The SUNY Cortland women's golf program will be one of 10 members of the newly formed Northeast Women's Golf Conference.

The independent conference, which has been approved by the NCAA Membership Committee, will consist of: Cortland, Husson University (Maine), Johnson & Wales University (R.I.), Keuka College, Nazareth College, Suffolk University (Mass.), SUNY Canton, St. John Fisher College, Utica College, and Westfield State University (Mass.). All of these schools were either core (Nazareth, St. John Fisher, Utica) or affiliate members of the Empire 8 for the past two years. Johnson & Wales associate athletics director Michael Smoose will serve as the league's commissioner.

The Northeast Women's Golf Conference will hold its first championship this upcoming Sunday, April 28, at the Tekoa Country Club in Westfield, Mass. Cortland, however, will not be attending the championship due to its already established spring schedule.

Starting in the 2019-20 season, the conference championship will be a two-day event held in the fall. The league will qualify for an NCAA automatic berth for its team champion in the 2020-21 school year. The Empire 8 was no longer on track to earn an NCAA automatic berth for women's golf as Elmira did not field a team this season.

(UPDATE - August 2018):  Manhattanville College has joined the conference and will compete at the 2019 fall championships.