WOAY – The Mountain East Conference announced Friday that Alderson Broaddus University will join the league ahead of the 2020-21 academic year. Their application for membership was approved Friday morning by the MEC Board of Governors.
The school, whose athletic teams are known as the Battlers, sponsors 19 of the league’s 23 championship sports. They were previously part of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, joining in 2013 after the breakup of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Located in Philippi, they are not far from the majority of the current MEC members, including Concord.
“Alderson Broaddus emerged through the membership process as an outstanding candidate due to the shared philosophy, goals, sports sponsorship, and geography with our member institutions,” stated MEC Commissioner Reid Amos. “AB has a proud and rich tradition in athletics that we expect will continue as a member of the Mountain East. I want to thank President Dr. Tim Barry and Athletics Director Carrie Bodkins for their leadership and look forward to collaborating and working with them and the rest of the AB athletics department.”
“Alderson Broaddus University is delighted to join the Mountain East Conference,” said President Dr. Tim Barry. “Since it’s inception, AB athletics has had deep and meaningful relationships with many of the schools in the MEC, and we are very grateful to Commissioner Amos and the MEC Board of Directors to afford us the opportunity of joining the conference.”
This news comes several weeks after one of the MEC’s original members, Urbana University, announced it would close at the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Alderson Broaddus’ addition means there will still be 12 full members in the Mountain East Conference. UNC Pembroke is an associate member in football, indoor track & field, women’s swimming and diving, and wrestling.
