Our next entry takes us to New York (mostly) for a visit with a Division III conference, the Empire 8.
Members: Alfred Saxons, Hartwick Hawks, Ithaca Bombers, St. John Fisher Cardinals, and Utica Pioneers. The Springfield Pride are football-only members, an affiliation which will end following the 2011 season. That same year, Frostburg State and Salisbury will join as football affiliates from the Atlantic Central. The Elmira Soaring Eagles, Nazareth Golden Flyers, Rochester Tech Tigers, and Stevens Tech Ducks are non-football members. Norwich was a member from 2004-2008, before joining the ECFL.
The Empire 8 began sponsoring football in 2001, but has a much longer history. The conference was formed in 1964 as the Independent College Athletic Conference, with Alfred, Hamilton, Hobart, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, and Union as charter members (along with non-football-playing Clarkson). Hamilton left after one season, and Union left in 1968, replaced by Rochester Tech in 1971 and Ithaca in 1975. Rochester joined in 1989, but the football section of the league collapsed after that season. The teams played as independents after this time; Hobart, Rensselaer, Rochester, and Saint Lawrence eventually formed the Liberty League along with former ICAC member Union. (The league continued sponsoring basketball without interruption, becoming the Empire Athletic Association in 1991, and then the Empire 8 in 1999.) Alfred, Ithaca, and Rochester Tech remained independent until the Empire 8 began (or, more technically, resumed) sponsoring football.
Football:
The football title has mostly been held by Ithaca (five outright, one shared) and St. John Fisher (four shared). Ithaca’s shared title was with the Cardinals, who have also split the honors with Springfield, Hartwick, and Alfred once each. That sums up the entire list of Empire 8 champions, actually. Including the ICAC era, Ithaca has snagged 14 outright ICAC titles and shared three others. Alfred has won nine and shared two. St. Lawrence won three and shared one, while Rensselaer shared two titles with Ithaca and Union won a single outright crown.
ICAC members went 18-11 in 13 D-III playoff appearances, two titles (Ithaca in 1979 and 1988), and four championship game losses (1974, 1975, 1980, and 1985, all Ithaca). In the modern era, Empire 8 members have gone 10-10 in 10 trips.
TIDBITS:
Alfred was quite successful in the ICAC, with nine outright conference titles and one shared. They took a share of their first Empire 8 title last season, earning their second D-III playoff bid. The first was in 1981, and both times the Saxons lost in the first round. Dave Murray is in his 13th season at the helm, with an 81-47 record including 5-0 thus far this year. Previously, Murray spent seven years at Cortland State and a single season at Lebanon Valley, and now has 125 career victories.
Hartwick had a football feam from 1928-1950, before (like so many other schools) having to abandon the sport in the post-war years. They reinstated the program in 1992 as an independent under Steve Stetson, who recorded a 58-38-1 record in 10 years before taking an assistant position at New Hampshire. (He’s now the head coach at Hamilton.) He was replaced by Mark Carr as the team entered the Empire 8. Carr is 41-44 in his ninth year, and led the Hawks to their only NCAA playoff bid, a first-round loss in 2007.
Ithaca was, prior to the rise of Mount Union, the most successful football program in Division III. Jim Butterfield walked the sidelines for 27 years, from 1967-1993. He had a 206-71-1 record and three NCAA Division III titles, and the stadium in Ithaca is named for him. He was replaced by Mike Welch, who’s gone 128-46 and taken the Bombers to six playoff appearances in 17 years. Not in any way shameful, but still nowhere near the success of his revered predecessor.
St. John Fisher played club football for 16 years before promoting the sport to varsity status in 1987. In 1991, Paul Vosburgh took over as coach; the team went 0-9, and struggled for a few more years before breaking out in the last decade. The Cardinals split the conference title in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2009, and reached the D-III playoffs in 2004, 2006, and 2007. They’re 6-3 in those appearances, and poised for a fourth as they’re currently 7-0 on the season.
Springfield has been an associate member for football only since the 2004 season, and the 2011 season will be their last as they move on to the Liberty League. They shared the 2006 title and represented the conference in the D-III playoffs, winning in the first round but losing to St. John Fisher the next week. Historically, the Pride have made five appearances, going 3-5. Springfield’s first coach way back in 1890 was the legendary Amos Alonzo Stagg, in his first stop before assuming the duties at Chicago. The Pride were members of the Freedom Football League from 1995-2003, winning that conference four times.
Utica began play in 2001 as an independent, and have struggled, posting a 30-67 record in that span. However, they’re currently 5-2 this season, so things are improving.
Basketball:
Historically, St. Lawrence was the king of the ICAC, winning 16 titles and sharing another. They made six appearances in the D-III tournament as ICAC members, going 4-8. Rensselaer went 1-4 in four trips. The conference’s official record in NCAA tournament play, including the ICAC and EAA years, is 21-48 over 41 appearances. Current members of the conference have a combined record of 29-51 in 44 appearances regardless of their conference affiliation at the time. The furthest any league team has advanced in the tournament while a member of the league is the regional finals, achieved by St. John Fisher in 2005.
