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| Photo by Samuel Herr for New Paltz athletics |
The New Jersey Athletic Conference Presidents Council and Board of Athletic Administrators recently voted to accept State University of New York (SUNY) New Paltz as the conference’s newest full member effective in the 2026-27 academic year. The addition of SUNY New Paltz in 2026-27 will increase the NJAC full membership to 11 institutions and will mark the first full-member expansion in the conference in 43 years. New Paltz will also become the first full-member institution in the history of the conference to be located outside of the State of New Jersey.
“We are excited to welcome New Paltz to the NJAC family and we’re looking forward to all of the various developments that will occur with the addition of another outstanding full-member institution,” said NJAC Commissioner Terry Small. “In studying SUNY New Paltz, it was evident that it is an outstanding institution with a strong history of athletic success. I am confident that SUNY New Paltz will be a good fit for the NJAC, and the NJAC will be a good home for SUNY New Paltz.”
SUNY New Paltz currently sponsors 16 varsity sports and its geographic proximity to the current NJAC full-member institutions will result in little or no overnight travel for any conference regular season contests. Some of the positive ramifications of New Paltz joining the NJAC include the maintaining of the conference’s NCAA automatic qualification in women’s tennis, the addition of men’s lacrosse as the newest NJAC-sponsored sport, and the league’s men’s volleyball membership expanding to five programs.
Prior to the announced addition of New Paltz, the NJAC was scheduled to lose its women’s tennis AQ in 2026-27 due to the league’s women’s tennis sponsorship falling below the minimum of six institutions. The New Paltz men’s lacrosse program will bring the total number of NJAC men’s lacrosse programs to four, which automatically elevates the sport to a conference-sponsored sport. As a result, the NJAC will crown a men’s lacrosse champion each year and will add a men’s lacrosse all-conference team, player of the week selections, conference awards, and academic honors. Also, the addition of the New Paltz men’s volleyball program will bring the NJAC to five men’s volleyball teams – just one program shy of NCAA automatic qualification status.
“We are excited to enter a new era of Hawks athletics, and I am grateful to NJAC leadership for their support throughout this process,” said SUNY New Paltz president Darrell P. Wheeler. “I also want to thank the SUNY Athletic Conference, their members and their leadership for their stewardship of the DIII athletics experience in New York State and their support of our institution throughout our years as a member.”
The move adds to the list of changes coming to the list of SUNYAC member schools. Brockport and SUNY Geneseo leave for the Empire 8 this fall, while Morrisville State comes to the SUNYAC from the United East and SUNY Canton comes from the North Atlantic.
“On behalf of the presidents and chancellors of the NJAC, we are excited to welcome SUNY New Paltz as our newest conference member,” said Dr. Ali Houshmand, president of Rowan University and the chair of the NJAC Presidents Council. “The NJAC has a strong history of both academic and athletic success, and we’re looking forward to the addition of New Paltz only enhancing our conference in the future.”
The last time the NJAC expanded its full membership was the 1983-84 academic year when the conference added both Rutgers University-Camden and Rutgers University-Newark. Prior to that expansion, Ramapo College and Stockton State College (now Stockton University) were added as full members in 1975-76 and 1977-78 respectively. The conference was founded in 1957-58 with six original founding members, including Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), Montclair State College (now Montclair State University), Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University), Newark State College (now Kean University), Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey), and Paterson State College (now William Paterson University). With the same 10 full-member institutions holding membership in the NJAC since 1983-84, the conference has featured one of most consistent conference memberships at any level of collegiate athletics.
“Moving to the New Jersey Athletic Conference presents opportunities to enhance the profile and competitiveness of Hawks athletics programs at a time when our varsity teams are performing at historic levels,” said SUNY New Paltz athletic director Renee Bostic. “Coordinating this transition along a two-year timeline will also help us provide a smooth experience for our current student athletes, particularly juniors and seniors who are focused on building on last year’s record-breaking season.”
SUNY New Paltz currently is a member of the State University of New York Athletic Conference. The institution will continue competing in SUNYAC, with no changes to the existing structure, for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. Over the course of the next academic year, the NJAC membership will engage in a sport-by-sport study concerning the addition of New Paltz in 2026-27. A specific regular season and postseason competition plan for each sport will be adopted and implemented in preparation for the 2026-27 academic year.
“The NJAC is excited to welcome SUNY New Paltz to the conference,” said Amanda DeMartino, the athletic director at The College of New Jersey and the chair of the NJAC Board of Athletic Administrators. “After many intentional conversations and careful consideration, the membership feels that New Paltz is a great fit that aligns well with our NJAC institutions. We look forward to the work ahead over the next two years as we prepare to welcome the Hawks to NJAC competition.”