Four of the AMCC five men's volleyball teams will compete as associate members of the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) beginning with the 2014-15 season.
Hilbert College and Medaille College, which are both currently NEAC associate members in men's and women's lacrosse, will join Penn State Altoona and former NEAC member institution D’Youville College as members for men’s volleyball, bringing the sport’s sponsorship to nine teams across the conference. They will join current full conference members Cazenovia College, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, SUNY Institute of Technology and Wells College to round out the field.
All but Penn St. Altoona are currently members of the United Volleyball Conference (UVC). Penn St. Behrend the will remain with the UVC.
“We are very excited to bring the men’s volleyball programs of these four institutions to the NEAC,” stated NEAC Commissioner Candice Murray. “The additions will help increase competition across the league while also putting the conference one step closer to gaining an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Tournament.”
The NCAA requires conferences to have a minimum of seven teams compete in a sport for two years prior to granting them an automatic qualifying bid to the national tournament, meaning the NEAC would now qualify by the 2016-17 season thanks to the addition of these four teams for next season. A 10th team will potentially be added in 2015-16, with NEAC member school Wilson College anticipating adding the sport that season.