The Empire 8 Athletic Conference joins You Can Play in supporting all athletes, coaches and fans – including LGBT athletes. The member schools in upstate New York include Alfred University, Elmira College, Hartwick College, Houghton College, Ithaca College, Nazareth College, St. John Fisher College, Stevens Institute of Technology and Utica College.
The Empire 8 has been serving its membership in various forms over the past 40 years. In 1991, the ICAC reorganized and the Empire Athletic Association (EAA) emerged as a quality conference composed of institutions with top academic and athletic reputations. In the Fall of 1999, the EAA officially became the Empire 8 which evolved into a comprehensive conference for 13 sports for men and women. The members of the Empire 8 are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and aspire to be regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference.
During the conference’s most recent annual Student-Athlete Summit, representatives from all of the Empire 8 colleges discussed the You Can Play Project in depth before scripting their statements of acceptance for the entire Empire 8 conference. “This was a great opportunity for the student-athletes of the Empire 8 to show their support for the You Can Play Project and use their leadership skills to influence positive social change on their campuses,” said Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “Our student-athletes showed great character and interest throughout the process to bring this video to fruition. We are proud as a conference to support this initiative.”
You Can Play is proud to be able to count the schools of the Empire 8 as part of the team.