America East Conference
The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has ten core members including nine public research universities, three of which: University of Maine, University of New Hampshire, and University of Vermont are the flagship universities of their states. Stony Brook University is a member of the AAU. Three of the four SUNY "university Centers" are conference members: University at Albany, Binghamton University and Stony Brook University. University of Hartford is the only private university. Of the ten members, nine are located within the borders of 7 contiguous states. The tenth, UMBC, is the only institution not bordering other conference institutions. UMass Lowell and NJIT are the latest institutions to join the conference.
America East Conference sponsors 18 sports. The conference is among the best in the country according to Graduation Success Rate data released by the NCAA.
History
The America East Conference was founded as the Eastern College Athletic Conference-North, a men's basketball-only athletic conference in 1979. The conference was known as the Eastern College Athletic Conference-North from 1979 to 1988 and the North Atlantic Conference from 1988 to 1996. The charter members were the University of Rhode Island, the College of the Holy Cross, Canisius College, Niagara University, Colgate University, Northeastern University, Boston University, the University of Maine, the University of New Hampshire and the University of Vermont.The America East Conference made history during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament on March 16, 2018 when No. 16 seed UMBC defeated No. 1 seed Virginia, marking the first time in tournament history that a No. 1 seed had lost to a No. 16 seed.
Many other events have occurred since its formation:
- Rhode Island left in 1980.
- Holy Cross left in 1983.
- Siena College joined in 1984.
- The University of Hartford joined in 1985.
- Later, the conference became an all-sports conference, named as the North Atlantic Conference in the 1988–89 season, only for Canisius, Niagara and Siena to leave after the spring of 1989 to join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
- Colgate left in 1990 to join the Patriot League.
- The University of Delaware and Drexel University joined in 1991.
- Hofstra University joined in 1994.
- Towson University joined in 1995.
- On July 1, 1996, the conference's name changed to its present name, the America East Conference.
- During 2001, Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra and Towson left to join the Colonial Athletic Association while the University at Albany, Binghamton University and Stony Brook University replaced them.
- The University of Maryland, Baltimore County soon joined in 2003.
- Northeastern left in 2005 to join the CAA.
- Boston University left to join the Patriot League on July 1, 2013, while the University of Massachusetts Lowell joined from Division II.
- In 2020, New Jersey Institute of Technology joined from the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Members
Current members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Type | Carnegie Classification | Endowment | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors |
| Albany, New York | 1844 | 2001 | Public | R1 | $75.1 million | 17,746 | Great Danes | ||
| Vestal, New York | 1946 | 2001 | Public | R1 | $119.4 million | 17,768 | Bearcats | ||
| West Hartford, Connecticut | 1877 | 1985 | Private | D/PU | $178.8 million | 6,792 | Hawks | ||
| Orono, Maine | 1865 | 1979 | Public | R2 | $323.0 million | 11,404 | Black Bears | ||
| Catonsville, Maryland | 1966 | 2003 | Public | R2 | $105.2 million | 13,767 | Retrievers | ||
| Lowell, Massachusetts | 1894 | 2013 | Public | R2 | $99.9 million | 18,338 | River Hawks | ||
| Durham, New Hampshire | 1866 | 1979 | Public | R1 | $404.0 million | 15,400 | Wildcats | ||
| Newark, New Jersey | 1881 | 2020 | Public | R1 | $129.5 million | 11,518 | Highlanders | ||
| Stony Brook, New York | 1957 | 2001 | Public | R1 | $341.9 million | 26,814 | Seawolves | ||
| Burlington, Vermont | 1791 | 1979 | Public | R2 | $467.7 million | 12,164 | Catamounts |
Associate members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Joined | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | Sport | Primary Conference |
| Berkeley, California | 1868 | Public | 2015 | 36,204 | Golden Bears | Field hockey | Pac-12 | ||
| Davis, California | 1905 | Public | 2015 | 34,175 | Aggies | Field hockey | Big West | ||
| Virginia Military Institute | Lexington, Virginia | 1839 | Public | 2017 | 1,653 | Keydets | Men's and women's swimming & diving | SoCon | |
| Monmouth University | West Long Branch, New Jersey | 1933 | Private | 2019 | 6,500 | Hawks | Field hockey | MAAC |
Four schools currently hold associate membership: 2 from California, 1 from Virginia, and 1 from New Jersey.
