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Empire 8

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The Empire 8 (E8) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. The E8 sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's field hockey, men's football, men's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and women's volleyball. The E8 shares offices with the United Volleyball Conference, a separate Division III league that competes solely in men's volleyball.

Empire 8
FormerlyIndependent College Athletic Conference (1964–1991)
Empire Athletic Association (1991–1999)
AssociationNCAA
Founded1964
CommissionerChuck Mitrano (since 2001)
Sports fielded
  • 22
    • men's: 11
    • women's: 11
DivisionDivision III
No. of teams12
HeadquartersRochester, New York
RegionNew York
Official websitewww.empire8.com
Locations
Location of teams in {{{title}}}

History

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Empire 8 Conference
 
 
100km
62miles
 
St. John Fisher
 
Alfred State
 
Hilbert
 
Oswego
 
Morrisville
 
Cortland
 
SUNY Poly
 
Geneseo
 
Brockport
 
Russell Sage
 
Elmira
 
Alfred
 
Houghton
 
Hartwick
 
Utica
 
Keuka
 
Nazareth
Locations of Empire 8 members
  full member
  affiliate member
  future member
  future affiliate member

The Empire 8 can trace its beginnings back to 1964 with the founding of the Independent College Athletic Conference (ICAC). At this time, the conference was made up of Alfred University, Clarkson University, Hobart College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), St. Lawrence University, and Union College. After Union left the league, Ithaca College and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) joined the ICAC.

In 1991, the ICAC regrouped to become the Empire Athletic Association (EAA), with Clarkson leaving and Hartwick College joining to replace the spot. Hobart/William Smith, RPI, and St. Lawrence left in 1993, to be replaced by Elmira College, Nazareth College, and Utica University. Alfred re-joined and St. John Fisher College joined the league in 1998.

The EAA became the Empire 8 Athletic Conference in 1999, hosting 13 sports.

Stevens Institute of Technology joined as a field hockey member beginning in 2006 and became a full member in 2007. RIT announced on June 5, 2009 that it planned to leave the Empire 8 for the Liberty League beginning in the fall of the 2011–12 season. Houghton College also announced that they would join the Empire 8 in the 2012–13 season as they transitioned from a school of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to NCAA Division III status; they became full D-III members in 2016.

The most recent changes to the conference's membership were published in the 2018–19 school year. First, Stevens announced in August 2018 that it would leave the E8 at the end of the 2018–19 school year to rejoin the Middle Atlantic Conferences after an absence of more than 40 years. Stevens joined the MAC's Freedom Conference.[1] In January 2019, the E8 reported that Stevens would eventually be replaced by Keuka College in 2020–21,[2] and in March, The Sage Colleges merged Russell Sage College and Sage College of Albany, effectively making the former women-only Russell Sage co-educational in fall 2020.[3]

On July 15, 2020, the Empire 8 postponed all fall sports, but provided conference championships in those sports in spring 2021.[4] On August 26, 2021, the E8 admitted Medaille for 2022–23, joining from the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.[5]

In 2023, three State University of New York schools will all join the Empire 8, beginning in the 2024–25 academic year: Starting with the State University of New York at Brockport (SUNY Brockport) and the State University of New York at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo) on August 21;[6] followed by the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) on November 20.[7]

