Eastern Intercollegiate Conference
AssociationNCAA
Founded1932
Ceased1939
Sports fielded
DivisionDivision I (post-1973 equivalent)
No. of teams5 (1932-33 and 1934-35)
6 (1933-34; 1935-36 through 1938-39)
Locations
Location of teams in (({title))}

The Eastern Intercollegiate Conference (EIC) was an athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States. The conference sponsored men's college basketball and existed from 1932 to 1939, with teams in the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The 1937–1938 conference champion, Temple, went on to win the 1938 National Invitation Tournament.[1]

Although the Associated Press described the conference as "one of the best in the nation,"[2] its members agreed to disband it at the end of the 1938–1939 season because geographical problems had made scheduling difficult.[2]

Member schools

Over its seven seasons of existence, the conference's membership varied between five and six schools each season.[3]

Final members

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
Carnegie Institute of Technology Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1900 Private
(Nonsectarian)		 10,875 Tartans 1932–33 1938–39 University (UAA)
Georgetown University Washington, D.C. 1789 Private
(Catholic)		 19,371 Hoyas 1932–33 1938–39 Big East
Pennsylvania State University State College, Pennsylvania 1855 Public 45,901 Nittany Lions 1935–36 1938–39 Big Ten
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1787 Public 28,664 Panthers 1932–33 1938–39 Atlantic Coast (ACC)
Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1884 State related 39,755 Owls 1932–33 1938–39 The American
West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia 1867 Public 26,839 Mountaineers 1932–33 1938–39 Big 12

Other members

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 1846 Private
(Nonsectarian)		 3,650 Bison 1933–34 1933–34 Patriot

Membership timeline

Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketballNCAA Division I independent schoolsNCAA Division I independent schoolsBucknell Bison men's basketballNCAA Division I independent schoolsWest Virginia Mountaineers men's basketballTemple Owls men's basketballPittsburgh Panthers men's basketballGeorgetown Hoyas men's basketballCarnegie Tech

Member Non-member

Champions

The conference championships were determined by the best regular season conference records except in the event of teams having identical conference records. In the case of such ties, the conference championship was decided by a one-game playoff championship game at the conclusion of the regular conference season. Conference championships were decided by this playoff game in 1935, 1936, and 1937. However, following the 1938–1939 season, no playoff game was held despite identical records held by Carnegie Tech and Georgetown, and the two schools were declared co-champions for the season.

Pittsburgh dominated the conference results with four championships in the conference's seven seasons, winning the first two seasons by having the best regular-season record and winning championship playoff games in 1935 and 1937, but losing the 1936 championship playoff game.[3]

* Conference title decided by a playoff game
** No playoff game held. The two teams were declared co-champions based on identical regular-season conference records.

Scoring record

During the 1937–1938 season, Carnegie Tech′s Melvin Cratsley set the league′s single-game scoring record in men's basketball with 34 points against West Virginia. He scored 12 field goals during the game, ten of them on tip-ins or by shooting from directly beneath the hoop and the other two on set shots from inside the free throw line.[1]

Season standings

Each team played each other team in the conference twice each season in a home-and-home schedule except for the 1933–1934 season, when Bucknell, Carnegie Tech, and Pittsburgh did not play a complete 10-game home-and-home schedule for the season.

1932–1933

1932-33[4] Conference Overall
  W-L     Pct.   GB     W-L     Pct.
Pittsburgh 7–1 .875 – 17–5 .773
Temple 5–3 .625 2 15–6 .714
Carnegie Tech 4–4 .500 3 4–5 .444
Georgetown 3–5 .375 4 6–11 .353
West Virginia 1–7 .125 6 10–14 .417

1933–1934

1933-34[5] Conference Overall
  W-L     Pct.   GB     W-L     Pct.
Pittsburgh 8–0 1.000 – 18–4 .818
West Virginia 7–3 .700 2 14–5 .737
Georgetown 5–5 .500 4 12–11 .522
Temple 5–5 .500 4 9–12 .429
Carnegie Tech 2–7 .222 6½ 1–8 .111
Bucknell 0–7 .000 7½ 2–16 .111

