Mountain East Conference Press Release
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Salem University has accepted an invitation from the Mountain East Conference (MEC) to join the league as an associate member in the sports of men's and women's swimming and men's wrestling starting with the upcoming 2024-2025 seasons, the conference office announced Thursday.
With the new agreement in place, Salem swimming and wrestling student-athletes will have a chance to compete for team and event conference championships, while also gaining opportunities to earn MEC Athlete of the Week and All-MEC honors.
Prior to this historic announcement, Salem competed as a member of Conference Carolinas in both men's and women's swimming prior to the program's brief hiatus during the 2023-2024 school year. Tigers' Wrestling will make their competition debut this season, and will immediately be eligible to compete for a conference championship and awards.
In both men's and women's swimming, The MEC now has 6 established programs with Frostburg State, Fairmont State, Davis & Elkins, West Virginia Wesleyan, Wheeling, and now Salem.
The Mountain East holds their conference championship in tandem with the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, who brings 4 more schools to the competition in Ashland, Malone, Findlay, and Hillsdale (women's swimming only). That unified championship will be held at Canton, Ohio's C.T. Branin Natatorium on February 12-15, 2025.
On the wrestling side of things, Salem joins Davis & Elkins, Fairmont State, Frostburg State, Glenville State, West Liberty and Wheeling in competition this season. The Mountain East Conference Wrestling Championship will take place on February 1st, 2025. Newcomer Point Park also plans to launch the sport in the coming years.
Additionally, Salem University and the Mountain East Conference have agreed to a scheduling alliance for the sports of men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, softball, and baseball for the 2024-2025 school year. This is an extension of the agreement Salem and the Mountain East Conference rolled out in the wake of the sudden and unfortunate closure of Alderson Broaddus University in August of 2023.
