Binghamton University has been accepted into America East by a unanimous vote among the league’s presidents Wednesday. It will be effective July 31.

The inclusion of Binghamton brings the total of league teams to nine.

Binghamton will join fellow New York schools Albany and Stony Brook as new members. The established members are Northeastern, Boston University, Maine, Hartford, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra, and Towson University were given permission to leave in order to join the Colonial Athletic Association.

However, those four schools were granted affiliate membership in America East in men’s and women’s soccer and field hockey next fall for scheduling purposes. Drexel and Towson will also be affiliate members in volleyball.

Binghamton will be making its debut as a Division I school.

“To begin our first year at Division I as a member of America East rather than as an independent is truly exciting,” said Binghamton University President Lois B. DeFleur. “Not many schools have such an opportunity right out of the gate and we see it as a crowning moment for our program. This provides outstanding opportunities for the university, its athletes, and our community.”

America East Commissioner Chris Monasch said America East is “very excited” about the inclusion of Binghamton.

“The institution is a natural fit for the conference with an academic and athletics mission similar to our current members. Combined with the recent additions of Albany and Stony Brook, the conference is now positioned to move forward as a significant mid-major conference in this part of the country,” said Monasch.

America East sponsors 21 championships and Binghamton will compete in 15 next year. The Bearcats’ men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball teams will join in the fall of 2002.

The men’s basketball program won’t be able to compete for a league championship until the 2003-2004 season because there is an NCAA-mandated two-year wait for a new Division I program.

The Bearcats will play a full league schedule but won’t be able to participate in the America East or NCAA Tournament until 2003-2004.

University of Maine athletic director Sue Tyler and baseball coach Paul Kostacopoulos welcomed the addition of Binghamton.

“I think it’s a good move,” said Tyler. “They fit with the philosophy of our conference, they are growing, and they will give us a nice balance with the addition of Albany and Stony Brook.”

She said Binghamton is a “very strong academic school” and they are building up their athletic budget.

“They’re real excited about being part of the conference and that’s neat,” added Tyler.

Kostacopoulos said it is “very important” to replace teams that leave a conference so you can fill your home dates.

“That’s especially important in baseball because we’re depleted by two since Boston University and New Hampshire don’t have it,” said Kostacopoulos.

Conferences need to have at least six teams to earn an automatic qualifer to the NCAA Tournament in their particular sport.

Binghamton will be their seventh team.

“This gets us off that shaky line. You get a little nervous with only six teams in case something weird happens,” said Kostacopoulos.

He also said he understands Binghamton is “going at Division I great guns” and expects the three new schools to be extremely competitive within a couple of years.

Nichols to attend leadership camp

University of Maine junior linebacker Malik Nichols has been chosen as one of 300 student-athletes to participate in the fifth NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference May 28-June 1 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports and Coronado Springs resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

They were selected from 1,084 nominees from NCAA member institutions that participate in the CHAMPS/Life Skills program.

Nichols was moved from wide receiver to linebacker due to injuries among his teammates and finished with 39 tackles in 11 games to rank 10th on the team. He has also received a bronze medallion as part of Maine’s scholar-athlete program (3.0 GPA or higher) and is a senator in the student government and president of the Black Student Union.

McGeoghan and women’s basketball player Kizzy Lopez represented the institution at last year’s leadership conference.

The NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference’s goal is to provide the nation’s top student-athletes with a forum to participate in challenging and thought-provoking activities that will enable them to become better leaders on their campuses and within their communities.

The conference is designed to improve their communication skills, decision-making, problem-solving, critical-thinking and collaborative skills.

It also promotes better communication among student-athletes, administrators, faculty and communities.

Maine spring football starts today

The UMaine football team will begin spring practice today at 6:50 p.m. at Alfond Stadium.

The Bears will also practice on Friday at 3:50 p.m. before its first workout in full pads on Saturday at 9 a.m.

They will have 14 practice sessions leading up to their spring game on Saturday, May 12, at 7 p.m. on Morse Field at Alfond Stadium.

They will have 9 a.m. scrimmages on April 28 and May 5.

Maine is coming off a 5-6 campaign.