NEW YORK – The Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is proud to announce that Five Towns College has been accepted for membership effective this upcoming 2019-20 season.
Five Towns College was voted in as the league's 10th member by an overwhelming margin by the conference's athletic directors this past spring. Nicknamed the Sound, Five Towns College is a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) member that currently sponsors five sports — men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball — that will all compete in league play and be eligible for HVIAC Championships this upcoming fall season.
"We are pleased to welcome Five Towns College and their student-athletes, coaches, and staff into the HVIAC," exclaimed HVIAC President and Berkeley College Athletic Director Andy DeStephano. "Their academic profile and commitment to athletics make them ideal members."
"Joining the Hudson Valley is an unprecedented opportunity for Five Towns College and represents an ideal fit for us – academically, athletically, and geographically," commented Five Towns President David M. Cohen, J.D. "This will create new opportunities not only for student-athletes, but our entire student body, while increasing the value of a Five Towns degree. We look forward to competing against other conference schools in a manner that builds leaders, encourages sportsmanship, and enhances the collegiate experience for all student-athletes."
Located on Long Island in Dix Hills, New York and founded in 1972, Five Towns College is a private college with an undergraduate enrollment of nearly 700 dedicated to providing a top education to musicians, artists, movie producers, performers and a larger community of diverse creatives. They offer undergraduate degree programs in business management, film/video, interactive computer graphics, jazz/commercial music, mass communications, music education, theatre arts, and a myriad of concentrations.
"Five Towns College is honored to be accepted to join the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference," remarked Athletic Director Matt Guercio. "I'd like to thank Andy DeStephano, [HVIAC Director of Sports Information and Championships] Anthony Macapugay and all of the athletic directors that are affiliated with our member institutions. Participating in this conference will allow us to strengthen the core of the FTC experience and will provide our student-athletes with additional competitive opportunities."
The Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is comprised of four-year colleges in New York state, particularly the New York metropolitan area, who do not offer financial aid based on athletic ability. The HVIAC sponsors championships in nine sports and receives automatic bids to USCAA Division II National Championships in men's and women's basketball and men's and women's soccer. Five Towns College will replace long-standing member The College of New Rochelle as the conference's 10th member with New Rochelle announcing their closure this summer. 2019-20 members are Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Albany N.Y.), Berkeley College (New York, N.Y.), Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, N.Y.), Davis College (Pottersville, N.Y.), The King's College (New York, N.Y.), Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, N.Y.), SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry (Syracuse, N.Y.), Vaughn College of Aeronautics (Flushing, N.Y.) and Webb Institute (Glen Cove, N.Y.).