Gallaudet will join the North Eastern Athletic Conference beginning in 2010-11.

The university, which is dedicated to educating deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, will become the NEAC’s 12th full member. Gallaudet is located in Washington, D.C.

Gallaudet President Robert Davila touted the opportunities that the NEAC will provide student-athletes. “Our campus is very excited about our new relationship and is very much looking forward to its commencement,” he said.

Gallaudet will join Cazenovia, College of St. Elizabeth, Keuka, Penn State-Abington, Penn State-Berks, Penn State-Harrisburg, Cobleskill State, SUNY Institute of Technology, Morrisville State, Wells and Wilson as NEAC members in 2010-11.

Gallaudet currently sponsors baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s track and field, and women’s volleyball.

Keuka President Joseph G. Burke, chair of the NEAC presidents council, said Gallaudet adds to the league’s diversity.

“They have, most importantly, a national and international reputation for academic excellence, a long and rich athletic tradition, an ideal location in our nation’s capital, and a strong commitment toward inclusive educational access for all,” he said. “We in the NEAC celebrate the fact that we are a conference of diversity as we include both state and private, co-ed and single gender, rural and urban, and large and small colleges and universities from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and now Washington, D.C.”