1934–1935

1934-35[6] Conference Overall
  W-L     Pct.   GB     W-L     Pct.
Pittsburgh* 6–2 .750 – 18–6 .750
West Virginia* 6–2 .750 – 16–6 .727
Temple 5–3 .625 1 17–7 .708
Carnegie Tech 2–6 .250 4 3–6 .333
Georgetown 1–7 .125 5 6–13 .316

*Conference playoff championship game, March 18, 1935, in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Pittsburgh 35, West Virginia 22[7]

1935–1936

1935-36[8] Conference Overall
  W-L     Pct.   GB     W-L     Pct.
Carnegie Tech* 7–3 .700 – 8–3 .727
Pittsburgh* 7–3 .700 – 18–9 .667
Temple 6–4 .600 1 18–6 .750
West Virginia 6–4 .600 1 16–8 .667
Georgetown 4–6 .400 3 7–11 .389
Penn State 0–10 .000 7 6–11 .353

*Conference playoff championship game, March 14, 1936, at Pitt Stadium Pavilion, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Carnegie Tech 32, Pittsburgh 27[9]

1936–1937

1936-37[10] Conference Overall
  W-L     Pct.   GB     W-L     Pct.
Temple* 7–3 .700 – 17–6 .739
Pittsburgh* 7–3 .700 – 14–7 .667
Penn State 6–4 .600 1 10–7 .588
Carnegie Tech 4–6 .400 3 9–11 .450
Georgetown 3–7 .300 4 9–8 .529
West Virginia 3–7 .300 4 9–14 .391

*Conference playoff championship game, March 22, 1937, at Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Pittsburgh 35, Temple 29[7]

1937–1938

1937-38[11] Conference Overall
  W-L     Pct.   GB     W-L     Pct.
Temple 9–1 .900 – 23–2 .920
Penn State 6–4 .600 3 13–5 .722
Pittsburgh 5–5 .500 4 9–12 .429
Georgetown 5–5 .500 4 7–11 .389
Carnegie Tech 3–7 .300 6 3–7 .300
West Virginia 2–8 .200 7 6–13 .316

1938–1939

1938-39[12] Conference Overall
  W-L     Pct.   GB     W-L     Pct.
Carnegie Tech* 6–4 .600 – 12–7 .632
Georgetown* 6–4 .600 – 13–9 .591
Penn State 5–5 .500 1 13–10 .565
Pittsburgh 5–5 .500 1 10–8 .556
West Virginia 4–6 .400 2 10–9 .526
Temple 4–6 .400 2 10–12 .455

*No conference championship playoff game was held, so Carnegie Tech and Georgetown finished as co-champions.

Overall team results

Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Team Results
during conference membership[13]
Team Sea-
sons 		Years EIC
Record* 		EIC
Winning Pct. 		EIC
Champion-
ships 		Overall
Record 		Overall
Winning Pct. 		Postseason**
Bucknell
1
 1933–1934
0–7
.000
0
2–16
.111
 N/A
Carnegie Tech
7
 1932–1939
29–37
.439
2***
40–47
.460
 1–0 in EIC playoff games
Georgetown
7
 1932–1939
27–39
.409
1***
60–74
.448
 none
Penn State
4
 1935–1939
17–23
.425
0
42–33
.560
 none
Pittsburgh
7
 1932–1939
47–20
.701
4
104–51
.671
 2–1 in EIC playoff games
Temple
7
 1932–1939
41–26
.612
1
109–51
.681
 0–1 in EIC playoff games;
Won 1938 NIT
West Virginia
7
 1932–1939
29–38
.433
0
81–69
.540
 0–1 in EIC playoff games
Totals
7
 1932–1939
—
—
—
438–341
.562
 One NIT championship

*Includes conference playoff games.
**The National Invitation Tournament did not begin play until 1938. The NCAA tournament did not begin play until 1939. "N/A" (not applicable) indicates neither tournament existed during the school's membership in the conference.
***Includes a conference co-championship Carnegie Tech and Georgetown shared in the 1938–1939 season.

