The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective liberal arts institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The eleven institutions are Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Tufts University, Trinity College, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.

The conference originated with an agreement among Amherst, Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Williams in 1955. In 1971, Bates, Colby, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, and Union College joined on and the NESCAC was officially formed. Union withdrew in 1977 and was replaced by Connecticut College in 1982. The members are grouped within the NCAA Division III athletic conference. Members of the conference have some of the largest financial endowments of any liberal arts colleges in the world, with Williams College's $3.89 billion being the largest. Undergraduate enrollment at the schools ranges from about 1,800 to 6,000 (Tufts).

Williams began its inaugural football season in 1881 and its rivalry with Amherst College is one of the longest at any level of college football.^[1] Bates and Bowdoin have competed against each other athletically since the 1870s and subsequently share one of the ten oldest NCAA Division III football rivalries, in the United States, there is a long history of athletic competition between the two colleges and Colby.^[2][3] Colby began its now most notable hockey rivalry, with Bowdoin in 1922.^[4]

In 1899, Amherst, Wesleyan and Williams schools first began to compete together as the "Triangular League". Since then they have continued to play each other in most sports on a regular basis.^[5][6][7][8] The conference originated with an agreement among Amherst, Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Williams in 1955.^[9] Later, Bates, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts joined and the NESCAC was officially formed. The Conference was created out of a concern for the direction of intercollegiate athletic programs and remains committed to keeping a proper perspective on the role of sport in higher education.^[9]

Member institutions believe athletic teams should be representative of school's entire student bodies and hew to NCAA Division III admissions and financial policies prohibiting athletic scholarships while awarding financial aid solely on the basis of need. Due to the prestigious reputations of its member schools, the NESCAC is able to attract many of the most athletically and intellectually gifted student-athletes in the country. Members stress that intercollegiate athletic programs should operate in harmony with the educational mission of each institution. Schools are committed to maintaining common boundaries to keep athletics strong yet in proportion to their overall academic mission. Presidents of each NESCAC institution control intercollegiate athletic policy. Conference tenets are usually more restrictive than those of the NCAA Division III regarding season length, number of contests and post-season competition.^[9]

Four NESCAC institutions are among the 39 that founded the NCAA in 1905: Amherst, Tufts, Wesleyan, and Williams.^[10] Prior to 1993 NESCAC generally did not allow member schools to send teams to NCAA championships. Since then all sports except football have had this freedom, many excelling in the NCAA Division III championships. The NACDA Directors' Cup, awarded since 1996 to the college or university in each NCAA Division that wins the most college championships, has been claimed at the Division III level by a NESCAC institution every year except 1998. In the 2012–13 season, four of the top ten NACDA Director's Cup institutions were from NESCAC: Williams (1), Middlebury (3), Amherst (6), and Tufts (8).^[11]

100km
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Williams

Wesleyan

Tufts

Trinity

Middlebury

Hamilton

Connecticut

Colby

Bowdoin

Bates

Amherst

  

Locations of NESCAC members

Member colleges of the athletic conference possesses some of the largest financial endowments in the world. As of the 2021-2022 academic year, Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, has the largest endowment of any college in the conference, followed closely by Amherst, and then Bowdoin and Tufts respectively.^[12][13] Admission to NESCAC institutions is often highly competitive, with most member schools touting acceptance rates lower than 15 percent as of the 2020-2021 admissions cycle. Many NESCAC schools are also some of the oldest institutions of higher education in the United States, with Williams, Bowdoin and Middlebury being among the 40 oldest institutions in the country.^[14]

Membership timeline

Many schools in the New England Small College Athletic Conference are known for low grade inflation, grade deflation, and rigorous academic standards.^[37][36] Some members have received limited media coverage over perceived grade inflation and deflation.^[38][39][36]

The colleges are also known for a range of high and relatively low tuition rates and comprehensive fees. Some of the colleges have been named the most expensive in the United States.^[40]

Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights/licensing, student fees, school funds, and all other sources including TV income, camp income, food, and novelties. Total expenses includes coaching/staff, buildings/grounds, maintenance, utilities and rental fees, and all other costs including recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues, and insurance costs.

