DANBURY, Conn. — The Southern Vermont College men's basketball season is not yet over as the Mountaineers were selected as the top seed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference's (ECAC) upcoming Division III New England Championship.
The tournament, which features a four-team field, will be played this coming weekend at Newman Gymnasium on the campus of Husson University. The Mountaineers enter the playoff with a 23-4 overall record after a recent trip to the New England Collegiate Conference Championship game.
SVC will take on fourth-seeded Anna Maria College (14-12, 12-6) on Saturday at 5 p.m. after second-seeded Husson (20-7, 14-4) starts things against third-seeded Fitchburg State University (15-12, 6-6) at 3 p.m. The winners will then meet in the championship game on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
"We are very proud of the season we had and look forward to continue playing in the postseason," commented Southern Vermont head coach Dan Engelstad. "We will continue to build our program, and it is a great opportunity for the seniors to continue their playing careers."
This is the second time in program history that the Mountaineers have been selected to the ECAC tournament after being invited after the 2003-04 season. It is also the third overall berth that Southern Vermont has drawn for any team, the latest being the men's soccer team in 2011. Johnson & Wales University topped Lasell College to capture last year's ECAC New England Championship.
The ECAC is the nation's largest and only multi-divisional conference with approximately 300 Division I, II and III colleges and universities from Maine to South Carolina and westerly to Missouri. Established in 1938 under the leadership of inaugural Commissioner Asa S. Bushnell and 58 charter members, the ECAC has since emerged as the nationwide leader in service. The ECAC headquarters relocated from Centerville, Mass. to the Matrix Corporate Center in Danbury, Connecticut in July of 2014. The ECAC administers nearly 100 championships for 32 men's and women's sports. The ECAC also serves as the primary league for Division III men's hockey (3), Division III women's hockey (2), Division II field hockey, and Division II men's lacrosse.