PITMAN—The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) announced on January 10 that the University of Mary Washington, Roger Williams University, and Salisbury University will join the conference as affiliate members in the sports of women's and men's swimming and diving, beginning in the 2023-24 academic year. With the additions, the NJAC will feature nine women's swimming and diving programs and eight men's swimming and diving programs, in addition to full-member programs Kean University (women only), Montclair State University, Ramapo College, Rowan University, The College of New Jersey, and William Paterson University.
The NJAC will also host its own swimming and diving championship meet for the first time in conference history beginning in 2023-24. Championship meet dates and location will be announced at a later time.
"We are excited to welcome these outstanding swimming & diving programs to the conference," said NJAC Commissioner Terry Small. "While the NJAC has sponsored the sports of women's and men's swimming & diving for several years, the opportunity to conduct our own championship meet is one that our membership is certainly excited about. We look forward to staging a very competitive championship meet and these outstanding programs will certainly help us enhance the competition opportunity for all of our swimming & diving student-athletes."
"We couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to join the NJAC," Kiki Jacobs, Roger Williams Director of Athletics, Intramurals & Recreation, said. "This membership gives the Roger Williams University men's and women's swim teams a place to call home and well as the opportunity to swim against some great competition."
"We are incredibly excited to be joining a conference with so many amazing teams that have long had a tradition of conference and national level success," Mary Washington Head Coach Justin Anderson stated. "It will be an opportunity for our team to compete in one of the best Division III swimming conferences in the country, and for our athletes to be challenged by some of the best swimmers in all of Division III. We can't wait to see what new heights our team will be pushed to as a result of this partnership."
"Our program is absolutely thrilled to become an affiliate member of the NJAC," stated Nate Parsley, Salisbury's head swim coach. "As a former student-athlete and coach in the conference, I am excited to help lead the Sea Gulls towards securing one of those much coveted 'NJAC Champion' t-shirts. The NJAC is one of the best swimming and diving conferences in NCAA Division III and we look forward to representing and contending with some of the nation's best."
Mary Washington brings a history of success, with the Eagle women winning all 30 titles in their time as members of the Capital Athletic Conference (1991-2020) and winning the Met Conference title last season. The Eagle men captured 26 of the 30 conference titles between 1991-2020 and placed fourth in the Met Conference last year. The Eagles boast two national champions in program history along with 50 All-Americans earning a combined 209 All-America awards.
Roger Williams started its men's and women's swimming programs in the 2005-06 academic year and in that time have won a total of nine New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association (NEISDA) championships combined. Both the men's and women's teams also won the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) titles last season, with success recognized nationally with two student-athletes qualifying for the NCAA Championships in four events.
With the addition of Salisbury, the Sea Gulls now have two programs in the NJAC as they are also an associate member in the sport of football. Salisbury was a member of the Capital Athletic Conference from 1994-2020 where a combined 219 student-athletes earned all-conference accolades including 38 First Team All-Conference swimmers. The Sea Gulls are under the mentorship of second-year head coach Nate Parsley, who is no stranger to the NJAC as he was a standout swimmer at Rowan from 2008-12, and also served as the Profs assistant softball coach.