This Is The MEC

This IS The mountain east conference

The Mountain East Conference was conceived in 2012 with the mission of combining institutions that shared the goal of competing at the highest level of NCAA Division II athletics. The MEC’s footprint includes nine schools in West Virginia, two in Ohio and one in Virginia. The Mountain East Conference sponsors 19 championship sports.

In just under seven years of existence, the MEC has established itself as one of the top leagues both in the region and in the country. Since its beginning, MEC members have enjoyed unprecedented levels of success compared to their previous 20 years of participation at the NCAA Division II level. The league’s successes have spread across numerous institutions, seasons and sports helping to quickly establish its well-respected reputation. Among the highlights are:

• 3 NCAA team championships with Wheeling winning the volleyball title in 2015 and the University of Charleston claiming the men’s soccer championships in 2017 and 2019. • 5 different schools have competed in 8 NCAA championship games in four different sports ... all NCAA title game appearances were the first for those institutions. • MEC institutions have made 15 appearances in the NCAA semifinals. • All 12 institutions have qualified a team for NCAA postseason play since joining the conference. • The MEC has earned over 130 berths into the NCAA postseason since its inaugural year. • The league has won 22 Atlantic Region/Super Region 1 championships. • The conference has produced 9 NCAA Elite 90 winners (presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative gradepoint average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 90 championships). • The MEC has had 5 different programs ranked No. 1 in the country, including three in men’s basketball.

The MEC has already had two schools claim national championships with Wheeling winning the title in 2015 in volleyball and the University of Charleston taking the men’s soccer title in 2017 and 2019. Among the highlights from this academic year came in cross country where the MEC sent multiple teams to the NCAA Championships (Charleston, Davis & Elkins), and also sent a women’s program to the NCAA Championships (Davis & Elkins).

In addition to the MEC success of its programs, the league is also expanding its championship offerings. The conference combined with the Great Midwest Athletic Conference for a second-straight year to conduct a swimming and diving championship, and the MECwill bethefirstconferencetohostachampionshipin thesport of acrobatics and tumbling in 2019-20. In February, the league had its first-everchampionship in wrestling and indoortrackand field.

In addition to team success,individuals have been put in a position to earn accolades as well earning numerous region Player of the Year awards and All-America honors in multiple sports. The success of MEC institutions and individuals has demonstrated the league’s motto of “providing opportunities and pursuing excellence.”

Along with the success on the field, MEC student-athletes have excelled in the classroom as well. In the fall of 2019, over 900 student-athletes were recognized by the league for maintaining over a 3.25 in the fall semester, including over 350 who posted a GPA of 3.70 or better. An MEC athlete has been awarded the Elite 90 award on nine occasions, including UC men’s soccer player Conor Branson who earned the award in successive years in 2014 and 2015.

The Mountain East Conference is located in Bridgeport, W.Va. For more information, visit www.mountaineast.org.