FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Contact: Gordon Morton Director of Communications 508-771-5060 x230
ECAC ANNOUNCES FOOTBALL TEAMS OF THE YEAR
CAPE COD, Mass. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) announced today that Penn State University, James Madison University, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, and Cortland State have been named the 2008 ECAC Football Teams of the Year presented by FieldTurf Tarkett. Penn State University is the ECAC Team of the Year in the Football Bowl Subdivision (Division IA). The Nittany Lions posted an 11-2 overall record this season, and represented the Big Ten Conference in the Rose Bowl. This year marks the 12th time in school history that Penn State has been named ECAC Team of the Year. The Nittany Lions first won the award in 1985, and won it five straight years from 1994-98. They were last named ECAC Team of the Year in 2005. Penn State has been named ECAC Team of the Year more than any other FBS school. Currently, the Nittany Lions rank sixth nationally in each FBS poll. The ECAC Team of the Year in the Football Championship Subdivision (Division I-AA) is James Madison University. James Madison was also named the ECAC Team of the Year in 2004. The Dukes finished the season 12-2 after falling to Montana in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. James Madison finished No. 3 in the country after holding the No. 1 spot in the FCS Coaches’ Poll for nine straight weeks. The Dukes were undefeated during the regular season against FCS opponents and were ranked No. 1 in the Lambert Meadowlands Poll for all eight weeks during the regular season. For the fourth time in the last five seasons, West Chester University of Pennsylvania will receive the ECAC Division II Team of the Year Award. Head coach Bill Zwaan guided his team to a final record of 9-4 this season and a perfect 7-0 mark in the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Golden Rams beat Southern Connecticut State 52-32 in the first round of the NCAA playoffs before falling to conference rival Bloomsburg in the next round. Cortland State, a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, garners the honor of ECAC Division III Football Team of the Year for the first time in school history. The Red Dragons posted an 11-2 mark after falling to eventual champion Mount Union in the NCAA Division III East Region Final. In the final polls, Cortland State ranks sixth in the D3football.com poll and eighth in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll. The teams will receive their awards on February 24, 2009, at the annual Eastern College Football Awards Banquet presented by FieldTurf Tarkett, an event held in the Pegasus Restaurant at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J.
About the ECAC The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is the nation’s largest athletic conference and only multi-divisional conference, with 321 member institutions and over 122,000 student-athletes ranging across 16 states from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938 with 58 charter members, the ECAC has since emerged as the nationwide leader in service.
All-Time ECAC Football Teams of the Year Division I-A 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Pittsburgh West Virginia Rutgers Colgate Navy Temple Navy Yale Boston College Boston College Boston College Penn State Penn State Syracuse West Virginia Penn State Penn State East Carolina Syracuse West Virginia Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Maryland Penn State Maryland Boston College Penn State Rutgers West Virginia Penn State Division I-AA Division II Delaware New Hampshire Delaware Lehigh Delaware Delaware Clarion Shippensburg East Stroudsburg Towson Delaware Bloomsburg Towson Indiana (Pa.) Millersville Indiana (Pa.) Indiana (Pa.) Indiana (Pa.) New Haven Indiana (Pa.) Indiana (Pa.) New Haven Bloomsburg New Haven Indiana (Pa.) Indiana (Pa.) Bloomsburg Indiana (Pa.) Indiana (Pa.) Indiana (Pa.) West Chester C.W. Post West Chester West Chester West Chester Division III Ithaca Ithaca St. Lawrence Widener Ithaca Ithaca Ithaca Widener St. Lawrence Union Ithaca Ithaca Salisbury Wagner Ithaca Union Hofstra Ithaca Rowan Rowan Wash. & Jeff. Rowan Rowan Rowan Rowan Rowan Widener Rowan Brockport Rensselaer Rowan Rowan St. John Fisher Wesley Cortland State
Massachusetts Lehigh Boston University Lehigh Delaware Delaware Holy Cross Rhode Island Rhode Island Holy Cross Pennsylvania Holy Cross Pennsylvania Holy Cross William & Mary Holy Cross Delaware Boston University New Hampshire Delaware William & Mary Villanova Massachusetts Hofstra Delaware Lehigh Villanova Delaware James Madison New Hampshire Massachusetts Delaware James Madison