SYRACUSE, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) — The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has added two new members to their ranks, plus several associate members and a new sport.

The conference announced on Thursday, October 5 that SUNY Morrisville and SUNY Canton will join the conference as full-time members beginning next year, while also adding men’s wrestling as its 22nd sport. They will also add Alfred State as an associate member in track and field, also beginning next year. The conference also includes one local college — SUNY Oneonta — as a full member.

“We are ecstatic about joining the SUNYAC – one of the premier NCAA Division III conferences in the country,” Matt Grawrock, athletic director at SUNY Morrisville, said in a statement. “We have been a longtime associate member and when this opportunity to join the SUNYAC full-time presented itself, it was an invitation we could not refuse. SUNY Morrisville’s mission, athletic programs and location align with our sister institutions in the SUNYAC and we are excited about the opportunities that await our student-athletes, our coaches and our college starting next year.”

The addition of the Mustangs and Kangaroos coincides with the departure of SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Brockport, which announced their departure from the SUNYAC in September. SUNY Canton had also been accepted as an associate member of the conference in women’s ice hockey this year, while their men’s ice hockey team was accepted beginning next year.

The addition of wrestling to the list of SUNYAC sports also allowed the conference to bring in four other associate members, absorbing the last four teams that were a part of the old Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference. As a result, Utica University will also be joining the SUNYAC for wrestling, along with Ithaca, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and St. John Fisher.

“Utica University is excited to be accepted as an associate member of the SUNYAC for men’s wrestling and be aligned with such outstanding institutions,” David Fontaine, the director of athletics at Utica, said in a statement. “We look forward to the exceptional competition this will afford our men’s wrestlers.”

Canton will compete in 13 of the conference’s sports, while Morrisville will compete in 15.