DELHI, N.Y. (April 11, 2018) – SUNY Delhi Director of Athletics Bob Backus has announced that the Broncos have been accepted to join the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) as associate members in six sports. The institution's men's lacrosse, men's golf, men's and women's track and field and men's tennis teams will join the NCAA Division III conference for the 2018-19 season, with women's tennis set to participate starting in Fall 2019.
"We are thrilled to have SUNY Delhi join the North Atlantic Conference as an associate member," said NAC Commissioner Marcella Zalot. "Delhi is a good competitive fit for the NAC. They will assist the conference by solidifying our numbers in several sports and will enhance the quality of competition in these sports. The NAC in turn will help SUNY Delhi by providing a quality athletic conference for a number of their programs. It has truly been a pleasure getting to know their leadership and I welcome their student athletes and coaches into the conference."
The Broncos will begin competition under the NAC banner this spring, competing in the 2018 Men's and Women's Track and Field Championships, hosted by Colby-Sawyer College on April 29. The addition of SUNY Delhi to men's and women's track and field will increase the number of participating teams to eight for both genders, while the Broncos will compete as the eleventh team in the 2018 Men's Golf Championship next fall. Delhi will contend against six other teams in men's lacrosse and four other men's tennis teams next spring. In 2019-20, the Broncos will be the seventh NAC women's tennis program.
"SUNY Delhi Athletics would like to thank Commissioner Zalot and the conference membership for the official acceptance into the North Atlantic Conference," related Backus. "We are very pleased and excited to join the North Atlantic Conference as an Associate member. This affiliation will provide an excellent opportunity for several of our sponsored athletics programs to compete at the NCAA Division III level. More importantly, this will benefit our student-athletes overall and allow them the opportunity to compete on a level playing field against conference member institutions."
SUNY Delhi will retain its full-time membership with the American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) for men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's volleyball and softball. This move is the latest development in the Broncos' transition to NCAA Division III, where they've been accepted as provisional members starting next year.
The North Atlantic Conference (NAC) is an athletic conference that sponsors 17 men's and women's intercollegiate sports in NCAA Division III, consisting primarily of small liberal arts colleges throughout the Northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Members currently include Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, U-Maine Farmington, Green Mountain, Husson, Johnson State, Lyndon State, Maine Maritime, New England College and Thomas. Maine Presque Isle and fellow SUNY school SUNY Canton are set to join the conference as full-time members for 2018-19.