TIDBITS:
Alfred has not had a phenomenal amount of success in its history. They did accumulate a 177-135 record between 1978-1990 under Ron Frederes (and one year under Roman Catalino while Frederes was on sabbatical), but other than that no Alfred coach has mustered a winning record. The Saxons have made four NCAA tournament appearances (1985-86, 1989, and 1997) with a record of 1-5. Alfred was an original member of the ICAC, but left after the 1986 season only to rejoin in 1998. They won the 1986 ICAC title, then won again in 1989.
Elmira joined the league in 1993, and lost a first-round NCAA game in 1995, their only appearance. The team has not had a 10-win season since 2003, and their last winning season was 2001.
Hartwick joined the conference in 1991. The Hawks have made four D-III tournament appearances (1983, 1985, 1988, 1996), going 5-5. They reached the semifinals in 1988. They also appeared in 8 ECAC Upstate tournaments, winning in 2009 and finishing second four times. All of this success (except the 2009 ECAC win) was under the tutelage of Nick Lambros, who led the program from 1978-1998. His record over 21 years was 353-191. Prior to dropping to D-III, the Hawks appeared in 11 Small College/D-II tournaments, including 8 straight years from 1973-1980, going 11-13. They reached the Elite Eight in 1971.
Ithaca joined the conference in 1971 for basketball. They won five ICAC titles, two EAA titles, and one E8 title (2002). In 1964 and 1972, the Bombers appeared in the Small College Division tournament (now the D-II tournament), going 1-3. They’ve since made 7 D-III tournament appearances, recording a 2-10 mark, as well as 13 ECAC Upstate appearances, winning in 2000, 2006, and 2010. (There are four ECAC tournaments each year which are, for D-III schools in the east, the equivalent of the NIT.) From 1979-1997, Tom Baker coached the Bombers, recording a 307-191 mark over 19 seasons. He was replaced by Jim Mullins, 200-145 in his 13 seasons.
Nazareth, the defending conference champs, also won in 1998 and 2008. They came aboard in 1993, alongside Elmira and Utica. Mike Daley led the program for 23 years before retiring following the 2009 season, having won 318 games and taken his team to four NCAA tournaments. They also went in 1984 (with a team featuring future NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy) and 1986 under Bill Nelson before Daley’s tenure, as well as a first-round exit last year under new coach Kevin Broderick. Their overall tournament record is 5-7, once reaching the Elite Eight. They’ve reached eight ECAC Upstate tournaments, winning in 1997.
Rochester Tech has been part of the conference since 1971. They’ve captured six conference titles, three in the EAA (1995-97) and three in the E8 (1999-2000, 2009). Each of those years, as well as 1976, ended in D-III tournament appearances, with a record of 3-7. The Tigers have also made 12 ECAC Upstate appearances, winning in 1993 and 2003. The architect of all of his has been Bob McVean, who’s led the program since 1984, amassing 415 wins along the way.
St. John Fisher came to the league in 1998. They made an NAIA appearance in 1979, losing in the first round, before joining D-III. Prior to joining the EAA, the Cardinals made five D-III tourney appearances, going 2-6. Since joining the league, they have captured six conference titles (2001 and 2003-2007), and made eight tourney trips (those six years, plus 1999 and 2010) with a record of 7-9. The Cardinals have made 6 ECAC Upstate appearances, as well; they have been in the post-season every year since 1992. The program has had only three head coaches in its history, dating back to 1963: Bobby Wanzer from 1963-1987 (306-243), Bob Ward from 1987-2000 (260-108), and Rob Kornaker since 2000 (191-64). The program has the phenomenal overall record of 757-415, a .646 winning percentage.
Stevens Tech has only been a member for three seasons. Prior to joining the Empire 8, the Ducks were members of the Independent Athletic Conference (a different league than the ICAC) from 1975-1996 and the Skyline Conference from 2001-2007. They won the IAC title in 1976, appeared in the ECAC Metro tournament in 1996 and from 2008-2010, and have a sole NCAA appearance in 2007, going 2-1. Their current coach is former Duke standout Bobby Hurley, who’s entering his third season with a career record of 31-22.
Utica joined in 1993, and have yet to win a conference title. They did earn a single NCAA bid, in 2006, and went 2-1. The Pioneers have also earned 9 ECAC Upstate bids.
Brief notes on the women:
Through 2007, St. John Fisher (twice) and Ithaca (four times) traded the title back and forth. Since then, Utica has won two titles sandwiched around Stevens Tech’s lone championship. St. John Fisher has made a total of 14 NCAA tournament appearances, all but three of which predate their membership in the conference. They’re 18-15 all-time, with two second-place finishes in 1988 and 1990. Hartwick and Ithaca have made 7 trips each, Nazareth 6, Elmira and Utica two each, and Stevens Tech 1.