EASTERN LEAGUE PRESIDENT RECEIVES SPORT MANAGEMENT DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS AWARD - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst issued the following press release:

Joseph McEacharn, president of baseball's Eastern League, has been named a recipient of the 2006 VanderZwaag Distinguished Alumni Award, presented annually by the sport management program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The honorees exhibit professional excellence and outstanding achievement in the sports industry as well as dedication to the sport management department.

McEacharn received his bachelor's degree from UMass Amherst and graduated from the University of Maine School of Law.

'We're very proud to have Joe McEacharn on our list of distinguished alumni,' said department head Lisa Pike Masteralexis, who will present the award in a ceremony to be held Dec. 6 at the baseball winter meetings in Orlando Fla. 'In addition to his tremendous reputation within the Eastern League and minor league baseball, Mr. McEacharn has established and funded an Eastern League Internship Scholarship for the sport management program.'

McEacharn is a member of the Maine and Massachusetts bar associations. The Eastern League headquarters are located in Portland, Maine. McEacharn resides in nearby Scarborough, with his wife, Mary.

After earning his law degree, McEacharn joined the Eastern League in 1997 as a member of former President Bill Troubh's staff. He then became Troubh's right-hand man as the league's vice president. On Jan. 1, 2003, he became the 11th president in Eastern League history, succeeding Troubh, who retired.

McEacharn built on that relationship by running one of the most successful leagues in the Minor League system. The Eastern League has set all-time attendance records in two of the last three seasons, and all of the league's top 10 attendance totals have occurred during his 10 years with the league. In that time, the league has expanded from 10 teams to 12 with an outstanding record of stability, having only one franchise move during that period.

Joseph McEacharn is also this year's winner of the Warren Giles Award, which annually honors outstanding service as a league president in one of the leagues under the Minor League Baseball umbrella.Contact: Janis Ori, 413/545-0451.

Janis Ori, 413/545-0451.