Mountain East Conference

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Mountain East Conference
AssociationNCAA
Founded2012
CommissionerReid Amos (since 2012)
Sports fielded
  • 23
    • men's: 11
    • women's: 12
DivisionDivision II
No. of teams11
HeadquartersBridgeport, West Virginia
RegionWest Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio
Official websitewww.mountaineast.org
Locations
Location of teams in {{{title}}}

The Mountain East Conference (MEC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and officially began competition on September 1, 2013. It consists of 11 schools, mostly in West Virginia with other members in Maryland and Ohio.

Formation and history[edit]

Mountain East Conference
150km
100miles
Charleston
Davis & Elkins
Frostburg State
W.V. Wesleyan
West Virginia State
Wheeling
West Liberty
Point Park
Notre Dame
Glenville State
Fairmont State
.
Concord
Map
Location of MEC members: current, future, and departing

The conference is an offshoot of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC), another Division II conference that had operated primarily in West Virginia since 1924. In June 2012, the nine football-playing schools in that conference announced plans to break away and form a new all-sports conference. The schools that made the initial announcement were the University of Charleston, Concord University, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College, Seton Hill University, Shepherd University, West Liberty University, West Virginia State University, and West Virginia Wesleyan College.[1] All of these schools were in West Virginia, except for Seton Hill, located in Pennsylvania. According to regional media, the split was "supposedly rooted in different philosophies of progressivism",[2] and also was partially driven by a desire to expand the new conference's footprint outside West Virginia.[3] The divisions in the WVIAC were also rooted in the split between public and private schools, although the departing schools included institutions of both types.[4]

At the time of the original announcement, the nine schools planned to expand to at least 12 members.[2] Before the official launch of the conference on August 20, 2012,[5] the MEC sought to add the WVIAC's other Pennsylvania member, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown; however, both Seton Hill and Pittsburgh–Johnstown chose to join the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).[3] The MEC filled out its charter membership with another West Virginia school, Wheeling Jesuit University, today known as Wheeling University; two Ohio schools, Notre Dame College and Urbana University; and the University of Virginia's College at Wise (UVA Wise), located in Southwest Virginia.[5] Wheeling Jesuit was a WVIAC member that had been left out of the original WVIAC split.[3] Urbana and UVA Wise were members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) in 2012–13, while Notre Dame was a Division II independent that had housed five of its 22 sports in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.[5] UVA Wise, which had previously been turned down for WVIAC membership,[3] was transitioning from the NAIA and did not officially become an active D-II member until 2015-16; all of the other charter members were already full D-II members.[5]

At its launch, the MEC had 11 football members, with Wheeling (then known as Wheeling Jesuit) being the only non-football school.[3] On February 15, 2013, the NCAA accepted the MEC as its 25th D2 conference.[6] The 2015–16 school year was the first in which MEC teams were eligible for automatic bids to NCAA Division II championships; before then, they were eligible only for at-large bids.[6]

In 2018, UVA Wise and the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) jointly announced on April 13 that UVA Wise would leave the MEC to join the SAC for 2019–20 and beyond.[7] Next, Shepherd and the PSAC jointly announced on June 7 that Shepherd would join the PSAC in 2019, becoming that league's first full member outside of Pennsylvania.[8] The MEC would replace both members in the ensuing months. On July 5, the Mountain East Conference announced that Frostburg State University had accepted an offer of membership beginning with the 2019–20 academic year, contingent upon Frostburg State achieving active membership status in NCAA Division II (which would occur on the announced schedule).[9] Finally, on August 30, the MEC announced two additional new members effective in 2019–20. Davis & Elkins College would become a full member, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNC Pembroke) would join in five sports. UNC Pembroke began MEC competition in men's and women's indoor track & field, women's swimming & diving, and wrestling in 2019, with football following in 2020.[10]

