The United East Conference and the Colonial State Athletics Conference plan to merge this coming fall 2023 campaign. The merger was announced in December 2022. 

“The merger is intended to address the evolving landscape of higher education by stabilizing conference membership and solidifying the sport sponsorship currently offered by the existing conferences,” said President Roberta Cordano from Gallaudet University and President James Lytle from Clarks Summit University, “This merger will also provide member institutions an opportunity to decrease the number of associate memberships necessary to support the current sport offerings on each respective campus.” 

The news of the merger comes after SUNY Morrisville and Wells College announced their intent to leave the United East in the summer of 2022. The colleges will be leaving soon after the spring 2023 campaign. In order for the United East, the conference that covers Penn State Harrisburg, to continue to compete in NCAA Division III, the conference needed to add more members. 

SUNY Morrisville will join the western division of the North Atlantic Conference which includes former North Eastern Atlantic Conference members like Cazenovia, SUNY Cobleskill and SUNY Poly. Meanwhile Wells will join Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference which includes Penn State Altoona and Penn State Behrend along with United East associate members La Roche University, Hilbert College and Mt. Aloysius. 

The United East was formerly known as the North Eastern Atlantic Conference before rebranding in the summer of 2022 along with the addition of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. 

During a Student Athletic Leadership Council meeting at Penn State Harrisburg, athletic director Rashaan Carlton made mention of the merger and how that will impact the student-athletes. 

He mentioned that the merger was intended to add more members into the conference because of the two upstate New York schools leaving the conference. Carlton also hinted at the addition of new sports coming to the Harrisburg campus such as lacrosse and field hockey. 

With the merger, track and field student-athletes would be able to compete in schools closer to the campus. Currently they are competing in the New Jersey Athletic Conference because the United East does not recognize track and field at the moment. 

Details are still developing. Go to gounitedeast.com for more information.