Landmark Conference debuts in spring 2008

Drew will be one of seven teams playing in the Landmark Conference this spring.

There will be a new look New York and Mid-Atlantic regions this year. The formation of the Landmark Conference set the dominoes falling with 17 teams changing conference affiliations. A conference needs a minimum number of seven teams to get an automatic bid. The MAC Commonwealth is the only conference that has lost teams to fall under the limit where the Capital Athletic Conference had a net gain of one program for a seven-team conference.

After more than two years since its formation, the Landmark Conference will begin its baseball conference schedule on March 15, 2008. The eight-member Division III conference includes: Catholic University from the CAC; Drew University and the University of Scranton from the MAC Freedom; Juniata College, Moravian College, and Susquehanna University from the MAC Commonwealth, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy from the Skyline. The eighth member of the Landmark, Goucher, does not sponsor a baseball team.

The CAC sees the loss of Catholic to the Landmark but expands with the inclusion of Wesley from the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference and Villa Julie from the North Eastern Athletic Conference. The NEAC will add Penn State Harrisburg, losing Polytechnic and SUNY-Purchase to the Skyline. The Skyline will now include Yeshiva (from the CUNYAC). Three teams are leaving the Skyline. They are the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, now in the Landmark; Stevens, moving to the Empire 8; and Manhattanville, now in the MAC Freedom. The PnAC has lost both Arcadia to the Freedom and Wesley to the CAC but maintain the automatic berth during the two-year grace period.

In other regions, there have been few changes. In the New England Region, St. Joseph (Maine) moves to the Great North Athletic Conference, replacing Western New England which is now in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. Milwaukee joins the Northern Athletics Conference in the Central.