The five remaining Division III women’s schools that operated under the ECAC West name will be known as the Northeast Women’s Hockey League in 2017-18.
Tom Cranfield, the senior associate athletic director at Cortland and the president of the NEWHL, made the announcement on Thursday, indicating the league will begin official operations on July 1.
“This is an exciting opportunity for the growth of women’s ice hockey in our region,” Cranfield said in a statement. “We want to first thank the ECAC for its commitment to women’s hockey over the years and appreciate its efforts. The NEWHL will operate under the same bylaws, constitution and operating code that it has followed as the ECAC West. However, we are extremely excited to have Tom Di Camillo take over the administrative responsibilities for the conference.”
Di Camillo, the SUNYAC commissioner and member of the NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Championship Committee, will assume the commissioner duties of the five-team, single-sport conference.
The conference will consist of Buffalo State, Cortland, Oswego, Plattsburgh and Potsdam and will maintain the NCAA automatic qualifier for at least the next two years. The NEWHL will need to add at least two more schools to keep its auto-bid after the 2018-19 campaign.
“I am extremely excited about the opportunity to lend my experience and expertise to the NEWHL,” Di Camillo added. “Our goal is to provide the best possible experience for our student-athletes.”
Di Camillo has been the commissioner of the SUNYAC since January 2014. Previously, he served as the assistant commissioner for the Pacific West Conference, was the executive director of marketing, public relations and fundraising at Central Arizona College, and served as the director of sports information at West Chester University of Pennsylvania for 16 years. He was the president of the College Sports Information Directors of America in 2012.
Although Di Camillo serves as the SUNYAC commissioner, and the five SUNY institutions are full members of the SUNYAC, the NEWHL is a separate entity not affiliated with the conference.
The league’s website and logo will be unveiled later this summer.
