Norwich will be leaving the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) to join the NEWMAC who announced today they will be sponsoring football beginning with the 2017 season.
Norwich will join MIT, United States Coast Guard Academy, Springfield College, WPI, United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) and Maine Maritime to form the new league's inaugural membership class.
Norwich will remain in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, before moving to a full NEWMAC league schedule in 2017. With seven members, there will be no impact on the ECFC retaining its automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The NEWMAC will not be eligible for an automatic bid until 2019, per the NCAA's by-laws for new leagues.
"I am very pleased to be joining the NEWMAC as the schools represented here adhere to our values and are fine academic institutions that believe in Division III principles of being a student athlete with student first and athlete second," said Norwich University President Dr. Richard W. Schneider. "This conference also allows us to continue long held rivalries, especially with our sister military institutions."
The formation of the NEWMAC will be a reunion for Norwich, Coast Guard, Springfield, WPI and Merchant Marine Academy, who all used to be members of the Freedom Football Conference, which was in existence from 1992-2003.
Norwich was a founding member of the ECFC, which began play in 2009. The Cadets won two league titles in 2009 and 2011 and made one NCAA Tournament appearance in 2011. NU has made the postseason six straight years with four ECAC Bowl appearances, one ECFC Championship game and the program's inaugural trip to the NCAA playoffs.
"I am mindful of our path to reach this point and forever grateful for the many opportunities, the outstanding competition and the lasting relationships made in the ECFC," said Norwich head coach Mark Murnyack. "Not often do you get the chance to return where you started; I feel as if we are doing this now with Norwich's move to the NEWMAC. (Old Freedom Football Conference) Schools in this conference are outstanding both athletically and academically, and we look forward to a new beginning that will provide even stronger opportunities for development, growth and leadership of our current team and future players while engaging our fan base as we tackle old rivalries."
