N E W S R E L E A S E Contact: Dennis Collins, Executive Director Phone: (216) 871-8100 Fax: (216) 871-4221 E-mail: ncacoffice@aol.com Edited: March 16, 1998 North Coast Athletic Conference Special CWRU To Leave North Coast Athletic Conference Following 1998-99 Season CLEVELAND -- Case Western Reserve University, a charter member of the North Coast Athletic Conference, will relinquish its NCAC affiliation following the 1998-99 academic year in order to compete on a full-time basis in the University Athletic Association. Case Western Reserve has held dual membership in the NCAC and the UAA, a group of nine private research institutions, since 1986. The UAA began with a tournament focus, but has evolved into a regular playing conference within the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. While most of the UAA members participated full time, several, like Case Western Reserve, have participated on only a part-time basis. To this day, CWRU has been a full-time member of the NCAC, foregoing many UAA opportunities to accommodate participation in all NCAC scheduling and championships. This dual commitment has become difficult, and new initiatives within NCAA Division III will make dual conference membership problematic by the 1999-2000 season. Case Western Reserve was a charter member of the NCAC when it was founded in 1983 and began competition in the 1984-85 academic year. CWRU won the North Coast's first football championship and has earned a total of nine conference titles in four sports over the past 13-plus seasons. "Case Western Reserve University has been privileged to be affiliated with the North Coast Athletic Conference since its formation," said CWRU President Agnar Pytte. "The intervening years have been marked by excellent athletic competition among true scholar-athletes. The decision to leave the NCAC was a difficult one and one over which our administration agonized for many months." Thomas Courtice, president of Ohio Wesleyan University and current president of the NCAC, noted the resignation of CWRU's membership in the NCAC. "It is with regret that we accept the resignation of Case Western Reserve University. We lose an outstanding participant in the conference and a valued institutional friend and member. Speaking for the other NCAC-member presidents, we wish them the very best of success in the future." Dennis Collins, Executive Director of the NCAC since 1984, echoed Courtice's sentiments. "CWRU was instrumental in establishing our early credibility as a conference with some very strong contributions. They have continued to help make the NCAC one of the strongest conferences in Division III," emphasized Collins. "Additionally, its coaches and student-athletes have been a pleasure to work with and have reflected positively on their institution and on the NCAC. I know our members will continue to schedule CWRU on an independent basis." - NCAC - Back to Timeline