The most recent MEC membership changes were announced in 2020. On April 16, multi-sport associate member UNC Pembroke announced it would join Conference Carolinas (CC) effective in 2021–22. Because CC sponsors all of the non-football sports that UNCP housed in the MEC, UNCP is now an MEC member only in football.[11] Five days later, charter member Urbana announced it would close at the end of the 2019–20 school year.[12] Finally, on June 5, Alderson Broaddus University, a West Virginia school left out of the WVIAC split, announced that it would leave the G-MAC to join the MEC the following month.[13] However, their tenure in the MEC was short-lived, as on July 31, 2023, Alderson Broaddus' authorization to grant degrees was revoked, resulting in the immediate suspension of all athletics.[14]

Chronological timeline[edit]

Member schools[edit]

Current members[edit]

The Mountain East currently has 11 full members, with 5 being private and 6 being public schools.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Colors Division
University of Charleston Charleston, West Virginia 1888 Nonsectarian 2,934 Golden Eagles 2013     South
Concord University Athens, West Virginia 1872 Public 1,748[18] Mountain Lions 2013     South
Davis & Elkins College Elkins, West Virginia 1904 Presbyterian 661 Senators 2019[19]     South
Fairmont State University Fairmont, West Virginia 1865 Public 3,091 Falcons 2013     North
Frostburg State University Frostburg, Maryland 1898 Public 3,344 Bobcats 2019       North
Glenville State University Glenville, West Virginia 1872 Public 1,557 Pioneers 2013     South
Notre Dame College South Euclid, Ohio 1922 Catholic 1,522 Falcons 2013     North
West Liberty University West Liberty, West Virginia 1837 Public 2,291 Hilltoppers 2013     North
West Virginia State University Institute, West Virginia 1891 Public
(HBCU)
3,785 Yellow Jackets 2013     South
West Virginia Wesleyan College Buckhannon, West Virginia 1890 United Methodist 951 Bobcats 2013     South
Wheeling University Wheeling, West Virginia 1954 Catholic 737 Cardinals 2013     North
Notes

Future member[edit]

The Mountain East will have 1 new member, a private school.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joining Colors Current
conference
Point Park University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1960 Nonsectarian 3,376 Pioneers 2024     River States (RSC)[a]
Notes
  1. ^ Currently an NAIA athletic conference.

Associate member[edit]

The Mountain East currently has one associate member, which is a public school:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Colors MEC
sport(s)
Primary
conference
University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, North Carolina 1887 Public 5,827 Braves 2020[10]     football Carolinas (CC)

Former members[edit]

The Mountain East had four former full members, equally split between public and private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Colors Current
conference
Alderson Broaddus University Philippi, West Virginia 1871 Baptist 750 Battlers 2020 2023     Closed in 2023
Shepherd University Shepherdstown, West Virginia 1871 Public 4,400 Rams 2013 2019     Pennsylvania (PSAC)[20]
Urbana University Urbana, Ohio 1850 Nonsectarian N/A Blue Knights 2013 2020     Closed in 2020
University of Virginia's College at Wise
(UVA Wise)
Wise, Virginia 1954 Public 2,000 Cavaliers 2013 2019     South Atlantic (SAC)[21]

Former associate member[edit]

Current Mountain East football associate UNC Pembroke had housed four sports in the MEC before it joined a conference that sponsored all of those sports.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Colors MEC
sport(s)
Primary
conference
University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, North Carolina 1887 Public 5,827 Braves 2019[10] 2021[22]     men's indoor track & field;
women's indoor track & field;
women's swimming & diving
wrestling
Carolinas (CC)

Membership timeline[edit]

Point Park UniversityAlderson Broaddus UniversityUniversity of North Carolina at PembrokeFrostburg State UniversityDavis %26 Elkins CollegeWheeling UniversityWest Virginia Wesleyan CollegeWest Virginia State UniversityWest Liberty UniversityUniversity of Virginia's College at WiseUrbana UniversityShepherd UniversityNotre Dame CollegeGlenville State CollegeFairmont State UniversityConcord UniversityUniversity of Charleston

