Cazenovia Joins North Atlantic Conference

WILDCATS NEWS

Cazenovia College Athletics joined the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) as full members in July 2020. The transition to the NAC ended a 15-year membership with the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC). Also joining the Wildcats in the conference transition at that time were former NEAC members SUNY Cobleskill and SUNY Polytechic.

The addition of three schools brings the number of full institutional members in the NAC to 12 and allows for East-West divisional competition schedules in most sports. The NAC qualifies for NCAA Tournament automatic bids in the following sports: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, and women’s volleyball. The NAC will sponsor conference swimming and diving championships beginning in 2022, in addition to conference championships in golf, tennis, and track and field.

Cazenovia College President Dr. Ron Chesbrough said the student-athlete experience was an integral factor in the decision to pursue NAC membership. “Joining the NAC provides stability to the future of our athletics program. It also affords our student athletes quality intercollegiate competition and opportunities for post-season play in all of our varsity sports, with a scheduling model that is student centered,” Chesbrough says.

The North Atlantic Conference was founded in 1997 as the North Atlantic Women’s Conference (NAWC) and then rebranded as the North Atlantic Conference in 1999. The full membership includes Cazenovia College, SUNY Canton, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Delhi, Maine University at Farmington, Husson University, Maine Maritime Academy, University of Maine at Presque-Isle, Thomas College, Northern Vermont University-Johnson and Northern Vermont University-Lyndon.

Fifth Annual CAZPY Award Show Held Virtually

Cazenovia College Athletics presented the 5th Annual CAZPY Award Show in May 2020 to honor Wildcat student-athletes, coaches, teams, and supporters. The virtual show was held in place of the traditional in-person event, conducted on the Wildcats’ official Instagram and Facebooks account pages.

Cazenovia Student-Athlete Advisory Council members John Bianchi, Amy Bubb, Kenny Beeman, and Angela Nuzzo served as virtual presenters. Special recognition awards were presented by Vice President for Student Affairs Karey Pine (Blue & Gold Awards) and Executive Vice President and Athletics Direct Report Dave Bergh (Scholar-Athlete Award). The annual CAZPY award show honors individual achievement and team success during the previous academic year. Due to the early cancellation of spring sports due to COVID, these spring sport-specific awards were added to the traditional annual lineup of honors: Spring Newcomers of the Year; Spring Performance of the Year; Spring Breakthrough Athletes; and Spring Athletes of the Year.

A link to the archived presentation via Instagram is available at: www.instagram.com/stories/ highlights/17851160126030950/ .