The MAC consisted of over 30 teams at that time, making it impossible to organize full league schedules in sports like football, basketball, and baseball.

The NCAA approved it and was scheduled to start in 1990 and struck a television rights deal with NBC, The conference’s basketball tournament was going to move to the Meadowlands Arena, after they couldn’t get Madison Square Garden to host because they were in contract with the Big East.

More erosion ensued as Rider, Towson, and UMBC moved to other leagues after the 1991–92 campaign, while Brooklyn suspended its entire athletic department.

This reduced the ECC to just three members -Hofstra, Central Connecticut, and Buffalo - not enough to maintain official conference status under NCAA bylaws during the 1992–93 season.

American, Bucknell, Delaware, Drexel, Lafayette, La Salle, Lehigh, Rider, St. Joseph's, Temple and West Chester all leave.