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football-only)   Associate member (sport) 

Sports[edit]

The MEC sponsored 16 sports in all, eight each for men and women, at its formation.[3] Women's lacrosse became the 17th conference sport for the 2014–15 school year (2015 season). Men's and women's swimming and diving were added as the 18th and 19th conference sports for 2017–18, with the MEC and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) forming a swimming and diving alliance that conducts a joint conference championship meet.[23] The following school year saw the MEC add acrobatics & tumbling as an official sport, two years before it was added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.[24] The MEC was the first NCAA conference to establish acrobatics & tumbling as an official sport.[25] The most recently added sports are men's and women's indoor track & field and wrestling, which debuted in 2019–20.[10]

A divisional format is used for basketball (M/W), baseball, soccer (W), softball and volleyball (W).
North
  • Fairmont State
  • Frostburg State
  • Notre Dame
  • West Liberty
  • Wheeling
South
  • Charleston
  • Concord
  • Davis & Elkins
  • Glenville State
  • West Virginia State
  • West Virginia Wesleyan
Conference sports
Sport Men's Women's
Acrobatics & tumbling Green tickY
Baseball Green tickY
Basketball Green tickY Green tickY
Cross country Green tickY Green tickY
Football Green tickY
Golf Green tickY Green tickY
Lacrosse Green tickY
Soccer Green tickY Green tickY
Softball Green tickY
Swimming & Diving Green tickY Green tickY
Tennis Green tickY Green tickY
Track & field (indoor) Green tickY Green tickY
Track & field (outdoor) Green tickY Green tickY
Volleyball Green tickY
Wrestling Green tickY


Men's sponsored sports by school[edit]

Departing member in pink.

School Baseball Basketball Cross
Country
Football Golf Soccer Swimming
& Diving
Tennis Track
& Field
Indoor
Track
& Field
Outdoor
Wrestling Total
MEC
Sports
Charleston Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 9
Concord Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Davis & Elkins Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
Fairmont State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Frostburg State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
Glenville State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 7
Notre Dame Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
West Liberty Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
West Virginia State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 5
West Virginia Wesleyan Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
Wheeling Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 9
Totals 11 11 10 10 10 8 5 7 8 9 7 95
Associate Member
UNC Pembroke Green tickY 1
Future Member
Point Park Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 7

Women's sponsored sports by school[edit]

School Acrobatics
& Tumbling
Basketball Cross
Country
Golf Lacrosse Soccer Softball Swimming
& Diving
Tennis Track
& Field
Indoor
Track
& Field
Outdoor
Volleyball Total
MEC
Sports
Charleston Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
Concord Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Davis & Elkins Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 11
Fairmont State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 9
Frostburg State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 11
Glenville State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 7
Notre Dame Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
West Liberty Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
West Virginia State [a] Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 6
West Virginia Wesleyan Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 12
Wheeling Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 9
Totals 6 11 11 9 7 10 11 5 7 8 9 10 103
Future Member
Point Park Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
  1. ^ West Virginia State has announced it will add acrobatics & tumbling, but has not announced a timetable for the start of competition.[26]

Other sponsored sports by school[edit]

School Men Women
Lacrosse Volleyball[a] Bowling[b] Field Hockey Rugby[c] Triathlon[c]
Charleston EIVA
Davis & Elkins G-MAC IND
Frostburg State ECC PSAC
Notre Dame IND IND
Wheeling G-MAC
  1. ^ De facto Division I sport. The NCAA operates a joint Division I/II championship, with D-I and D-II schools operating under the same scholarship limits.
  2. ^ De facto Division I sport. The NCAA operates a single championship event open to members of all divisions, with D-I and D-II schools operating under the same scholarship limits.
  3. ^ a b Included in the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.

