Merchant Mariners to join Skyline Conference

Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy announced Friday that 12 of its athletic teams will join the Skyline Conference starting in the 2016-17 year.

“We are excited,” said Skyline Conference Commissioner Linda Bruno. “We’re looking forward to getting through the next year in terms of getting everything in order and having them compete with us.”

The Skyline Conference Presidents’ Council approved the selection of the maritime academy into the conference for baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis and women’s volleyball, according to a statement from the academy.

“The Skyline Conference is very pleased to welcome the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy as a new member,” said Purchase College President Thomas Schwarz, chair of the Skyline Presidents’ Council, in a statement. “Their presence will strengthen the conference both academically and athletically, and we are looking forward to a long and mutually enriching relationship.”

The academy, located in the Village of Kings Point, was part of the Skyline Conference from the 1989-90 year until the 2006-07 year, according to a statement from the academy. They have been affiliates of the Landmark Conference since 2007-08.

Joe Guster, director of athletic communications for the academy, said student athletes had to travel farther to compete with other Landmark schools, making them miss more class time. He said because many of the other Skyline schools are closer, the athletes will have to travel less.

The Skyline Conference currently includes Farmingdale State College, SUNY Maritime, Mount Saint Mary College, the College of Mount Saint Vincent, SUNY College at Old Westbury, Purchase College (SUNY), The Sage Colleges, Sarah Lawrence College, St. Joseph’s College-Long Island, and Yeshiva University. St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn will join the Skyline beginning in 2015-16, the academy said in the statement.

The Landmark Conference includes schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Washington D.C.

“Midshipman-athletes will miss less classes and gain more study time,” Guster said. “It will also be easier to make-up games that might be postponed throughout the seasons.”

Football will remain an affiliate of the Liberty League until 2017-18 when it will become a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference affiliate, Guster said. He said the move to NEWMAC is unrelated to the Skyline move.

Guster said wrestling will remain a Centennial Conference affiliate, and that both men’s and women’s track and field will become independent. He said the academy is exploring other conference options for track and field.

At least one student-athlete from the Skyline Conference has earned Academic All-America distinction in the past six semesters, the academy said in a statement.

“Because our teams already compete against numerous Skyline Conference schools due to our location, we are very familiar with the superior level of competition,” said USMMA Interim Athletic Director Captain Bill Fell in a statment. “I look forward to working with my fellow administrators and coaches to promote and execute quality athletic events and opportunities, which in turn enhances the student-athlete experience.”

Since moving to the Landmark Conference, academy athletes have won 11 championships, the academy said in a statement, including championships in men’s swimming and diving, men’s lacrosse, men’s basketball and men’s soccer.

“As a founding member of the Landmark Conference, the student-athletes of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy raised the competitive bar for our member institutions,” said L. Jay Lemons, Susquehanna University president and chair of the Landmark executive board, in a statement. “Although we are saddened by their decision to return to the Skyline Conference, we respect their decision to do what is in the Academy’s best interest. We wish them well and hope there will be continued opportunities to compete with them in the future.”

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