BOSTON, MA - Wheelock College was recently accepted as the newest member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), becoming one of nearly 200 Division III institutions to fall under the umbrella of the only multi-divisional conference in the country.

"By joining the ECAC, our department has furthered its mission of providing additional recognition and competition opportunities to our student-athletes," said Wheelock Director of Athletics Diana Cutaia. "We look forward to being part of the ECAC family and bringing another level of visibility to our programs."

The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic conference, with approximately 300 NCAA Division I, II, and III colleges and universities. The ECAC stretches from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors nearly 100 championships in 37 men's and women's sports and assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports. The ECAC also administers nine affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues.

Since fielding five women's teams during the 2006-07 school year, the Wheelock Department of Athletics has grown to include 11 Division III programs for 2010-11, with five offerings for men and six for women; the ECAC provides postseason championships for 10 of those sports. As members of the ECAC, Wildcat student-athletes are also eligible to earn weekly and postseason honors, and accolades lauding such feats as success in the classroom and strength of character, as well as to bring their school attention with institutional laurels.

A charter member of the nine-school New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) in 2008-09, Wheelock becomes the eighth NECC institution to join the ECAC.