SUNY Cobleskill, Penn State Behrend join SUNYAC for men’s and women’s indoor/outdoor track & field in 2024-25 with Cobleskill added for XC in 2025
SYRACUSE, NY – The State University of New York Athletic Conference will welcome SUNY Cobleskill and Penn State Behrend in the sports of men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field beginning next year, while SUNY Cobleskill will join the conference in men's and women's cross country in the fall of 2025.
The announcement was made on Tuesday, May 21, by Commissioner Tom DiCamillo following a recommendation by the SUNYAC Board of Directors (Athletic Directors) and approval by the SUNYAC Presidents Council.
The addition of Cobleskill and Penn State Behrend increases the number of programs competing at the SUNYAC Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships to 13 women's teams and 12 men's squads. When Cobleskill joins the conference for cross country in 2025, 12 men's and women's programs will race for individual awards as well as team titles.
"We are extremely excited to welcome SUNY Cobleskill and Penn State Behrend as associate members of the SUNYAC," Alberto Cardelle, the president of SUNY Oneonta and chair of the SUNYAC Presidents Council, said. "This growth - and the commitment to strengthening our cross country and track & field championships - speaks highly of our continued effort to provide all of our student-athletes an outstanding intercollegiate athletics experience."
This marks the fifth round of SUNYAC expansion in the last year and increases the conference associate membership to 12 institutions sponsoring 31 teams in nine different sports beginning in 2025-26. The SUNYAC has 10 full members.
"The commitment from the SUNYAC has been unwavering in providing exciting and highly competitive competition for our student-athletes," Commissioner Tom DiCamillo said. "Welcoming SUNY Cobleskill and Penn State Behrend strengthens the conference and creates an unmatchable championship environment for everyone."
Buffalo State, Cortland, Fredonia, Oneonta, Oswego, Plattsburgh and Potsdam are the seven full-member institutions that sponsor both men's and women's track & field programs, while Morrisville sponsors indoor and outdoor track & field for women.
All 10 full member institutions in the SUNYAC field men's and women's cross country teams, while SUNY Delhi was accepted to begin competition in cross country in the fall of 2025.
Cobleskill and Penn State Behrend will join associate members Alfred State, Hilbert and SUNY Delhi at the SUNYAC Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships during the 2025 spring semester.
"We are thrilled that our men's and women's track & field and cross country teams have been accepted into the SUNYAC," Marie Curran-Headley, director of athletics at SUNY Cobleskill, said. "The dedication and talent of the SUNYAC institutions in cross country and track & field promise an exciting future of competition and growth for our programs. I want to express my gratitude to the SUNYAC athletic directors and presidents for giving us this opportunity."
Mitch Tomaszkiewicz, Cobleskill's head cross country coach, echoed his athletic director's comments.
"The SUNYAC has a great tradition when it comes to track & field and cross country, and this is a move for us as an athletic program that makes perfect sense on a number of different levels at this time."
Penn State Behrend becomes the first institution outside the state of New York to become an associate member of the SUNYAC. The Lions bring a strong and storied program into the conference.
"The SUNYAC is one of the top track & field conferences in the country," Brian Streeter, the director of athletics, stated. "The opportunity for our athletes and coaches to participate against some of the best in the country can only help the performances by our student-athletes."
Head coach Greg Cooper agreed, and he is excited about the opportunity for his student-athletes.
"I am thrilled that our program is joining the SUNYAC," he said. "The competition for our athletes will be terrific."
In May of 2023, the SUNYAC had just one associate member competing in two sports while sponsoring 20 conference championships. A year later the conference has expanded five times and now offers 22 championships, maintains 10 full members, and boasts the dozen associate members fielding the 31 different teams in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, men's and women's ice hockey, and men's wrestling.
"The growth in the SUNYAC has been unprecedented and illustrates the strength of the league and its position as one of the premier NCAA Division III conferences," DiCamillo said. "There is no doubt we are stronger than ever."
The expansion of the SUNYAC began on May 12, 2023, when the conference absorbed the Northeast Women's Hockey League that had operated as a separate entity and was overseen by DiCamillo.
Buffalo State, Cortland, Oswego, Plattsburgh and Potsdam brought their women's programs into the SUNYAC, while Canton and Morrisville became associate members in the sport. The SUNYAC also admitted Canton as an associate member in men's ice hockey.
Almost five months later on Oct. 5, the SUNYAC invited Canton and Morrisville to become full members, added Alfred State in men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, and returned men's wrestling to the fold as a conference sport after roughly a three-decade absence.
SUNYAC men's wrestling featured full member institutions Brockport, Cortland, Oneonta and Oswego, and added Ithaca, RIT, St. John Fisher and Utica to round out the eight-team league. Brockport will become an associate member in the sport this coming year.
On April 10, the SUNYAC strengthened its ice hockey conference by adding Hobart – the two-time NCAA Division III National Champion – and Skidmore on the men's side, and William Smith as the eighth team for the women. The programs will begin competition in 2025-26.
Two days later on April 12, the SUNYAC admitted SUNY Delhi and Hilbert as associate members in indoor and outdoor track & field beginning this year, while Delhi's cross country programs will begin competition in the fall of 2025.
On Tuesday, the SUNYAC announced a partnership with the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference to bring an exciting joint league championship to Buffalo in February.
The SUNYAC-AMCC Championship will be held at the Burt Flickinger Center on the downtown campus of SUNY Erie (formerly Erie Community College) Feb. 19-22 and will feature 10 institutions sponsoring 20 men's and women's programs all competing for a conference title, individual medals, and an opportunity to secure NCAA Division III National Championship Qualifying Times.
The 10 participating programs are all public institutions. The SUNYAC will be represented by six universities (Cortland, Fredonia, New Paltz, Oneonta, Oswego and Potsdam), while Alfred State, Penn State Altoona, Penn State Behrend and Pitt-Bradford will represent the AMCC.
