# ECAC West

ECAC West was a college athletic conference which operated in the northeastern United States until 2017. It participated in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference. The conference ceased to exist after the end of the 2016–17 season when most joined the newly formed United Collegiate Hockey Conference or Northeast Women's Hockey League.

## History

ECAC West was officially formed in 1984 when ECAC 2 was split in two and both new conferences dropped down to Division III. The conference consisted entirely of schools from upstate New York until 1988 when Mercyhurst joined. In 1992 all universities that were members SUNYAC and a few other schools left when Mercyhurst took part in the effort that was made to restart the Division II Championship, leaving just seven teams in the ECAC West. After two more schools dropped their programs the conference was down to five teams in 1994 but it began to recover when Niagara joined in 1996. In 1998 the conference lost two programs when the MAAC began sponsoring a Division I ice hockey conference followed by a third just one year later. When the Division II Tournament ended in 1999 the conference returned to D-III and was left with only four schools but in 2001 it began to sponsor women's hockey as well and its ranks immediately swelled to nine universities. The conference roster continued to grow, reaching 15 in 2016–17 but after that season all but one league member left to join either the United Collegiate Hockey Conference or Northeast Women's Hockey League with the lone remaining school (Hobart) joining the New England Hockey Conference.

## Members

| | Location | Athletic nickname | Founded | Joined (M) | Left (M) | Current Conference (M)$^†$ | Joined (W) | Left (W) | Current Conference (W)$^†$ |
| Binghamton University | Binghamton, New York | Bearcats | 1946 | 1987 | 1992 | Dropped Program | – | – | – |
| State University of New York at Brockport | Brockport, New York | Golden Eagles | 1867 | 1984 | 1992 | SUNYAC | – | – | – |
| University at Buffalo | Buffalo, New York | Bulls | 1846 | 1984 | 1987 | Dropped Program | – | – | – |
| Buffalo State College | Buffalo, New York | Bengals | 1871 | – | – | – | 2001 | 2017 | NEWHL |
| Canisius College | Buffalo, New York | Golden Griffins | 1870 | 1987 | 1998 | Atlantic Hockey | – | – | – |
| Chatham University | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Cougars | 1869 | – | – | – | 2002 | 2017 | UCHC |
| State University of New York at Cortland | Cortland, New York | Red Dragons | 1868 | 1984 | 1992 | SUNYAC | 2001 | 2017 | NEWHL |
| Elmira College | Elmira, New York | Soaring Eagles | 1855 | 1984 | 2017 | UCHC | 2001 | 2017 | UCHC |
| State University of New York at Fredonia | Fredonia, New York | Blue Devils | 1826 | 1987 | 1992 | SUNYAC | – | – | – |
| State University of New York at Geneseo | Geneseo, New York | Knights | 1871 | 1984 | 1992 | SUNYAC | – | – | – |
| Hamilton College | Clinton, New York | Continentals | 1793 | 1984 | 1992 | NESCAC | – | – | – |
| Hobart College | Geneva, New York | Statesmen | 1822 | 1985 | 2017 | NEHC | – | – | – |
| Lebanon Valley College | Annville, Pennsylvania | Flying Dutchmen | 1866 | 2004 | 2017 | UCHC | – | – | – |
| Manhattanville College | Purchase, New York | Valiants | 1815 | 1999 | 2017 | UCHC | – | – | – |
| Mercyhurst University | Erie, Pennsylvania | Lakers | 1926 | 1988 | 1999 | Atlantic Hockey | – | – | – |
| Nazareth College | Pittsford, New York | Golden Flyers | 1924 | 2012 | 2017 | UCHC | – | – | – |
| Neumann University | Aston, Pennsylvania | Knights | 1965 | 2001 | 2017 | UCHC | 2001 | 2017 | UCHC |
| Niagara University | Lewiston, New York | Purple Eagles | 1856 | 1996 | 1998 | Atlantic Hockey | – | – | – |
| State University of New York at Oswego | Oswego, New York | Lakers | 1891 | 1984 | 1992 | SUNYAC | 2006 | 2017 | NEWHL |
| State University of New York at Plattsburgh | Plattsburgh, New York | Cardinals | 1889 | 1984 | 1992 | SUNYAC | 2001 | 2017 | NEWHL |
| State University of New York at Potsdam | Potsdam, New York | Bears | 1816 | 1984 | 1992 | SUNYAC | 2008 | 2017 | NEWHL |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | Henrietta, New York | Tigers | 1829 | 1984 | 2005 | Atlantic Hockey | 2007 | 2012 | CHA |
| University of Scranton | Scranton, Pennsylvania | Royals | 1888 | 1991 | 1994 | Dropped Program | – | – | – |
| St. Bonaventure University | Allegany, New York | Bonnies | 1858 | 1986 | 1993 | Dropped Program | – | – | – |
| Stevenson University | Stevenson, Maryland | Mustangs | 1947 | 2016 | 2017 | UCHC | – | – | – |
| Union College | Schenectady, New York | Dutchmen | 1795 | 1984 | 1991 | ECAC Hockey | – | – | – |
| Utica College | Utica, New York | Pioneers | 1946 | 2001 | 2017 | UCHC | 2001 | 2017 | UCHC |
| William Smith College | Geneva, New York | Herons | 1908 | – | – | – | 2014 | 2017 | UCHC |
† as of 2018
* ↑ Lebanon Valley suspended their program from 2010 to 2016.

## Membership timeline

Men Women Both