New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) |
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Established | 1985 |
Association | NCAA |
Division | Division III |
Members | 11 full, 1 affiliate |
Sports fielded | 19 (men's: 8; women's: 11) |
Region | New England |
Former names | New England Women's 8 New England Women's 6 |
Headquarters | Wellesley, Massachusetts |
Commissioner | Patrick B. Summers (since 2011) |
Website | newmacsports.com |
Locations | |
The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts.
The NEWMAC was established in 1998, when the former New England Women's 8 Conference (NEW 8) voted to begin sponsoring conference play and championships for men. At this time, the conference expanded its membership to include Springfield College and the United States Coast Guard Academy.
The NEW 8 began play in 1985-86 as the New England Women's 6 Conference (NEW 6). Charter members were Babson College, Brandeis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Smith College, Wellesley College and Wheaton College. Mount Holyoke College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) joined in 1988 and the name was changed to the NEW 8 Conference. At the conclusion of the 1994-95 academic year, Brandeis University withdrew from the NEW 8 to join the University Athletic Association (which its men's sports competed at that time) and Clark University accepted membership, keeping the NEW 8's membership at eight institutions.
In March of 2012, the NEWMAC announced the addition of Emerson College as the 11th full member of the league starting in the 2013-14 academic year. With the addition of Emerson the NEWMAC began re-sponsoring the sport of men's lacrosse, adding an affiliate member, Massachusetts Maritime Academy. In July of 2012, the conference welcomed Simmons College as an affiliate member to compete in the sport of rowing.