Courtesy ECAC

CAPE COD, Mass. – Commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Rudy Keeling and President of the ECAC Board of Directors Dan Mara announced the appointment of Andrea Savage of the NESCAC to the ECAC Board of Directors on Tuesday. Savage will serve a four-year term, expiring in the fall of 2013 at the annual ECAC Convention and Trade Show.

Savage assumed the duties of Executive Director of the NESCAC in August of 1999. The appointment was of major significance for the league, as she became the first full-time executive for the group of 11 institutions since the conference’s founding in 1971.

As Executive Director she serves as the chief operating officer of the 11 member conference and works with the presidents, deans, athletics administrators, and coaches in the administration of the conference. She is responsible for promoting the mission of the conference, upholding the policies and enforcing the rules of the conference, coordinating conference scheduling, conference tournaments, championships and special events. She was instrumental in leading the conference through the transition to becoming a full playing conference, implementing conference scheduling and establishing an additional 15 conference championships.

Savage has served on numerous regional and national committees, including the NCAA Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee (2005-2009) and the Division III Commissioners Association Executive Committee (2001-2003).

Savage came to the NESCAC after eight years as a senior athletics administrator at Yale University. At Yale she was responsible for 19 programs and involved in budgeting, scheduling, eligibility and compliance, event management, and served as an admissions and financial aid liaison for a number of teams including football.

She has been involved in the coordination of a number of large amateur and professional sporting events – including US and World Cup Exhibition Soccer Games as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the International Special Olympics.

A 1986 graduate of Amherst College, Savage was a three-sport athlete for the Lord Jeffs in field hockey, squash, and lacrosse who later returned to her alma mater in 1989 as an assistant coach for all three teams. The following year, Savage served as an assistant coach for the field hockey and lacrosse programs at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She went on to receive a master of science in sport management from UMass in 1991.

Joseph Clinton of Dominican College and Mark Griffin of Rutgers-Newark were also appointed along with Savage to the ECAC Board of Directors. Clinton is now entering his 19th year as the director of athletics and head men's basketball coach at Dominican College (Division II). Griffin was named the director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation at Rutgers-Newark in August 2004.

The ECAC is the nation’s largest athletic and the only multi-divisional conference in the country with approximately 300 Division I, II, and III colleges and universities. The ECAC membership covers 16 states and stretches from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors nearly 100 championships in 37 men’s and women’s sports and assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports. The ECAC also administers nine affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues. Through the public relations arm of the conference, more than 2,000 student-athletes are recognized. Finally, the ECAC serves as the primary conference for select members in the sports of men’s ice hockey, women’s ice hockey, and men’s lacrosse.