CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- America East Commissioner Patrick Nero announced today that the conference will add Providence College as an associate member in the sport of women’s volleyball. The Friars will join America East for the 2010 season.
“The addition of Providence to our women’s volleyball league is a perfect alignment of academics, athletics and leadership values between our conference and a prestigious institution which carries a lot of history,” said Nero. “Located in the heart of our footprint and regularly competing against our member institutions in multiple sports makes Providence a great fit.”
With Providence on board, the America East will have a seven-team volleyball league also comprised of University at Albany, Binghamton University, University of Hartford, UMBC, University of New Hampshire and Stony Brook University.
“We are excited to have the Providence College volleyball team join the America East Conference,” Providence College Athletics Director Bob Driscoll said. “America East has a strong reputation for its academics, athletics and leadership and we look forward to being a part of it.”
The America East Conference began sponsoring the sport of volleyball in 1991, and the 2010 season will represent the 20th season of competition. The conference schedule is a double round-robin format which guarantees each team 12 matches, two against each of the other six squads. The top four teams qualify for the single-elimination conference championship, whose winner receives in automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Into its third decade of operation, America East has evolved into one of the most comprehensive NCAA Division I conferences with a commitment to broad-based, competitive athletics programs, complementing the academic integrity and missions of the member institutions. Progressive in its approach to its more than 3,200 student-athletes, America East recognizes champions in each of its 20 sports and also conducts the nation’s most comprehensive academic recognition program for student-athletes. With a geographic footprint covering the Mid-Atlantic to Northeast regions of the United States, America East strives to develop champions in academics, athletics and leadership at its nine member institutions: University at Albany, Binghamton University, Boston University, University of Hartford, University of Maine, UMBC, University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and University of Vermont.
The Friars have competed as an independent in volleyball since the 2003 season. In 2009, the volleyball team finished with a record of 10-16 and five of its student-athletes were recognized on the All-Independent Teams.
Providence College is primarily a four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences located in Providence, R.I. with an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 3,900 men and women. Roughly 80 percent of the Providence College students participate in varsity, club or intramural sports. The school competes in eight men’s and 11 women’s varsity sports, all at the Division I level, with membership in the NCAA, the BIG EAST Conference, the HOCKEY EAST Association and the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Academically, Providence College has a graduation rate of 94-percent for its student athletes, one of the highest in the nation for Division I schools.