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The presidents of members of theNew England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) voted unanimously lastweek in Boston to a series of actions designed to strengthen the conference.

"We believe NESCAC is the preeminent Division III athletic conference in thecountry," said Hamilton President Eugene M. Tobin. "No other conference ofwhich I am aware does as good a job providing athletic excellence in thecontext of rigorous academic programs. The changes we have adopted willstrengthen that position even further." The resolutions, and a new NESCACmission statement, were passed unanimously by vote of the NESCAC presidents.The resolutions are designed to minimize the effect of post-season play onmember schools and to strengthen intraleague play.

The resolutions are as follows:

* The conference will evolve into a qualified playing conference within NCAADivision III in all sports eligible for that status, except football.

* Appropriate mechanisms will be created to determine a conference champion inall sports where that is practical.

* The conference will send only the conference champion to post-seasoncompetition in one venue deemed appropriate -- normally NCAA Division III.

* As soon as mechanisms are created to determine a conference champion in eachsport, NESCAC schools will cease participation in ECAC competition, except ininstances where ECAC competition is determined to be more appropriate than NCAAnational competition.

* These changes will lessen conflicts with academic schedules; the remainingconflicts with examinations and other academic priorities will be resolved byeach institution.

To help adopt the resolutions, a conference office will be established at oneof the NESCAC member schools. A conference coordinator will be hired forrecord-keeping, research, public information, and organization of specialstudies, both academic and athletic, among other duties.

Implementation of these resolutions is expected to take as long as threeyears. Athletic directors and the new conference coordinator will developmodels and timetables for the transition within coming months.

NESCAC member schools are Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College,Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College,Trinity College, Tufts University, Wesleyan University and Williams College.

NESCAC MISSION STATEMENT

Adopted April, 1998

The New England Small College Athletic Conference, founded in 1971, consists of11 highly selective liberal arts colleges. Its members are committed first andforemost to academic excellence and believe that athletic excellence supportsour educational mission. Each institution is committed to providing acomprehensive athletic program available to the entire student body. Allparticipants in athletic activities are treated equitably. The conference isbased on mutual trust, and all members are committed to the highest ethicalstandards in our relationships with each other. It encourages its members tocompete with one another and is committed to promoting equitable competitionamong us. The conference is committed to establishing common boundaries to keepathletics strong but in proportion to the overall academic mission of themember institutions. In pursuit of this mission, the presidents of each NESCACinstitution control intercollegiate athletic policy. The day-to-day operationof the athletic program is conducted by the director of athletics. Students onall intercollegiate teams are to be representative of the overall student bodyand are admitted with the expectation of their full participation in the

life of the college. In all sports, conference members give primary emphasisto in-season competition where programs have fixed starting and ending datesand where the number of contests is limited. The conference and each memberwill manage competition and post-season play in a manner that minimizesconflicts with class schedules and examinations.

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