Head coaches

Eleven men served as head coaches of EIC teams during the conference's seven seasons of play. Only three of them — Pittsburgh's Doc Carlson, Carnegie Tech's Max E. Hannum, and Temple's James Usilton — coached their teams throughout the EIC's existence.

Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Head Coaches
during Eastern Intercollegiate Conference membership[13][14]
Coach Team Sea-
sons 		Years Confer-
ence
Record* 		EIC
Winning Pct. 		EIC
Champion-
ships 		Overall
Record 		Overall
Winning Pct. 		Postseason**
Doc Carlson Pittsburgh
7
 1932–1939
47–20
.701
4
104–51
.671
 2–1 in EIC playoff games
Marshall Glenn West Virginia
5
 1933–1938
24–25
.490
0
61–46
.570
 0–1 in EIC playoff games
Max E. Hannum Carnegie Tech
7
 1932–1939
29–37
.439
2***
40–47
.460
 1–0 in EIC playoff games
John Lawther Penn State
3
 1936–1939
17–13
.567
0
36–22
.621
 none
Earl Leslie Penn State
1
 1935–1936
0–10
.000
0
6–11
.353
 N/A
Fred Mesmer Georgetown
6
 1932–1938
21–35
.375
0
47–65
.420
 none
Malcolm Musser Bucknell
1
 1933–1934
0–7
.000
0
2–16
.111
 N/A
Dyke Raese West Virginia
1
 1938–1939
4–6
.400
0
10–9
.526
 none
Elmer Ripley Georgetown
1
 1938–1939
6–4
.600
1***
13–9
.591
 none
Francis Stadsvold West Virginia
1
 1932–1933
1–7
.125
0
10–14
.417
 N/A
James Usilton Temple
7
 1932–1939
41–26
.612
1
109–51
.681
 0–1 in EIC playoff games;
Won 1938 NIT

*Includes conference playoff games.
**The National Invitation Tournament did not begin play until 1938. The NCAA tournament did not begin play until 1939. "N/A" (not applicable) indicates coaching tenures in the conference during which neither tournament existed.
***Includes a conference co-championship Carnegie Tech and Georgetown shared in the 1938–1939 season.

References

  1. ^ a b College Hoopedia: 1937-38
  2. ^ a b College Hoopedia: 1938-39
  3. ^ a b sports-reference.com Eastern Intercollegiate Conference
  4. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/eic/1933.html sports-reference.com 1932-33 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Season Summary - Retrieved on January 11, 2014.
  5. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/eic/1934.html sports-reference.com 1933-34 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Season Summary - Retrieved on January 11, 2014.
  6. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/eic/1935.html sports-reference.com 1934-35 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Season Summary - Retrieved on January 11, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Hotchkiss, Greg, ed. (2013). 2013-14 Pitt Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Pittsburgh Athletic Media Relations Office. pp. 172–173. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  8. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/eic/1936.html sports-reference.com 1935-36 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Season Summary - Retrieved on January 11, 2014.
  9. ^ Biederman, Lester (March 17, 1936). "Tartan Five Whips Panthers to Annex Eastern Intercollegiate Court Crown!". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  10. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/eic/1937.html sports-reference.com 1936-37 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Season Summary - Retrieved on January 11, 2014.
  11. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/eic/1938.html sports-reference.com 1937-38 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Season Summary - Retrieved on January 11, 2014.
  12. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/eic/1939.html sports-reference.com 1938-39 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Season Summary - Retrieved on January 11, 2014.
  13. ^ a b sports-reference.com Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Coaches Accessed 19 December 2020
  14. ^ athletics.cmu.edu Carnegie Mellon University Men's Basketball Year-by-Year Coaching Records
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