Boston – The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference will add football, its 20th sport, in 2017, and Coast Guard Academy will be one of seven inaugural members, it was announced Wednesday.

Coast Guard, currently a member of the New England Football Conference, will join current NEWMAC members MIT, Springfield and WPI, while Maine Maritime Academy, Merchant Marine Academy and Norwich University will join the conference as associate members in football only.

"We are excited with the formation of NEWMAC football and having long time archrival Merchant Marine as a league opponent once again," Coast Guard coach Bill George said in a statement. "We are looking forward to renewing the series with Norwich, Springfield and WPI, all of whom are former rivals, while maintaining our yearly league matchups with Maine Maritime and MIT. The NEWMAC is a strong conference with outstanding institutions and the addition of football is exciting for everyone involved."

Springfield, WPI and Merchant Marine are currently members of the Liberty League, while Coast Guard, MIT and Maine Maritime are members of the NEFC and Norwich plays in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference.

"We at the Coast Guard Academy are very pleased and proud to be a part of creating NEWMAC football. This will enhance respectful rivalries that already exist with our NEWMAC brethren MIT, WPI and Springfield - as well as Maine Maritime from the NEFC," Coast Guard athletic director Tim Fitzpatrick said. "It is particularly advantageous that we will now compete in conference games starting in 2017 against our historic rivals Merchant Marine and Norwich. This is truly an historic day in the rich history of CGA football, and we look forward to the future with great anticipation."

The NEWMAC will not immediately receive an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Football Championship, but institutions will be eligible to qualify through an at-large selection. Per NCAA bylaws, there is a two-year waiting period, and the conference should receive an automatic bid for the 2019-2020 academic year. The seven football-playing members of the NEWMAC have combined to go to 13 NCAA tournaments and have played in 22 ECAC Championship bowl games.

"The sport of football occupies a prominent place in the culture of federal service academies, and as such the formation of NEWMAC football starting in 2017 represents a tremendous opportunity for the Coast Guard Academy," said RADM Sandra L. Stosz, Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy. "As Superintendent, it is very important to me that our athletic teams have the chance to compete regularly against institutions whose academic emphasis and core values closely align with ours. We are very proud to join the ranks of NEWMAC football, and look forward to high-spirited action and the formation of new rivalries, while continuing our historic, traditional competition with Norwich University and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy."