Sports

St. Joseph’s Brooklyn to Join NCAA’s Skyline Conference in 2015-2016

September 10, 2014
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From St. Joseph’s College, Clinton Hill

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Sept. 9, 2014 – Effective with the 2015-2016 academic year, the varsity athletic teams of the Brooklyn Campus of St. Joseph’s College will join the Skyline Conference as announced by St. Joseph’s College President Dr. Jack Calareso, Ph.D., and Skyline Conference Commissioner Linda Bruno earlier today.

“St. Joseph’s is proud to have both of its campuses as members of the Skyline Conference,” stated Calareso. “This opportunity will provide our student-athletes on our Brooklyn Campus with the opportunity to compete against the best competition in NCAA Division III and showcase their talents, dedication, and character to a wider audience.”

“We’re honored that Brooklyn will join their Long Island counterpart as members of the Skyline Conference,” said Bruno. “St. Joseph’s has been a tremendous asset to the conference and I’m confident that the addition of the Brooklyn Campus will further our tradition of academic and athletic excellence.”

The Long Island campus has been a member of the Skyline Conference since 1999 and has won the Presidents Cup — a measure of all-sports excellence in conference competition — four times in the seven years it has been awarded. The Brooklyn campus achieved full NCAA Division III membership in September 2011 but has remained an independent member affiliated with the Association of Division III Independents. With this shift, the athletic program will conclude its long-standing membership in the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after the 2014-2015 season.

Formed in 1989, the Skyline Conference is comprised of 10 members located around the New York metropolitan region. It conducts championships in 17 sports, including all 13 intercollegiate varsity sports that St. Joseph’s offers — men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s swimming, baseball and softball — with the conference champions receiving an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Championships.

“Joining an NCAA-affiliated conference was always in our roadmap of attaining NCAA membership,” remarked Frank P. Carbone, athletic director, St. Joseph’s College, Brooklyn Campus. “With the recent success and growth of our teams and programs over the past few years, I cannot wait for the enhanced competition and the new rivalries that are sure to develop with our joining the Skyline Conference.”