FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Gordon Morton
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Director of Communications
508-771-5060 x230
ECAC ANNOUNCES FOOTBALL TEAMS OF THE YEAR
CAPE COD, Mass. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) announced today that Penn
State University, James Madison University, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, and Cortland
State have been named the 2008 ECAC Football Teams of the Year presented by FieldTurf Tarkett.
Penn State University is the ECAC Team of the Year in the Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-
A). The Nittany Lions posted an 11-2 overall record this season, and represented the Big Ten
Conference in the Rose Bowl. This year marks the 12th time in school history that Penn State has
been named ECAC Team of the Year. The Nittany Lions first won the award in 1985, and won it five
straight years from 1994-98. They were last named ECAC Team of the Year in 2005. Penn State has
been named ECAC Team of the Year more than any other FBS school. Currently, the Nittany Lions
rank sixth nationally in each FBS poll.
The ECAC Team of the Year in the Football Championship Subdivision (Division I-AA) is James
Madison University. James Madison was also named the ECAC Team of the Year in 2004. The
Dukes finished the season 12-2 after falling to Montana in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. James
Madison finished No. 3 in the country after holding the No. 1 spot in the FCS Coaches’ Poll for nine
straight weeks. The Dukes were undefeated during the regular season against FCS opponents and
were ranked No. 1 in the Lambert Meadowlands Poll for all eight weeks during the regular season.
For the fourth time in the last five seasons, West Chester University of Pennsylvania will receive the
ECAC Division II Team of the Year Award. Head coach Bill Zwaan guided his team to a final
record of 9-4 this season and a perfect 7-0 mark in the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania State
Athletic Conference. The Golden Rams beat Southern Connecticut State