Four schools from California moved their field hockey teams into the America East in July 2015. The California schools and America East planned to end their agreement in field hockey after the 2018 season due to coast to coast distance and travel inconvenience, but the invitation to the west coast members was extended and they have remained in the America East field hockey until further notice. University of the Pacific have dropped their program to reduce travel cost. This also coincided with the announcement that Monmouth would become the newest field hockey associate for the 2019 season and beyond. Stanford dropped their program in the summer of 2020, as part of an athletics cut that discontinued 11 sports, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virginia Military Institute joined in men's and women's swimming & diving starting with the 2017–18 school year.
Former members
Former associate members
Four schools have had single-sport membership in the past. Two of these, Fairfield and Providence, moved their America East sports into their all-sports conferences. The third, NJIT, left when it joined a conference that sponsored its America East sport, but returned as a full member in July 2020. Pacific dropped its America East sport following the 2018–19 academic year due to budget cuts. Stanford dropped field hockey in 2020 also due to budget cuts.| Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Left | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | Sport | Primary Conference | Conference in former AE sport |
| Fairfield University | Fairfield, Connecticut | 1942 | 2007 | 2015 | 3,800 | Stags | field hockey | MAAC | MAAC | |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | Newark, New Jersey | 1881 | 2013 | 2015 | 10,646 | Highlanders | Women's tennis | ASUN | America East | |
| Providence College | Providence, Rhode Island | 1917 | 2010 | 2014 | 3,850 | Friars | Women's volleyball | Big East | Big East | |
| Stockton, California | 1851 | 2015 | 2019 | 6,196 | Tigers | Field hockey | WCC | Discontinued Program | ||
| Stanford University | Stanford, California | 1891 | 2015 | 2020 | 15,877 | Cardinal | Field hockey | Pac-12 | Discontinued Program |
Membership timeline
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id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all
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bar:1 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1980 text:Rhode Island
bar:1 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1980 till:end text:A-10
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1983 text:Holy Cross
bar:2 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1983 till:1990 text:MAAC
bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:1990 till:end text:Patriot
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1989 text:Canisius
bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:end text:MAAC
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1989 text:Niagara
bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:end text:MAAC
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1990 text:Colgate
bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:end text:Patriot
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2005 text:Northeastern
bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text:CAA
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2013 text:Boston University
bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Patriot
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1979 till:end text:Maine
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1979 till:end text:New Hampshire
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1979 till:end text:Vermont
bar:11 color:FullxF from:1984 till:1989 text:Siena
bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:end text:MAAC
bar:12 color:FullxF from:1985 till:end text:Hartford
bar:13 color:FullxF from:1986 till:1990 text:CCSU
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:1994 text:East Coast
bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1994 till:1997 text:Mid-Con
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:end text:Northeast
bar:14 color:FullxF from:1991 till:2001 text:Delaware
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:CAA
bar:15 color:FullxF from:1991 till:2001 text:Drexel
bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:CAA
bar:16 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2001 text:Hofstra
bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:CAA
bar:17 color:FullxF from:1995 till:2001 text:Towson
bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:CAA
bar:18 color:FullxF from:2001 till:end text:Albany
bar:19 color:FullxF from:2001 till:end text:Binghamton
bar:20 color:FullxF from:2001 till:end text:Stony Brook
bar:21 color:FullxF from:2003 till:end text:UMBC
bar:22 shift: color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:UMass Lowell
bar:23 shift: color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text:NJIT
bar:N color:blue from:1979 till:1988 text:ECAC North
bar:N color:powderblue from:1988 till:1996 text:North Atlantic
bar:N color:blue from:1996 till:end text:America East
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Facilities
Sports sponsored
