Approaching 90 years of existence, the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) is taking a major blow as the majority of their members are leaving the conference to join the newly formed Mountain East Conference.
Leaving the WVIAC for the MEC are:
- Concord University
- Fairmont State University
- Glenville State University
- Shepherd University
- University of Charleston
- West Liberty University
- West Virginia State University
- Wheeling Jesuit University
- West Virginia Wesleyan College
Rounding out the remaining 3 members of the 12 Team Conference are Notre Dame College, Urbana University, and the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.
“Every one of our schools has great history, great tradition and now a great future as an MEC member. It has been an exhilarating experience to be a part of the formation of a group of like-minded institutions that has laid a strong foundation for a long and successful association.”, MEC Commissioner Reid Amos commented.
The Mountain East Conference is headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. They will participate as a member of the NCAA Division II.
As a new conference, the MEC’s conference champions won’t be able to receive automatic NCAA Tournament bids during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years but the eligibility of all MEC institutions for at-large bids to NCAA championship play will be unaffected throughout the period.
“A highly-competitive conference supports the high-quality experience that we are committed to creating for every one of our student-athletes,” Amos said. “Ultimately, we expect our new affiliation will create increased opportunities for NCAA Tournament participation in every one of our 16 NCAA Championship sports.”