In addition to the above:

  • Charleston considers its female cheerleaders (but not its male cheerleaders) to be varsity athletes.
  • Glenville State considers its female cheerleaders (but not its male cheerleaders) to be varsity athletes. It also fields men's and women's teams in the non-NCAA sport of boxing.
  • Notre Dame fields varsity teams in the non-NCAA sports of men's bowling and men's rugby.
  • Wheeling fields a varsity team in the non-NCAA sport of men's rugby.
  • Future member Point Park considers its cheerleaders, both male and female, and its all-female dance team to be varsity athletes. It also sponsors a varsity esports program, with men and women competing alongside and against one another.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "A Break Up For WVIAC". Charleston, WV: West Virginia Metro News. June 19, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Stevens, Rich (June 25, 2012). "More than meets eye in breakup of WVIAC". Charleston Daily Mail. Charleston, WV. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rine, Shawn (August 20, 2012). "Cards, Toppers Set To Jump Into New League". The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register. Wheeling, WV. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  4. ^ Stevens, Rich (June 25, 2012). "More than meets eye in breakup of WVIAC". Charleston Daily Mail. Charleston, WV. p. 2. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d "UVa–Wise Accepts Charter Membership in Mountain East Conference". Hazard, KY: WYMT-TV. August 20, 2012. Archived from the original on August 21, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "NCAA Adds Mountain East Conference As Newest Division II League" (Press release). Mountain East Conference. February 15, 2013.
  7. ^ "UVa-Wise to Join South Atlantic Conference in 2019-20" (Press release). UVA–Wise Cavaliers. April 13, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  8. ^ "Shepherd University to Join PSAC in 2019–20" (Press release). Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  9. ^ "Frostburg State Set To Join Mountain East Conference" (Press release). Bridgeport, West Virginia: Mountain East Conference. July 5, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d "Davis & Elkins To Join MEC; UNC Pembroke To Be Associate Member" (Press release). Bridgeport, West Virginia: Mountain East Conference. August 30, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  11. ^ "Conference Carolinas Announces Addition of Francis Marion and UNC Pembroke" (Press release). Conference Carolinas. April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  12. ^ Smola, Jennifer (April 21, 2020). "Ohio's Urbana University to close due to coronavirus challenges, low enrollment". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  13. ^ "Alderson Broaddus to Join MEC" (Press release). Mountain East Conference. June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  14. ^ Weaver, Alexandra (July 31, 2023). "Alderson Broaddus' authorization to award degrees revoked". WBOY-TV. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  15. ^ "MEC Announces 2023-24 Non-Conference Scheduling Agreement with Salem". mountaineast.org. 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  16. ^ "Mountain East Conference Extends Invitation to Point Park University". mountaineast.org. 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  17. ^ Morris, Conor. "Notre Dame College to close its doors at end of spring semester". Ideastream Public Media. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  18. ^ "Concord University Institutional Data".
  19. ^ "Mountain East Conference to welcome Davis & Elkins as full member, UNC Pembroke as associate member". Charleston Gazette-Mail. August 30, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  20. ^ "Shepherd likely headed to new conference". The Journal. June 1, 2018.
  21. ^ "UVa-Wise to Join South Atlantic Conference in 2019-20". University of Virginia's College at Wise Cavaliers. April 13, 2018.
  22. ^ "Conference Carolinas Announces Addition of Francis Marion and UNC Pembroke" (Press release). Conference Carolinas. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  23. ^ "Great Midwest, Mountain East Form 2018 Conference Championship Event" (Press release). Great Midwest Athletic Conference. September 14, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  24. ^ "MEC Adds Acrobatics & Tumbling to Championships Offering" (Press release). Mountain East Conference. April 9, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  25. ^ "Conference Carolinas to Sponsor Acrobatics and Tumbling in 2020-21 Athletic Year; Coker Joins as Affiliate Member in NCAA Emerging Sport" (Press release). Conference Carolinas. January 25, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020. Conference Carolinas joins the Mountain East Conference as the only NCAA conferences to presently sponsor the sport.
  26. ^ "WVSU Athletics Announces Acrobatics & Tumbling as 11th Sport Offering" (Press release). West Virginia State Yellow Jackets. January 27, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2022.

External links[edit]