Many colleges banned fraternities and sororities on the grounds of unwarranted exclusivity, and provided on-campus social houses for all students to engage with. Williams College displaced their fraternity system in the 1960s due to high levels of racial and religious discrimination. Williams College President Chandler stated, "there remained the system of blackballing and secret agreements between some fraternities and their national bodies to exclude blacks and Jews... it was essentially a caste system based on socioeconomic status as perceived by students."^[44]

Bates rejected the fraternity system in 1855, when it was founded. Colby disbanded its fraternities and sororities in 1984.^[45] At Bowdoin, fraternities were phased out in 2000.^[46] Despite the lack of Greek life, NESCAC schools are widely known for a prominent drinking culture.^{[47][48][49][50]}

Schools within the NESCAC conference have made institutional efforts to diversify student body, and attract and wide range of students to their institutions. Many schools in the NESCAC provide significant financial aid to help increase the enrollment of lower income and middle class students.^[51][52]

The New England Small College Athletic Conference sponsors championship competition in 13 men's and 14 women's NCAA sanctioned sports.^[58]

Men's sponsored sports by school

More information School, Base­ball ...

School	Base­ball	Basket­ball	Cross Country	Football	Golf	Ice Hockey	Lac­rosse	Rowing	Soccer	Squash	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (outdoor)	Total
Amherst	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Bates	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Bowdoin	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Colby	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Connecticut College	N	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Hamilton	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Middlebury	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Trinity	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	13
Tufts	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Wesleyan	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Williams	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Totals	10	11	11	10	10	10	11	9	11	11	11	11	11	136

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Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the New England Small College Athletic Conference that are played by NESCAC schools

More information School, Sailing ...

School	Sailing[lower-alpha 1]	Skiing	Water Polo	Wrestling
Bates	no	EISA	no	no
Bowdoin	NEISA	EISA	no	no
Colby	no	EISA	no	no
Connecticut College	NEISA	no	NWPC	no
Middlebury	no	EISA	no	no
Trinity	no	no	no	NEWA
Tufts	NEISA	no	no	no
Wesleyan	no	no	no	NEWA
Williams	no	EISA	no	NEWA

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Notes

1. Not governed or recognized by the NCAA.

Women's sponsored sports by school

More information School, Basket­ball ...

School	Basket­ball	Cross Country	Field hockey	Golf	Ice Hockey	Lac­rosse	Rowing	Soccer	Soft­ball	Squash	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (outdoor)	Volley­ball	Total
Amherst	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Bates	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Bowdoin	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	14
Colby	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Connecticut College	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Hamilton	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	14
Middlebury	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Trinity	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	14
Tufts	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Wesleyan	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	14
Williams	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	14
Totals	11	11	11	8	9	11	9	11	10	11	11	11	11	11	145

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Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the New England Small College Athletic Conference that are played by NESCAC schools

More information School, Fencing ...

School	Fencing[lower-alpha 1]	Rugby	Sailing[lower-alpha 1]	Skiing	Water Polo
Bates	no	no	no	EISA	no
Bowdoin	no	NIRA	NEISA	EISA	no
Colby	no	no	no	EISA	no
Connecticut College	no	no	NEISA	no	CWPA
Middlebury	no	no	no	EISA	no
Tufts	NFC	no	no	no	no
Williams	no	no	no	EISA	no

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Notes

1. Not governed or recognized by the NCAA.

Until the 2017 season, the 10 football-playing NESCAC schools only played 8 regular season games. On April 27, 2017, the NESCAC announced that it would adopt a full 9-game round robin schedule.^[59]

In addition to the ban on postseason play, the NESCAC football league is notable for member teams playing conference games only. While some Division II and Division III teams play only conference schedules, NESCAC is unique in all of its members playing only within conference games.^[60]

NESCAC Baseball is the only men's sport to utilize divisions. Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Tufts, and Trinity compete in the East Division, while Amherst, Hamilton, Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Williams compete in the West Division. Connecticut College does not sponsor baseball.

The NESCAC has won the College World Series once: by the Trinity Bantams in 2008. Current member schools have appeared in the College World Series a combined total of 5 times.

Notes

The Middlebury Panthers lead the NESCAC in NCAA men's titles with 15, while the Williams Ephs lead in women's titles with 30 and in overall NCAA titles with 38.^[61] Excluded from this list are all national championships earned outside the scope of NCAA competition, including women's AIAW championships.

The following is a list of NCAA-recognized national team championships by NESCAC schools.^[61]

• The Little Ivies: a grouping of small liberal arts colleges, also in the Northeastern United States, comparable to Ivy League universities
• The Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium: three small liberal arts colleges known as the "Maine Big Three"
• The Little Three: three small liberal arts colleges in Massachusetts and Connecticut comparable to the "Big Three"