Empire 8 Explained

Empire 8
Color:	0141af;
Font Color:	white
Founded:	1964
Association:	NCAA
Division:	Division III
Teams:	12
Sports:	22
Mens:	11
Womens:	11
Region:	New York
Formerly:	Independent College Athletic Conference (1964–1991) Empire Athletic Association (1991–1999)
Headquarters:	Rochester, New York
Commissioner:	Chuck Mitrano
Since:	2001
Map:	E8-USA-states.png
Map Size:	250

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.

History

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

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

Current members

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	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
	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	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:

Affiliate members

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	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	2017; 2024	men's golf; men's tennis	SUNYAC

Future affiliate members

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

Former members

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 1908		2,118		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
*Sage College of Albany* (co-ed)	Albany, New York	1949		1,600	Gators	2017	2020	N/A
	Canton, New York	1856		2,431	Saints	1964	1993	Liberty
Stevens Institute of Technology	Hoboken, New Jersey	1870		5,260	Ducks	2007	2019	MAC Freedom
Union College	Schenectady, New York	1795		2,194		1964	1971	Liberty

Notes:

Former affiliate members

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	Buffalo, New York	1871	Public	8,339	Bengals	2012	2019	football	S.U. of New York (SUNYAC)	Liberty
Frostburg State University	Frostburg, Maryland	1898	Public	6,133	Bobcats	2011	2016		Mountain East (MEC)
Salisbury University	Salisbury, Maryland	1925	Public	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:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:1964 till:2030

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:FullxF from:1964 till:1991 text:Alfred (1964–1991) bar:1 color:FullxF from:1998 till:1999 text:(1998–present) bar:1 color:Full from:1999 till:end text:

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1964 till:1991 text:Clarkson (1964–1991)

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1964 till:1993 text:Hobart/William Smith (1964–1993)

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1964 till:1993 text:RPI (1964–1993)

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1964 till:1993 text:St. Lawrence (1964–1993)

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1964 till:1971 text:Union (NY) (1964–1971)

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1971 till:1999 text:Ithaca (1971–2017) bar:7 color:Full from:1999 till:2017 text:

bar:8 color:FullxF from:1971 till:2011 text:RIT (1971–2011)

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1991 till:1999 text:Hartwick (1991–present) bar:9 color:Full from:1999 till:end text:

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1993 till:end text:Elmira (1993–present)

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1993 till:end text:Nazareth (N.Y.) (1993–present)

bar:12 color:FullxF from:1993 till:1999 text:Utica (1993–present) bar:12 color:Full from:1999 till:end text:

bar:13 color:FullxF from:1998 till:1999 text:St. John Fisher (1998–present) bar:13 color:Full from:1999 till:end text:

bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2002 till:end text:Washington & Jefferson (field hockey, 2002–present)

bar:15 color:AssocF from:2004 till:2008 text:Norwich (football, 2004–2008)

bar:16 color:AssocF from:2004 till:2010 text:Springfield (Mass.) (football, 2004–2010)

bar:17 color:FullxF from:2007 till:2019 text:Stevens (2007–2019)

bar:18 color:AssocF from:2011 till:2016 text:Frostburg State (football, 2011–2016)

bar:19 color:AssocF from:2011 till:2016 text:Salisbury (football, 2011–2016)

bar:20 color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text:Houghton (2012–present)

bar:21 color:AssocF from:2012 till:2019 text:Buffalo State (football, 2012–2019)

bar:22 color:AssocF from:2014 till:2024 text:SUNY Brockport (football, 2014–2024; full, 2024–present) bar:22 color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:

bar:23 color:AssocF from:2015 till:end text:SUNY Cortland (football, 2015–present)

bar:24 color:AssocF from:2015 till:end text:SUNY Morrisville (football, 2015–present)

bar:25 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text:Russell Sage (2017–present)

bar:26 color:FullxF from:2017 till:2020 text:Sage (2017–2020)

bar:27 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text:Keuka (2020–present)

bar:28 color:FullxF from:2022 till:2023 text:Medaille (2022–2023)

bar:29 color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:SUNY Geneseo (2024–present)

bar:30 color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:SUNY Poly (2024–present)

bar:31 color:AssocF from:2024 till:end text:Hilbert (football, 2024–present)

bar:32 color:AssocF from:2025 till:end text:Alfred State (football, 2025–future)

bar:N color:powderblue from:1964 till:1991 text:ICAC bar:N color:blue from:1991 till:1998 text:EAA bar:N color:powderblue from:1998 till:end text:Empire 8

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1965

Championships

See main article: List of Empire 8 Athletic Conference champions.

Sports

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


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

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Football	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Total Empire 8 Sports
Alfred													9
Elmira													5
Hartwick													8
Houghton													7
Keuka													6
Nazareth													10
Russell Sage													9
St. John Fisher													11
Utica													11
Totals	6	9	8	4+3	6+1	7	9	4	5+1	7	7	4	80

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Empire 8

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

Women's sponsored sports by school

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

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Empire 8

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		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		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		No	No	No
Utica	No	No	No	Independent	Independent		No	No		Independent

Notes and References

MAC Welcomes Stevens Institute of Technology Back in 2019–20 . Middle Atlantic Conferences . August 15, 2018 . October 1, 2018.
Keuka College to Join the Empire 8 Conference Beginning in the Fall of 2020 . Empire 8 Conference . January 30, 2019 . March 26, 2019.
News: De Sacio . Mike . Sage Colleges will become one co-ed college with campuses in Troy and Albany . March 22, 2021 . Albany Business Review . March 8, 2019.
Web site: Empire 8 Conference Announces Postponement of Fall Sports. July 15, 2020.
News: Medaille College to Join Empire 8 as Tenth Member in Fall of 2022 . October 9, 2021 . Empire 8 . August 26, 2021.
Web site: 2022-02-14 . SUNY Brockport and SUNY Geneseo to Join Empire 8; 2024-25 Start Date Anticipated . 2023-08-23 . Empire 8 . en.
Web site: 2023-11-21 . SUNY Polytechnic Institute to Join Empire 8 as 12th Full Member in Fall of 2024. 2023-11-22 . Empire 8 . en.
Alfred State College to Join Empire 8 as Football Affiliate Member in 2025. Empire 8. October 10, 2023. October 10, 2023.
News: Springfield College To Join The Liberty League As Associate Member in Football . https://web.archive.org/web/20100210092513/http://www.spfldcol.edu/homepage/athletics.nsf/Headline/F6154E7D46617C5F852576C1004F27F1 . February 10, 2010 . Springfield College Pride . February 5, 2010.
Web site: 2022-11-15 . W&J Field Hockey joins North Coast as affiliate member, set to begin NCAC play in 2023 . 2023-10-12 . Washington & Jefferson College Athletics . en.