 | |
| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Ceased | 2024 |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division III |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Headquarters | Marshfield, Massachusetts |
| Region | Northeast |
| Locations | |
 | |
TheEastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) was afootball-onlyintercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with theNCAA'sDivision III. Founded in 2009, it combined four schools spread across the states ofMassachusetts andNew York, plusWashington, D.C.
TheEastern Collegiate Football Conference was formed in the spring of 2009 as anNCAADivision III single-sport football conference. The conference, named after the geographic location of the institutions, began competition in the fall of 2009. Founding members wereAnna Maria College,Becker College,Castleton State College (now Vermont State University–Castleton),Gallaudet University,Husson University,SUNY Maritime,Mount Ida College, andNorwich University.
Norwich was the league's first champion, posting a perfect 6–0 conference record and defeating Mt. Ida in the season-ending ECFC Championship Game.[1] In 2010, SUNY Maritime earned the ECFC's first bid to theNCAA Division III Playoffs after a perfect 10–0 regular season record.[2] SUNY Maritime would go on to lose 60–0 toAlfred University in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.[3]
In April 2015, charter member Norwich announced it would be leaving the ECFC to join theNEWMAC when that conference began sponsoring football in 2017.[4] In November 2015, Becker announced it would also be leaving the ECFC in 2017 to join what was then known as the New England Football Conference, which by the time of the college's departure would be rebranded asCommonwealth Coast Football.[5] Becker's departure would have left the ECFC without the minimum seven teams necessary to maintain the league's automatic bid to the Division III playoffs. But on January 27, 2016, the ECFC announced thatAlfred State College andDean College would be joining the conference for the 2017 season.[6]
The ECFC would later see two schools announce their departure from the conference, placing its automatic bid to the Division III playoffs in doubt once again. First, Husson announced in June 2017 that it would join Commonwealth Coast Football in 2019.[7] Then, in April 2018, the financially struggling Mount Ida announced that it would close at the end of the 2017–18 school year, with the campus to be purchased by theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst.[8] The following month, however, saw the announcement of a future member, asKeystone College, set to add football as a club sport in 2019 before upgrading to full varsity status in 2020, would join the ECFC upon reaching varsity status.[9]
The ECFC faced significant member attrition throughout the 2020s. It began on June 23, 2021, when SUNY Maritime announced its departure from the ECFC at the end of 2022 to join theNew England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference as a football affiliate for the 2023 season.[10] On April 1, 2022, Keystone announced its addition to theLandmark Conference as a football affiliate also for 2023, when Landmark starts its sponsorship of that sport.[11] The loss of members continued at a rapid pace through 2023: Alfred State announced it would be joining theEmpire 8 in 2025 as a football affiliate, while Anna Maria, Dean, and Castleton University (now known asVermont State University–Castleton) announced they would all join theMassachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, with Anna Maria to join as a full member in 2025, and Castleton & Dean to join as affiliates in 2024 and 2025, respectively.[12][13][14][15] Lastly, Gallaudet, the final remaining member, announced on July 3, 2024, that they had received an invitation to join theOld Dominion Athletic Conference as an associate member for football for the 2025 season, bringing an end to the ECFC after 15 years.[16]
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Primary conference | Current football conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred State College | Alfred, New York | 1908 | Public | 3,500 | Pioneers | 2017 | 2024 | Allegheny Mountain (AMCC) | Empire 8 |
| Anna Maria College | Paxton, Massachusetts | 1946 | Catholic (S.S.A.) | 820 | Amcats | 2009 | 2024 | Massachusetts (MASCAC) | |
| Dean College | Franklin, Massachusetts | 1865 | Nonsectarian | 1,055 | Bulldogs | 2017 | 2024 | Great Northeast (GNAC) | Massachusetts (MASCAC) |
| Gallaudet University | Washington, D.C. | 1864 | Quasigovernmental | 1,274 | Bison | 2009 | 2024 | United East (UEC) | Old Dominion (ODAC) |
Because NCAA football is a fall sport, the year of departure is the calendar year after each school's final season of competition.
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Primary conference | Current football conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Becker College | Leicester, Massachusetts | 1784 | Nonsectarian | 1,739 | Hawks | 2009 | 2017 | N/A – closed in 2021 | |
| Husson University | Bangor, Maine | 1898 | Nonsectarian | 2,600 | Eagles | 2009 | 2019 | North Atlantic (NAC) | New England (CNE) |
| Keystone College | La Plume, Pennsylvania | 1868 | Nonsectarian | 1,600 | Giants | 2020 | 2023 | United East (UEC) | Landmark |
| Mount Ida College | Newton, Massachusetts | 1899 | Nonsectarian | 1,300 | Mustangs | 2009 | 2018 | N/A – closed in 2018 | |
| Norwich University | Northfield, Vermont | 1819 | Private | 2,200+ | Cadets | 2009 | 2017 | Great Northeast (GNAC) | New England (NEWMAC) |
| State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime) | Throggs Neck, New York | 1874 | Public[a] | 1,289 | Privateers | 2009 | 2023 | Skyline | New England (NEWMAC) |
| Vermont State University–Castleton[b] | Castleton, Vermont | 1787 | Public[c] | 2,130 | Spartans | 2009 | 2024 | Little East (LEC) | New Jersey (NJAC) |
The ECFC was generally regarded as one of the weakest conferences in the country.[17] At the conclusion of the 2024 season, the conference was 1–14 in the playoffs with the only Division III playoff victory coming in 2017. The single win was by two points, and one loss was in overtime; every other loss has been by more than two touchdowns.
| Year | ECFC champion | Playoff opponent | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | SUNY Maritime | Alfred | Loss | 60–0 |
| 2011 | Norwich | Delaware Valley | Loss | 62–10 |
| 2012 | Mount Ida | Wesley | Loss | 73–14 |
| 2013 | Gallaudet | Hobart | Loss | 34–7 |
| 2014 | Husson | MIT | Loss | 27–20(OT) |
| 2015 | Norwich | Albright | Loss | 49–0 |
| 2016 | Husson | Western New England | Loss | 44–27 |
| 2017 | Husson | Springfield | Win | 23–21 |
| 2017 | Husson | Delaware Valley | Loss | 37–15 |
| 2018 | Husson | RPI | Loss | 38–14 |
| 2019 | SUNY Maritime* | Salisbury | Loss | 83–0 |
| 2020 | None | Postseason canceled due toCOVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | Anna Maria | Delaware Valley | Loss | 62–10 |
| 2022 | Gallaudet | Delaware Valley | Loss | 59–0 |
| 2023 | Alfred State | Mount Union | Loss | 56–14 |
| 2024 | Alfred State | Endicott | Loss | 44–0 |
*Received auto bid in place of Dean, which was ineligible as a provisional Division III member.
