Marketing

CAPE COD, Mass. - Commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC®) Rudy Keeling announced today that the Conference has reached an agreement with a consortium of sponsors from Camden County, New Jersey to present the 105th Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships.   The IRA is the largest rowing affiliate of the ECAC.

Brown & Connery, LLP, Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, Camden County, Cherry Hill Mall, Camden County Improvement Authority, and the Delaware River Port Authority have partnered to support the collegiate national rowing championships held annually on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, NJ.

 "We are very thankful for the support from the local Camden County community," said Keeling. "Their contributions are vital to ensuring an event of this magnitude is successful."

"This is a huge first step in conquering the financial hurdles we face on an annual basis", said Gary Caldwell, ECAC Director of Rowing. "The goal here, as always, is to run an absolutely first class championship, and these sponsorship commitments put us closer to that goal."

The ECAC Corporate Partner Program is dedicated to developing relationships with commercial entities that are committed to the mission of the ECAC, support the ideals of intercollegiate athletics, value the pursuit of excellence on and off the field of play, and serve the needs of the membership. The Corporate Partner Program offers a wide range of marketing opportunities, including, but not limited to, championship naming rights, entitlement rights to student-athlete recognition programs, and official supplier designations.

About the ECAC® and IRA

The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic and the only multi-divisional conference with 320 Divisions I, II, and III colleges and universities from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors 98 championships in 37 men's and women's sports, assigns more than 5,400 officials in 15 sports, administers 10 affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues and recognizes more than 4,000 student-athletes in 21 sports through the public relations arm of the conference. The ECAC serves as the primary conference for select members in the sports of men's and women's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, men's gymnastics, wrestling, fencing and rowing.

The Intercollegiate Rowing Association runs the IRA Championship Regatta, which is considered to be the United States collegiate national championship of rowing. Since 1995, it has been held on the Cooper River in Camden, New Jersey and includes both men's and women's (lightweight) events for sweep boats of all sizes. Today, Columbia, Cornell, Pennsylvania, Navy, and Syracuse are members of the association. Each year these five schools in conjunction with the ECAC choose who to invite to the regatta and are responsible for its organization. The IRA is the oldest college rowing championship in the United States.