Chronological timeline

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  • 1964 – The Empire 8 was founded of the Independent College Athletic Conference (ICAC). charter members included Alfred University, Clarkson College of Technology (now Clarkson University), Hobart College (later William Smith College followed suit when women's sports was added into the conference), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), St. Lawrence University, and Union College, beginning the 1964–65 academic year.
  • 1971 – Union (N.Y.) left the ICAC after the 1970–71 academic year.
  • 1971 – Ithaca College and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) joined the ICAC in the 1971–72 academic year.
  • 1991 – Alfred and Clarkson left the ICAC after the 1990–91 academic year.
  • 1991 – The ICAC has been regrouped to become the Empire Athletic Association (EAA) in the 1991–92 academic year.
  • 1991 – Hartwick College joined the EAA in the 1991–92 academic year.
  • 1993 – Hobart/William Smith, Rensselaer Poly (RPI) and St. Lawrence left the EAA after the 1992–93 academic year.
  • 1993 – Elmira College, Nazareth College (now Nazareth University) and Utica College (now Utica University) joined the EAA in the 1993–94 academic year.
  • 1998 – St. John Fisher College joined the EAA, with Alfred re-joining alongside in the 1998–99 academic year.
  • 1999 – The EAA has been rebranded as the Empire 8 Athletic Conference (Empire 8 or E8), hosting 13 sponsored sports, in the 1999–2000 academic year.
  • 2006 – Stevens Institute of Technology (Stevens Tech or Stevens) joined the Empire 8 as an affiliate member for field hockey in the 2006 fall season (2006-07 academic year).
  • 2007 – Stevens upgraded to join the Empire 8 for full membership in the 2007-08 academic year.
  • 2011 – Rochester Tech (RIT) left the Empire 8 for the Liberty League after the 2010-11 academic year. Salisbury U. (MD) joined for football.
  • 2012 – Houghton College joined the Empire 8 in the 2012–13 academic year.
  • 2015 – Salisbury U. (MD) left to join the NJAC.
  • 2017 – Ithaca left the Empire 8 to join the Liberty League after the 2016–17 academic year.
  • 2017 – Russell Sage College (then a women's college) and Sage College of Albany joined the Empire 8 in the 2017–18 academic year.
  • 2019 – Stevens left the Empire 8 to re-join back to the Middle Atlantic Conferences (particularly the MAC's Freedom Conference) after the 2018–19 academic year.
  • 2020 – Keuka College joined the Empire 8 in the 2020–21 academic year
  • 2020 – The Sage Colleges merged Russell Sage and Sage College of Albany, making the former women-only Russell Sage co-educational, in the 2020–21 academic year.
  • 2022 – Medaille College joined the Empire 8 in the 2022–23 academic year.
  • 2023 – One year after joining, Medaille left the Empire 8 as the university announced that it would close at the end of the 2022–23 academic year.
  • 2024 – The State University of New York at Brockport (SUNY Brockport), the State University of New York at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo) and the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) will all join the Empire 8, beginning the 2024–25 academic year.
  • 2024 – Hilbert College joined the Empire 8 as an associate member for football for the 2024 season (2024-25 academic year).
  • 2025 – The Empire 8 announced that it entered into a scheduling agreement for non-conference football games with the Liberty League for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. As part of this agreement, Hilbert will leave the Empire 8 to join the Liberty League as an associate member for football after the 2024 season, giving both leagues 8 football-playing members.

Member schools

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Current members

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The Empire 8 currently has twelve full members, nine of them are private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Football?
Alfred University Alfred, New York 1836 Nonsectarian 2,189 Saxons 1964;
1998[a] 		Yes
Elmira College Elmira, New York 1855 Nonsectarian 768 Soaring Eagles 1993 No
Hartwick College Oneonta, New York 1797 Nonsectarian 1,208 Hawks 1991 Yes
Houghton University Houghton, New York 1883 Wesleyan 927 Highlanders 2012 No
Keuka College Keuka Park, New York 1890 Baptist 1,535 Wolves 2020 No
Nazareth University Pittsford, New York 1924 Nonsectarian 2,791 Golden Flyers 1993 No
Russell Sage College Albany and Troy, New York 1916 Nonsectarian 2,389 Gators 2017 No
St. John Fisher University Rochester, New York 1948 Catholic

(Basilian)

3,610 Cardinals 1998 Yes
State University of New York at Brockport Brockport, New York 1867 Public 7,924 Golden Eagles 2024[b] Yes
State University of New York at Geneseo Geneseo, New York 1871 4,910 Knights 2024 No
State University of New York Polytechnic Institute Marcy, New York 1966 2,850 Wildcats 2024 No
Utica University Utica, New York 1946 Nonsectarian 4,614 Pioneers 1993 Yes
Notes
  1. ^ Alfred left the Empire 8 (then known as the ICAC) after the 1990–91 school year; before re-joining back, effectively the 1998–99 school year.
  2. ^ Joined the Empire 8 as an affiliate member for football in 2014.

