It held its first championship tournament in 1905,[1] making it the oldest wrestling conference in the NCAA.
[10] In 2013, the EIWA absorbed Boston University, Hofstra, Drexel, and Binghamton after the Colonial Athletic Association ceased sponsorship of wrestling, making an 18-team conference for the 2013–14 season.
[11] The EIWA was reduced to 16 in 2014-15 with the departure of Rutgers to the Big Ten Conference[12] and discontinuation of the BU program.
Long Island University announced that the wrestling team that had represented its Post campus in Division II would join the EIWA once the merger of the athletic programs of its Brooklyn and Post campuses took effect in July 2019.
The renamed LIU Sharks joined NEC rival Sacred Heart, bringing the conference to seventeen members.