affiliate members

The Empire 8 had four former affiliate members, all but one were public schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Empire 8
sport		 Primary
conference		 Conference
competing in
former
Empire 8
sport
Buffalo State College Buffalo, New York 1871 Public[lower-alpha 1] 8,339 Bengals 2012–13 2018–19 football New York State (SUNYAC) Liberty
Frostburg State University Frostburg, Maryland 1898 Public[lower-alpha 2] 6,133 Bobcats 2011–12 2015–16 Mountain East (MEC)
(NCAA D-II)
Salisbury University Salisbury, Maryland 1925 8,606 Sea Gulls 2011–12 2015–16 Coast to Coast (C2C) New Jersey (NJAC)
Springfield College[6] Springfield, Massachusetts 1885 Private 5,062 Pride 2002–03 2011–12 New England (NEWMAC)
Notes
  1. Part of the State University of New York System.
  2. Part of the University System of Maryland.

Membership timeline
Medaille CollegeKeuka CollegeSage College of AlbanyRussell Sage CollegeState University of New York at MorrisvilleState University of New York at CortlandState University of New York at BrockportBuffalo State CollegeHoughton CollegeSalisbury UniversityFrostburg State UniversityStevens Institute of TechnologyWashington %26 Jefferson CollegeSpringfield College (Massachusetts)St. John Fisher CollegeUtica CollegeNazareth College (New York)Elmira CollegeHartwick CollegeRochester Institute of TechnologyIthaca CollegeUnion CollegeSt. Lawrence UniversityRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteHobart and William Smith CollegesClarkson UniversityAlfred University

Championships
Main article: List of Empire 8 Athletic Conference champions
See also: Empire 8 men's basketball tournament

References
  1. "MAC Welcomes Stevens Institute of Technology Back in 2019-20" (Press release). Middle Atlantic Conferences. August 15, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  2. "Keuka College to Join the Empire 8 Conference Beginning in the Fall of 2020" (Press release). Empire 8 Conference. January 30, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  3. De Sacio, Mike (March 8, 2019). "Sage Colleges will become one co-ed college with campuses in Troy and Albany". Albany Business Review. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  4. "Empire 8 Conference Announces Postponement of Fall Sports". July 15, 2020.
  5. "Medaille College to Join Empire 8 NCAA Division III Conference as Tenth Member in Fall 2022". Medaille College Office of Communications. August 26, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  6. "Springfield College To Join The Liberty League As Associate Member in Football". Springfield College Pride. February 5, 2010. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010.
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