The East Coast Conference was an

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the varsity teams of colleges ...

at the Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA). It was founded as the university division of the

Middle Atlantic Conferences The Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) is an umbrella organization of three athletic conferences that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The 18 member colleges are in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The organization is divided into two main c ...

(MAC) in 1958. The MAC consisted of over 30 teams at that time, making it impossible to organize full league schedules in sports like football, basketball, and baseball. In 1958, the larger schools created their own mini-conference, consisting of 11 members (7 for football). In 1974, the larger schools in the MAC officially formed the East Coast Conference. During the 1974-75 through 1981-82 seasons, the ECC enjoyed a consistent membership of 12 teams. That stability was rocked when St. Joseph's,

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, and West Chester departed in the summer of 1982, while Towson was added, trimming the league to 10 programs. Over the next two years, La Salle and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

also said goodbye, cutting the roster to eight. In 1987, A duo of

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its origi ...

pitched a make-over for the ECC, It included adding 12 members and sponsoring Football again, The schools that were to be added included the return of

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

and Temple as well as adding

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

, Pitt, Penn State,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

, ECU,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...

. The NCAA approved it and was Scheduled to start in 1990 and struck a TV deal with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, The conference’s basketball tournament was going to move to the

Meadowlands Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on ...

, after they couldn’t get

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

to host because the were in contact with the

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

. The Conference was abandoned on March 18, 1990 after Penn State announced that it would be joining the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, after that Florida State joined the ACC, South Carolina left for the SEC and Boston College, Syracuse, Pitt, Temple, Rutgers, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Miami all formed Big East Football and NBC got the Notre Dame football rights. The winds of realignment would sweep across intercollegiate athletics in full force as the next decade dawned. Bucknell,

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

, and Lehigh left to help form the

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective g ...

in 1990, while

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

and Drexel headed to the North Atlantic Conference (now known as the

America East Conference The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research ...

) in 1991. Attempting to stem the tide, the ECC added UMBC and

Central Connecticut Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut ...

in 1990, followed by Division I newcomers Buffalo and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 1991. More erosion ensued as Rider,

Towson Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorp ...

, and UMBC moved to other leagues after the 1991–92 campaign, while Brooklyn suspended its entire athletic department. This reduced the ECC to just 3 members --

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

, Central Connecticut, and Buffalo—not enough to maintain official conference status under NCAA bylaws during the 1992–93 season. Unable to move elsewhere themselves, that trio made one last salvage effort. Spreading far and wide, Chicago State,

Northeastern Illinois Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois. NEIU serves approximately 9,000 students in the region and is a Hispanic-serving institution. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park wi ...

, and Troy State were enlisted, doubling participation to 6 teams for the 1993–94 academic year. Finally, the ECC was absorbed by the Mid-Continent Conference (now The Summit League) in the summer of 1994, although Hofstra instead decided to join the North Atlantic Conference. None of the 5 ECC institutions which entered the Mid-Con at that time remain in the league today. According to the MAC's website, the East Coast Conference was not a successor to the MAC. Instead, 11 of the 12 University Division members left to form the original ECC in 1974, but the primary organization continued as an NCAA Division III conference when the NCAA adopted a division structure. "June 4–6, 1974 - The first major schism to be focused on this study occurs when the MAC University Division, with 12 members, loses 11 members, who leave to form their own conference (East Coast Conference). American, Bucknell, Delaware, Drexel, Lafayette, La Salle, Lehigh, Rider, St. Joseph's, Temple and West Chester all leave. Gettysburg, which opts to join the College Division, is the only University Division institution to remain."

Member schools

In all tables in this section, school names and nicknames reflect those in use in the last school year each institution was an ECC member. Conference names in the "Next Conference" columns reflect those in use during the first school year of membership in the new league.

Founding members

;Notes:

Subsequent members

;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1200 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1958 till:2028 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Full from:1958 till:1962 text:

(1958–62) bar:1 shift:(30) color:OtherC1 from:1962 till:1976 text: D-I Ind. bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1995 text: Atlantic-10 bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2013 text:

bar:1 shift:(-40) color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2014 text:

bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

bar:2 color:Full from:1958 till:1964 text: Muhlenberg (1958–64) bar:2 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:1964 till:1992 text:

Middle Atlantic Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:1992 till:end text:

Centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

bar:3 color:Full from:1958 till:1974 text: Gettysburg (1958–74) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1974 till:1992 text:

bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:1992 till:end text:

bar:4 color:Full from:1958 till:1982 text: St. Joseph's (1958–82) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1982 till:end text: Atlantic-10 bar:5 color:Full from:1958 till:1982 text:

(1958–82) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1982 till:2013 text: Atlantic-10 bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:6 color:Full from:1958 till:1983 text: La Salle (1958–83) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1983 till:1992 text: Metro Atlantic bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:1992 till:1995 text:

Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:end text: Atlantic-10 bar:7 color:Full from:1958 till:1990 text: Bucknell (1958–90) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:end text:

