Track Program Joins New Jersey Athletic Conference
PITMAN, NJ -- The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced on November 22 that St. Joseph's College-Long Island and Farmingdale State College will become affiliate track & field members of the NJAC beginning in the upcoming 2011-12 indoor season. The addition of both programs became official after successful votes by both the NJAC Presidents Council and the league's Board of Athletic Administrators.
"We are extremely excited about the additions of both St. Joseph's-Long Island and Farmingdale State to our conference in both women's and men's indoor & outdoor track & field," said Terry Small, Commissioner of the New Jersey Athletic Conference. "Our conference has benefited greatly from the addition of affiliate members in the sport of football, and I am certain that this relationship will be beneficial both for our conference and for the student-athletes from both the St. Joseph's-Long Island and Farmingdale State programs. I personally have worked with administrators from both institutions over the years, and I look forward to each program enhancing the overall quality of our indoor and outdoor track & field championships.
The athletic programs of both St. Joseph's College-Long Island and Farmingdale State College compete as full-members of the Skyline Conference - a NCAA Division III athletic conference that does not sponsor championships in either indoor or outdoor track & field. The New Jersey Athletic Conference and the Skyline Conference have already established a strong working relationship, with NJAC full-member institutions Kean University, Montclair State, and Ramapo College participating as affiliate Skyline Conference members in the sport of women's lacrosse. NJAC full-member institutions Kean University, Montclair State University, and Richard Stockton College compete as affiliate Skyline Conference members in the sport of men's lacrosse, while NJAC full-members Kean University, New Jersey City University and Ramapo College will compete as Skyline Conference affiliate men's volleyball members for the first time during the upcoming 2011-12 season.
"We are delighted that our track & field programs have been accepted into the New Jersey Athletic Conference," said Sister Elizabeth Hill, President of St. Joseph's College. "This will provide additional opportunities for our athletes, and it will enable them to compete against some excellent programs. I am grateful to the members of the NJAC for their gracious welcome, and we look forward to many years of exciting competition."
"I am pleased that Farmingdale State will compete in the NJAC in track & field," said Dr. Hubert Keen, President of Farmingdale State College. "The conference provides a high level of competition against a group of academically impressive institutions."
The addition of St. Joseph's-Long Island and Farmingdale State as affiliate track & field members in the New Jersey Athletic Conference in 2011-12 will increase the league's track & field membership to nine institutions, including full- members Montclair State University, Ramapo College, Richard Stockton College, Rowan University, Rutgers University-Camden, Rutgers-Newark, and The College of New Jersey.
The New Jersey Athletic Conference women's and men's indoor track & field championships will be conducted at the New York Armory on Friday, February 24, 2012. The NJAC women's and men's outdoor track & field championships will be held at Richard Stockton College on Saturday, May 5, 2012.
Official Press Release from NJACsports.com
