ECAC Receives Division III Strategic Alliance Matching Grant

Cape Cod, Mass. - Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Commissioner Rudy Keeling is pleased to announce that the conference is one of six recipients of a Division III Strategic Alliance Matching Grant from the NCAA. The grant will be used to create a new position, Director of Division III Governance and Officiating. Other recipients of grants this year include: Bay Path College, Chatham University, Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Peace College and Rosemont College.

The Strategic Alliance Matching Grant provides funding for Division III institutions and conference offices seeking to create full-time professional administrative opportunities for minorities and women, and to enhance diversity and inclusion within their athletics administrative staffs.

"We are thrilled to be able to add this valuable position to our staff, and are grateful to the NCAA for their commitment to this program. More than half of our membership is in Division III and officiating is the backbone of the ECAC, and we will be able to better serve both of these constituencies with this grant," said Commissioner Keeling.

The ECAC's membership includes 319 colleges from Maine to North Carolina, including 189 members in Division III. The conference has 12 officiating bureaus and oversees approximately 4,400 officials and 46,000 officiating assignments per year.

Each Division III institution and conference office that was selected to receive a matching grant will be funded for three years, with diminishing contributions by the NCAA. The NCAA will fund 75 percent of the position during the first year, 50 percent the second year, and 25 percent during the third year.  Second-and third-year funding of the grant is contingent upon the submittal of a year-end status report from the grant recipient and his/her institution or conference office supervisor, verifying the position and how the funds were used. All applying institutions and conference offices must show a commitment to continuing the position beyond the three-year NCAA grant at the time of the submitted application, regardless if the position is funded by the NCAA. A site visit will be scheduled and conducted during the course of the grant. Each awarded institution or conference office will be required to sign an agreement with the NCAA that outlines the terms of the grant.

About the ECAC®
The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic and the only multi-divisional conference in the country with 319 Division I, II, and III colleges and universities. The ECAC membership covers 16 states and stretches from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors more than 100 championships in 37 men's and women's sports and assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports. The ECAC also administers nine affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues. Through the public relations arm of the conference, more than 2,500 student-athletes in 23 sports are recognized. Finally, the ECAC serves as the primary conference for select members in the sports of men's ice hockey, women's ice hockey, and men's lacrosse.