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

bar:8 color:Full from:1958 till:1990 text:

(1958–90) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:end text:

bar:9 color:Full from:1958 till:1990 text: Lehigh (1958–90) bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:end text:

bar:10 color:Full from:1958 till:1991 text:

(1958–91) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:2001 text: AmEast bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:end text:

Colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

bar:11 color:Full from:1958 till:1991 text: Drexel (1958–91) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:2001 text: AmEast bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:12 color:Full from:1965 till:1984 text:

(1965–84) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1984 till:2001 text:

bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:13 color:Full from:1965 till:1992 text:

(1965–92; 1993–94) bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:1993 text: bar:13 color:Full from:1993 till:1994 text: bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:2001 text: AmEast bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:14 color:Full from:1966 till:1992 text: Rider (1966–92) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:1997 text: Metro Atlantic bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:end text:

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

bar:15 color:Full from:1969 till:1982 text: West Chester (1969–82) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1982 till:end text:

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

bar:16 color:Full from:1982 till:1992 text:

(1982–92) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:1995 text:

Big South The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Th ...

bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2001 text: AmEast bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:17 shift:(-50) color:Full from:1990 till:1992 text: UMBC (1990–92) bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:1998 text:

bar:17 color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:2003 text:

bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:2003 till:end text: AmEast bar:18 shift:(-130) color:Full from:1990 till:1992 text:

(1990–92; 1993–94) bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:1993 text: bar:18 color:Full from:1993 till:1994 text: bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:1997 text:

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:end text:

bar:19 shift:(-70) color:Full from:1990 till:1992 text: Buffalo (1990–92; 1993–94) bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:1993 text: bar:19 color:Full from:1993 till:1994 text: bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:1998 text:

bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:end text: Mid-American bar:20 shift:(-80) color:Full from:1991 till:1992 text:

(1991–92) bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:end text: CUNYAC bar:21 shift:(-110) color:Full from:1993 till:1994 text: Chicago State (1993–94) bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:2006 text:

bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:2006 till:2009 text: D-I Ind. bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2009 till:2013 text: Great West bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2022 text: WAC bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: D-I Ind. bar:22 shift:(-130) color:Full from:1993 till:1994 text:

(1993–94) bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:1998 text:

bar:23 shift:(-90) color:Full from:1993 till:1994 text: Troy State (1993–94) bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:1997 text:

bar:23 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:2005 text: A-Sun bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text:

Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel. Several climates can be found in the region — d ...

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1958 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"East Coast Conference membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

Champions

Men's basketball

{{main, East Coast Conference (Division I) men's basketball tournament

Regular season

* 1959 St. Joseph’s * 1960 St. Joseph’s * 1961 St. Joseph’s * 1962 St. Joseph’s * 1963 St. Joseph’s * 1964 Temple * 1965 St. Joseph’s * 1966 St. Joseph’s * 1967 Temple * 1968 La Salle * 1969 Temple * 1970 St. Joseph’s (East) / Rider (West) / Lehigh (West) / Lafayette (West) * 1971 St. Joseph’s (East) / Lafayette (West) * 1972 Temple (East) / Rider (West) * 1973 St. Joseph’s (East) / Lafayette (West) * 1974 St. Joseph’s (East) / La Salle (East) / Rider (West) * 1975 American (East) / La Salle (East) / Lafayette (West) * 1976 St. Joseph’s (East) / Lafayette (West) * 1977 Temple (East) / Hofstra (East) / Lafayette (West) * 1978 La Salle (East) / Lafayette (West) * 1979 Temple (East) / Bucknell (West) * 1980 St. Joseph’s (East) / Lafayette (West) * 1981 American (East) / Lafayette (West) / Rider (West) * 1982 Temple (East) / West Chester (West) * 1983 American (East) / La Salle (East) / Hofstra (East) / Rider (West) * 1984 Bucknell * 1985 Bucknell * 1986 Drexel * 1987 Bucknell * 1988 Lafayette * 1989 Bucknell * 1990 Towson/Hofstra/Lehigh * 1991 Towson * 1992 Hofstra * 1993 No Championship * 1994 Troy State

Conference tournament

* 1975 La Salle * 1976 Hofstra * 1977 Hofstra * 1978 La Salle * 1979 Temple * 1980 La Salle * 1981 St. Joseph’s * 1982 St. Joseph’s * 1983 La Salle * 1984 Rider * 1985 Lehigh *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

Drexel * 1987 Bucknell * 1988 Lehigh * 1989 Bucknell * 1990 Towson * 1991 Towson * 1992 Towson * 1993 DNP * 1994 Hofstra

References

* http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/BK07.pdf * http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/AMSO/ Sports in the Eastern United States Defunct NCAA Division I conferences 1958 establishments in the United States 1994 disestablishments in the United States Sports leagues established in 1958 Sports leagues disestablished in 1994 Articles which contain graphical timelines