The America East Conference sponsors championship competition in eight men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The most recent changes to the roster of America East sports were announced in 2016, with the dropping of women's tennis after the 2015–16 season due to a lack of sponsoring teams and the revival of men's swimming and diving effective in the 2017–18 school year.| Sport | Men's | Women's |
| Baseball | ||
| Basketball | ||
| Cross Country | ||
| Field Hockey | ||
| Lacrosse | ||
| Soccer | ||
| Softball | ||
| Swimming & Diving | ||
| Track and Field | ||
| Track and Field | ||
| Volleyball |
Men's sports
| School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross Country | Lacrosse | Soccer | Swimming & Diving | Track & Field | Track & Field | Total Sports |
| Albany | 7 | ||||||||
| Binghamton | 8 | ||||||||
| Hartford | 7 | ||||||||
| Maine | 6 | ||||||||
| New Hampshire | 5 | ||||||||
| NJIT | 8 | ||||||||
| Stony Brook | 7 | ||||||||
| UMass Lowell | 7 | ||||||||
| UMBC | 8 | ||||||||
| Vermont | 6 | ||||||||
| Totals | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 4+1 | 10 | 10 | 69+1 |
;Notes
| School | Fencing | Football | Golf | Ice Hockey | Skiing | Tennis | Volleyball | Wrestling |
| Albany | No | CAA | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Binghamton | No | No | Big Sky | No | No | Mid-American | No | EIWA |
| Hartford | No | No | Big Sky | No | No | No | No | No |
| Maine | No | CAA | No | Hockey East | No | No | No | No |
| New Hampshire | No | CAA | No | Hockey East | EISA | No | No | No |
| NJIT | No | No | No | No | TBA | EIVA | No | |
| Stony Brook | No | CAA | No | ESCHL | No | No | No | No |
| UMass Lowell | No | No | Independent | Hockey East | No | No | No | No |
| Vermont | No | No | No | Hockey East | EISA | No | No | No |
Women's sports
| School | Basketball | Cross Country | Field Hockey | Lacrosse | Soccer | Softball | Swimming & Diving | Track & Field | Track & Field | Volleyball | Total Sports |
| Albany | 9 | ||||||||||
| Binghamton | 9 | ||||||||||
| Hartford | 8 | ||||||||||
| Maine | 8 | ||||||||||
| New Hampshire | 9 | ||||||||||
| NJIT | 6 | ||||||||||
| Stony Brook | 9 | ||||||||||
| UMass Lowell | 8 | ||||||||||
| UMBC | 9 | ||||||||||
| Vermont | 8 | ||||||||||
| Totals | 10 | 10 | 5+3 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 6+1 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 83+6 |
;Notes
| School | Fencing | Golf | Gymnastics | Ice Hockey | Skiing | Tennis |
| Albany | No | MAAC | No | No | No | No |
| Binghamton | No | No | No | No | No | Independent |
| Hartford | No | MAAC | No | No | No | No |
| Maine | No | No | No | Hockey East | No | No |
| New Hampshire | No | No | EAGL | Hockey East | EISA | No |
| NJIT | No | No | No | No | TBA | |
| Stony Brook | No | No | No | No | No | Missouri Valley |
| Vermont | No | No | No | Hockey East | EISA | No |
NCAA team championships
No America East school has won a national title in a sport sponsored by the conference; however, member institutions have been national champions in non-America East sports.Men's basketball
All-time school record by winning percentage
This list goes through the 2018–19 season.| No. | Team | Records | Win Pct. | America East Tournament Championships | America East Regular Season Championships | Final Fours | National Championships |
| 1 | Albany | 1,296-968 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | Stony Brook | 864-724 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Vermont | 1,268-1126 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | UMass Lowell | 646-608 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Hartford | 857-987 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Maine | 973–1215 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | New Hampshire | 926-1355 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | UMBC | 581-860 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | Binghamton | 679-1022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| * | Denotes a tie for regular season conference title |
| † | Denotes game went into overtime |
List of regular season champions
List of tournament champions
No. 16 UMBC upset of No. 1 Virginia
During the 2018 NCAA Tournament, UMBC became the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's tournament, beating the Virginia Cavaliers 74–54.Women's basketball
All-time school record by winning percentage
| No. | Team | Records | Win Pct. | America East Tournament Championships | America East Regular Season Championships | Final Fours | National Championships |
| 1 | Maine | 705–522 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | Albany | 624–578 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 583–545 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Vermont | 521–493 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Stony Brook | 594–602 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Binghamton | 504–512 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | Hartford | 550–596 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | UMass Lowell | 537–600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | UMBC | 520–711 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| * | Denotes a tie for regular season conference title |
| † | Denotes game went into overtime |