The East Coast Conference (ECC) is an NCAA Division II athletic conference whose membership spans New York, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. The conference was founded in 1989 as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference and was renamed the East Coast Conference in July 2006.[1][2]
Design and History
The ECC unveiled its most recent brand refresh in October 2023, rolling out a new “Experience, Compete, Champion” identity. The year-long creative process was guided by New Jersey-based Skye Design Studios, a sport branding firm, and involved a wide range of conference stakeholders.[3][4] The rebrand accompanied a website redesign launched on October 24, 2023, in partnership with SIDEARM Sports.[4]
The 2023 refresh introduced a slogan-based messaging system built around the words “Experience,” “Compete,” and “Champion.” A social media toolkit was designed in a three-tiered system, with each tier referencing one keyword from the slogan. The conference also made versions of its primary mark available in each member institution’s official colors for co-branded use.[3]
Before the 2023 refresh, the conference’s primary logo dated to the 2006 name change. That mark was described as a shield encircled by a three-dimensional ring and highlighted by a star at the front. The phrase “EAST COAST CONFERENCE” appeared in white trimmed in maroon on a black background in the top portion of the shield, with two shades of maroon in the lower portion and two shades of gray in the star to create depth.[1]
In May 2017, the ECC added a secondary logo that incorporated the league’s “ECC” moniker for the first time, while retaining the star from the primary logo.[5][6] In September 2019, the conference unveiled a separate 30-year commemorative logo to mark its anniversary season.[2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2023 rebrand was framed around the conference’s stated mission: Commissioner Bob Dranoff said the goal was to create a brand aligned with the ECC’s status as a Division II conference providing members with “opportunities to experience, opportunities to compete, and opportunities to champion their lives, whether athletically, academically, in the community, or beyond.”[4]
The 2006 name change itself was tied to the conference’s geographic growth. Commissioner Edward J. Manetta said at the time that the “East Coast Conference” name better reflected the league’s constituency and collective vision, while Molloy College President Drew Bogner noted the conference had “increased in stature and has spread out geographically in recent years.”[1]
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