Affiliate members

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The Empire 8 currently has four affiliate members; all but one are public schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Empire 8
sport 		Primary
conference
Hilbert College Hamburg, New York 1957 Catholic
(Franciscan) 		800 Hawks 2024 football Allegheny Mountain (AMCC)
State University of New York at Cortland Cortland, New York 1868 Public 6,832 Red Dragons 2015 football SUNYAC
State University of New York at Morrisville Morrisville, New York 1908 2,486 Mustangs 2015 football SUNYAC
State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, New York 1861 7,636 Lakers 2017m.golf.;
2024m.ten. 		men's golf; men's tennis SUNYAC


Future affiliate members

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The Empire 8 will have one new affiliate member; which is a public school:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joining Empire 8
sport 		Primary
conference
Alfred State College Alfred, New York 1908 Public 3500 Pioneers 2025[8] football Allegheny Mountain (AMCC)

Former members

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The Empire 8 had ten former full members, all were private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
Clarkson University Potsdam, New York 1896 Nonsectarian 3,539 Golden Knights 1964 1991 Liberty
Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, New York 1822 (Hobart)
1908 (William Smith) 		2,118 Statesmen (Hobart)
Herons (William Smith) 		1964 1993 Liberty
Ithaca College Ithaca, New York 1892 4,600 Bombers 1971 2017 Liberty
Medaille College Buffalo, New York 1937 3,925 Mavericks 2022 2023 Closed in 2023
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
(RPI) 		Troy, New York 1824 7,521 Engineers 1964 1993 Liberty
Rochester Institute of Technology
(RIT) 		Henrietta, New York 1829 17,652 Tigers 1971 2011 Liberty
The Sage Colleges
Sage College of Albany (co-ed) 		Albany, New York 1949 1,600 Gators 2017 2020 N/A[a]
St. Lawrence University Canton, New York 1856 2,431 Saints 1964 1993 Liberty
Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey 1870 5,260 Ducks 2007[b] 2019 MAC Freedom
Union College Schenectady, New York 1795 2,194 Dutchmen (men's)
Dutchwomen (women's) 		1964 1971 Liberty
Notes
  1. ^ The Sage College of Albany was merged into Russell Sage College.
  2. ^ Stevens competed in the Empire 8 as an associate member for field hockey during the 2006 fall season (2006–07 school year).

Former affiliate members

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The Empire 8 had four former affiliate members, all but one were public schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Empire 8
sport 		Primary
conference 		Conference
competing in
former
Empire 8
sport
Buffalo State College[a] Buffalo, New York 1871 Public[b] 8,339 Bengals 2012 2019 football S.U. of New York (SUNYAC) Liberty
Frostburg State University Frostburg, Maryland 1898 Public[c] 6,133 Bobcats 2011 2016 Mountain East (MEC)[d]
Salisbury University Salisbury, Maryland 1925 8,606 Sea Gulls 2011 2016 Coast to Coast (C2C) New Jersey (NJAC)
Springfield College[9] Springfield, Massachusetts 1885 Private 5,062 Pride 2003 2012 New England (NEWMAC)
Washington & Jefferson College Washington, Pennsylvania 1781 Nonsectarian 1,168 Presidents 2002 2022[10] field hockey Presidents' (PAC) North Coast (NCAC)
Notes
  1. ^ Currently known as Buffalo State University since 2023.
  2. ^ Part of the State University of New York System.
  3. ^ Part of the University System of Maryland.
  4. ^ Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.

Membership timeline

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Alfred State CollegeHilbert CollegeState University of New York Polytechnic InstituteState University of New York at GeneseoMedaille CollegeKeuka CollegeSage College of AlbanyRussell Sage CollegeState University of New York at MorrisvilleState University of New York at CortlandState University of New York at BrockportBuffalo State UniversityHoughton CollegeSalisbury UniversityFrostburg State UniversityStevens Institute of TechnologySpringfield College (Massachusetts)Norwich UniversityWashington 26% Jefferson CollegeSt. John Fisher CollegeUtica CollegeNazareth College (New York)Elmira CollegeHartwick CollegeRochester Institute of TechnologyIthaca CollegeUnion CollegeSt. Lawrence UniversityRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteHobart and William Smith CollegesClarkson UniversityAlfred University

Championships

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Main article: List of Empire 8 Athletic Conference champions
See also: Empire 8 men's basketball tournament

Sports

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The Empire 8 sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in the following sports:

