Empire 8

Empire 8
Formerly	Independent College Athletic Conference (1964–1991); Empire Athletic Association (1991–1999)
Association	NCAA
Founded	1964
Commissioner	Chuck Mitrano (since 2001)
Sports fielded	22 men's: 11; women's: 11; ;
Division	Division III
No. of teams	9 (12 in 2024)
Headquarters	Rochester, New York
Region	New York
Official website	www.empire8.com
Locations

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

Empire 8 Conference

🌍

Locations of Empire 8 members, 2021–2022

full member

affiliate member

future member (joining in 2022)

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, Medaille posted its admission to the E8 in 2022–23 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 University 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.

Member schools

Current members

The Empire 8 currently has nine full members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Football?
Alfred University	Alfred, New York	1836	Nonsectarian	2,189	Saxons	1964, 1998^{[lower-alpha 1]}	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 College	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	Nonsectarian	3,610	Cardinals	1998	Yes
Utica University	Utica, New York	1946	Nonsectarian	4,614	Pioneers	1993	Yes

Notes

↑ 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.

Future members

Three institutions will join the Empire 8 for the 2024-25 season. Brockport has been a football only member since 2014.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joining	Football?	Current Conference
State University of New York at Brockport	Brockport	1867	Public	7,924	Golden Eagles	2024	Yes	SUNYAC
State University of New York at Geneseo	Geneseo	1871		4,910	Knights		No	SUNYAC
State University of New York Polytechnic Institute	Marcy	1966		2,850	Wildcats		No	North Atlantic (NAC)

Affiliate members

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

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Empire 8 sport	Primary conference
State University of New York at Brockport	Brockport, New York	1867	Public^{[lower-alpha 1]}	7,592	Golden Eagles	2014	football	SUNYAC
State University of New York at Cortland	Cortland, New York	1868		6,832	Red Dragons	2015		SUNYAC
State University of New York at Morrisville	Morrisville, New York	1908		2,486	Mustangs	2015		NAC
State University of New York at Oswego	Oswego, New York	1861		7,636	Lakers	2017	men's golf	SUNYAC

Notes

↑ Part of the State University of New York System.

Future affiliate members

The Empire 8 will have two new affiliate members; which both will be private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joining	Empire 8 sport	Primary conference
Hilbert College	Hamburg, New York	1957	Catholic (Franciscan)	800	Hawks	2024	football	Allegheny Mountain (AMCC)
Alfred State College	Alfred, New York	1908	Public	3500	Pioneers	2025^[8]	football	Allegheny Mountain (AMCC)

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 (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 University	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^{[lower-alpha 1]}
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^{[lower-alpha 2]}	2019	MAC Freedom
Union College	Schenectady, New York	1795		2,194	Dutchmen (men's) Dutchwomen (women's)	1964	1971	Liberty

Notes

↑ The Sage College of Albany was merged into Russell Sage College.
↑ 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

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^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Buffalo, New York	1871	Public^{[lower-alpha 2]}	8,339	Bengals	2012	2019	football	S.U. of New York (SUNYAC)	Liberty
Frostburg State University	Frostburg, Maryland	1898	Public^{[lower-alpha 3]}	6,133	Bobcats	2011	2016		Mountain East (MEC)^{[lower-alpha 4]}
Salisbury University	Salisbury, Maryland	1925	Public^{[lower-alpha 3]}	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

↑ Currently known as Buffalo State University since 2023.
↑ Part of the State University of New York System.
↑ Part of the University System of Maryland.
↑ Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.

Membership timeline

Championships

Sports

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

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^{[lower-alpha 1]}	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^{[lower-alpha 2]}	6+1^{[lower-alpha 3]}	7	9	4	5	7	7	4	80

↑ 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.
↑ Affiliate members Brockport, Cortland, and SUNY Morrisville.
↑ Affiliate member Oswego.

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	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

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^{[lower-alpha 1]}	7	9	8	4	7	7	7	9	84

↑ Affiliate member Washington & Jefferson.

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	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

↑ "MAC Welcomes Stevens Institute of Technology Back in 2019–20" (Press release). Middle Atlantic Conferences. August 15, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
↑ "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.
↑ 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.
↑ "Empire 8 Conference Announces Postponement of Fall Sports". July 15, 2020.
↑ "Medaille College to Join Empire 8 NCAA Division III Conference as Tenth Member in Fall 2022". Medaille College Office of Communications. August 26, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
↑ "SUNY Brockport and SUNY Geneseo to Join Empire 8; 2024-25 Start Date Anticipated". empire8.com. 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
↑ "SUNY Polytechnic Institute to Join Empire 8 as 12th Full Member in Fall of 2024". empire8.com. 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
↑ https://empire8.com/news/2023/10/10/alfred-state-college-to-join-empire-8-as-football-affiliate-member-in-2025.aspx
↑ "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.
↑ "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.

External links

Official website

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[8] 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.

[9] Part of the State University of New York System.

[11] The Sage College of Albany was merged into Russell Sage College.

[12] Stevens competed in the Empire 8 as an associate member for field hockey during the 2006 fall season (2006–07 school year).

[13] Currently known as Buffalo State University since 2023.

[14] Part of the State University of New York System.

[15] Part of the University System of Maryland.

[D2-16] Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.

[19] 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.

[20] Affiliate members Brockport, Cortland, and SUNY Morrisville.

[21] Affiliate member Oswego.

[22] Affiliate member Washington & Jefferson.

[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 NCAA Division III Conference as Tenth Member in Fall 2022". Medaille College Office of Communications. August 26, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.

[6] "SUNY Brockport and SUNY Geneseo to Join Empire 8; 2024-25 Start Date Anticipated". empire8.com. 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2023-08-23.

[7] "SUNY Polytechnic Institute to Join Empire 8 as 12th Full Member in Fall of 2024". empire8.com. 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-22.

[10] ttps://empire8.com/news/2023/10/10/alfred-state-college-to-join-empire-8-as-football-affiliate-member-in-2025.aspx

[17] "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.

[18] "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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Empire 8
Current full members	Alfred Saxons Elmira Soaring Eagles (non-football member) Hartwick Hawks Houghton Highlanders (non-football member) Keuka Wolves (non-football member) Nazareth Golden Flyers (non-football member) Russell Sage Gators (non-football member) St. John Fisher Cardinals Utica Pioneers
Current football-only affiliate members	Brockport Golden Eagles football Cortland Red Dragons football SUNY Morrisville Mustangs
Current field hockey-only affiliate member	Washington & Jefferson Presidents
Former full members	Clarkson Golden Knights Hobart Statesmen Ithaca Bombers Medaille Mavericks (non-football member) RPI Engineers RIT Tigers Sage Gators St. Lawrence Saints Stevens Ducks Union Dutchmen and Dutchwomen William Smith Herons
Former affiliate members	Buffalo State Bengals (football) Frostburg State Bobcats (football) Salisbury Sea Gulls (football) Springfield Pride (football)
Related conference	United Volleyball Conference