The Bard College Department of Athletics and Recreation has announced that the men's volleyball program will be joining the New England Collegiate Conference for the 2023 season.

"The NECC is a great conference and we're looking forward to the opportunities our student-athletes will have competing with these schools," said Associate Athletic Director Stefanie Carrington. "We're excited for next season and the future of our men's volleyball program."

"We're thrilled to share the news that Bard will be joining the NECC as an associate member in the sport of men's volleyball," NECC Commissioner Jacob VanRyn said. "Any time we are able to add an associate member in a sport from a tremendous academic institution like Bard, it truly is a wonderful thing for the conference. We're excited to welcome them and watch them compete in the NECC."

In men's volleyball, the NECC will count nine schools among its membership starting next season: Eastern Nazerene, Endicott, Lesley, Nichols, Northern Vermont-Johnson, SUNY Polytechnic, SUNY Potsdam, and Sage, in addition to Bard.

Bard had been a member of the United Volleyball Conference since 2012, when the institution left the Skyline Conference for the Liberty League, which does not sponsor men's volleyball. Bard competes in the Liberty League in each of its other 17 varsity programs.