Conference sports
Sport Men's Women's
Baseball  Y
Basketball  Y  Y
Cross Country  Y  Y
Field hockey  Y
Football  Y
Golf  Y
Lacrosse  Y  Y
Soccer  Y  Y
Softball  Y
Swimming & Diving  Y  Y
Tennis  Y  Y
Track and field (indoor)  Y  Y
Track and field (outdoor)  Y  Y
Volleyball  Y  Y

Men's sponsored sports by school

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School Baseball Basketball Cross Country Football Golf Lacrosse Soccer Swimming & Diving Tennis Track & Field
(Indoor)		 Track & Field
(Outdoor)		 Volleyball Total Empire 8 Sports
Alfred  N  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N 9
Elmira  Y  Y  N  N  Y  N  Y  N  N  N  N  Y 5
Hartwick  N  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  N 8
Houghton  Y  Y  Y  N  N  N  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  N[a] 7
Keuka  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  N  N  N  N  N 6
Nazareth  N  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 10
Russell Sage  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  N  N  Y  Y  Y 9
St. John Fisher  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Utica  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N 11
Totals 6 9 8 4+3[b] 6+1[c] 7 9 4 5+1[d] 7 7 4 80
  1. ^ Houghton added men's volleyball in 2023–24, but is not participating in the Empire 8. It is playing as an independent before moving that sport to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in 2024–25.
  2. ^ Affiliate members Brockport, Cortland, Hilbert and SUNY Morrisville.
  3. ^ Affiliate member Oswego.
  4. ^ Affiliate member Oswego.

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Empire 8

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School Alpine skiing Equestrian Ice Hockey Wrestling
Alfred Independent Independent No No
Elmira No No NEHC Independent
Nazareth No Independent UCHC No
St. John Fisher No No No Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference
Utica No No UCHC Independent

Women's sponsored sports by school

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School Basketball Cross Country Field Hockey Lacrosse Soccer Softball Swimming & Diving Tennis Track & Field
(Indoor)		 Track & Field
(Outdoor)		 Volleyball Total Empire 8 Sports
Alfred  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 10
Elmira  Y  N  Y  N  Y  Y  N  N  N  N  Y 5
Hartwick  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 10
Houghton  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y 9
Keuka  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  N  N  N  Y 7
Nazareth  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Russell Sage  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y 10
St. John Fisher  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y 10
Utica  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Totals 9 8 8+1[a] 7 9 8 4 7 7 7 9 84
  1. ^ Affiliate member Washington & Jefferson.

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Empire 8

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School Alpine skiing Bowling Equestrian Golf Gymnastics Ice Hockey Rowing Rugby Water Polo Wrestling
Alfred Independent No Independent No No No No Independent No No
Elmira No No No No No NEHC No No No Independent
Hartwick No No Independent No No No No No No No
Keuka No No No Independent No No No No No No
Nazareth No No Independent Independent No UCHC Independent No No No
Russell Sage No No No Independent No No No No No No
St. John Fisher No No No Independent No No Liberty League No No No
Utica No No No Independent Independent UCHC No No CWPA Independent

References

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  1. ^ "MAC Welcomes Stevens Institute of Technology Back in 2019–20" (Press release). Middle Atlantic Conferences. August 15, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  2. ^ "Keuka College to Join the Empire 8 Conference Beginning in the Fall of 2020" (Press release). Empire 8 Conference. January 30, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  3. ^ De Sacio, Mike (March 8, 2019). "Sage Colleges will become one co-ed college with campuses in Troy and Albany". Albany Business Review. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  4. ^ "Empire 8 Conference Announces Postponement of Fall Sports". July 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "Medaille College to Join Empire 8 as Tenth Member in Fall of 2022". Empire 8. August 26, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "SUNY Brockport and SUNY Geneseo to Join Empire 8; 2024-25 Start Date Anticipated". Empire 8. 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  7. ^ "SUNY Polytechnic Institute to Join Empire 8 as 12th Full Member in Fall of 2024". Empire 8. 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  8. ^ "Alfred State College to Join Empire 8 as Football Affiliate Member in 2025". Empire 8 (Press release). October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "Springfield College To Join The Liberty League As Associate Member in Football". Springfield College Pride. February 5, 2010. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010.
  10. ^ "W&J Field Hockey joins North Coast as affiliate member, set to begin NCAC play in 2023". Washington & Jefferson College Athletics. 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
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