WESTERN CONNECTICUT JOINS NJAC AS
 AFFILIATE FOOTBALL MEMBER IN FALL 2004

The New Jersey Athletic Conference has approved Western Connecticut State University as an affiliate member in football effective with the Fall 2004 season.  The selection of WCSU received unanimous approval by the seven current NJAC members that sponsor football.

“The addition of Western Connecticut is a win-win situation for both us and them,” said Glenn Hedden, Director of Athletics at Kean University and chair of the NJAC football committee.  “They strengthen our schedule both in number of contests and in quality of competition.”

“Everyone that is part of Western Connecticut Stat University football has recognized that the NJAC is a premier conference in Division III football,” said WCSU Director of Athletics Edward Farrington.  “We are extremely pleased to be accepted as an affiliate member and look forward to the opportunities and challenges that are ahead.”

Western Connecticut State University is a state institution with an enrollment of 5,900 students, situated in Danbury, CT.  The Colonials are currently a member of the Freedom Football Conference, which will be folding after the Fall 2003 season as a majority of its members are leaving to form a new conference.  The team finished the 2001 campaign at 8-2, winning the FFC crown for the second time in three years and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament as the conference’s automatic qualifier.  They are coached by first year head coach John Burell, who was promoted after serving for the past six seasons as defensive coordinator.