June 13, 2006

New York, N.Y. - The New York Collegiate Athletic Conference has changed its name to East Coast Conference and has unveiled new logos and trademarks, it was announced today by Edward J. Manetta, Commissioner, and Drew Bogner, Ph.D., President of Molloy College and Chair of the President's Council. The change takes effect on July 1.

Membership in the NCAA Division II East Coast Conference (ECC) remains at 11 schools, stretching from Eastern Long Island, New York, to the Southern Central region of Connecticut, for the 2006-07 academic year. Members include: Adelphi University (Garden City, N.Y.); University of Bridgeport (Conn.); Concordia College (Bronxville, N.Y.); C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University (Brookville, N.Y.); Dowling College (Oakdale, N.Y.); Mercy College (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy College (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); University of New Haven (Conn.); New York Institute of Technology (Old Westbury, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.).

"The `East Coast Conference' name better reflects our constituency and our collective vision for the future," said Manetta. "The change also affords us the opportunity to make a bold statement about who we are and where we are going with the introduction of new logos and marketing initiatives."

"The conference has increased in stature and has spread out geographically in recent years," added Bogner, whose school was a founding member of the league in 1989. "The Presidents Council is pleased to utilize the name `East Coast Conference' and associated symbols that reflect that growth."

The new East Coast Conference logo is a simple but sleek design, with a shield encircled by a three-dimensional ring and highlighted by a star at front. The phrase "EAST COAST CONFERENCE" appears in white trimmed in maroon on a black background in the top portion of the shield. Two shades of color in the lower part of the shield (maroon) and star (gray) add to the appearance of depth.

The ECC has also created secondary logos for each of its 17 sponsored championship sports.

The name "East Coast Conference" was last utilized by a collegiate athletics conference more than 15 years ago when an NCAA Division I league by that name included schools from several Northeast states. The former ECC disbanded following the 1990-91 academic year.

Courtesy ECC