Centennial Conference

Centennial Conference
Established 1981
Association NCAA
Division Division III
Members 11
Sports fielded 24 (men's: 12; women's: 12)
Region Mid-Atlantic
Headquarters Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Commissioner Steve Ulrich
Website centennial.org
Locations

The Centennial Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Eleven highly selective private colleges compose the Centennial Conference. The institutions are renowned nationally for their traditions in higher education excellence, each with impressive academic histories. Ten of the eleven members of the Centennial Conference rank among the top 100 national liberal arts colleges (with Johns Hopkins University being the only research intensive university in the conference), and six of the members are within the top 50.

On the average, Centennial members boast of 19 varsity teams per campus which is well above the national norm. Conference members have won eleven NCAA team titles: Johns Hopkins women's cross country (2012, 2013, 2014), Gettysburg women's lacrosse (2011), Haverford men's cross country (2010), Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse (2007, 2009), Ursinus field hockey (2006), Washington men's lacrosse (1998), and Washington men's tennis (1994, 1997).

History

According to the Centennial Conference's web site: "On June 4, 1981, Keith Spalding, then-president of Franklin & Marshall College, made the announcement that "eight private colleges found it timely and appropriate to form a round-robin football schedule among institutions with similar attitudes and practices in intercollegiate football competition." With that statement, the Centennial Conference was born. Those private colleges were Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall College, Gettysburg College, Johns Hopkins University, Muhlenberg College, Swarthmore College, Ursinus College, and Western Maryland College (later renamed and now known as McDaniel College).

The conference moved from a football-only conference to an all-sports conference after a 1991 feasibility study. The study also recommended to expand from eight schools to eleven. The other schools recommended were Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and Washington College. Those three schools accepted and became charter members in 1992 as the conference expanded its sports offerings.

All of the charter members defected from the Middle Atlantic Conference, MAC. Johns Hopkins and McDaniel College both played in the Mason-Dixon Conference prior to entering the MAC in 1975.

Member schools

Current members

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Joined Nickname US News Ranking 2016
for Liberal Arts
Football?
Bryn Mawr College1 Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 1885 Private 1,890 1992 Owls 25 No
Dickinson College Carlisle, Pennsylvania 1783 Private 2,381 1981 Red Devils 40 Yes
Franklin & Marshall College Lancaster, Pennsylvania 1787 Private 2,104 1981 Diplomats 40 Yes
Gettysburg College Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 1832 Private 2,600 1981 Bullets 48 Yes
Haverford College Haverford, Pennsylvania 1833 Private 1,169 1992 Fords 12 No
Johns Hopkins University2 Baltimore, Maryland 1876 Private 4,478 1981 Blue Jays 10
(National Universities)
Yes
McDaniel College Westminster, Maryland 1867 Private 1,635 1981 Green Terror 134 Yes
Muhlenberg College Allentown, Pennsylvania 1848 Private/Lutheran 2,483 1981 Mules 72 Yes
Swarthmore College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 1864 Private 1,525 1981 Garnet 3 No
Ursinus College Collegeville, Pennsylvania 1869 Private 1,583 1981 Bears 93 Yes
Washington College Chestertown, Maryland 1782 Private 1,450 1992 Shoremen (men's)
Shorewomen (women's)
100 No
Note
  1. - Bryn Mawr is a women's college; therefore, it doesn't sponsor men's sports.
  2. - Johns Hopkins was on multiple all-sports conference affiliation membership for some sports in the University Athletic Association until the end of the 2000-01 season.

Affiliate members

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Joined Nickname US News Ranking 2013
for Liberal Arts
Primary
Conference
Centennial
Sport
Juniata College Huntingdon, Pennsylvania 1876 Private 1,460 2007 Eagles 100 Landmark football
United States Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point, New York 1943 U.S. Service
Academies
1,011 2003 Mariners 3 (Regional Colleges (North)) Landmark wrestling
New York University New York City 1832 Private 22,280 2010 Violets 32 (National Universities) UAA wrestling
Moravian College Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 1742 Private 1,495 2007 Greyhounds 138 Landmark football
Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania 1858 Private/Lutheran 2,200 2010 Crusaders 115 Landmark football,
women's golf
Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey 1870 Private 2,040 2003 Ducks 75 (National University) Empire 8 wrestling
Washington and Lee University Lexington, Virginia 1749 Private 1,800 1992 Generals 14 ODAC wrestling

Membership timeline

Invalid image map generated by EasyTimeline

Sports

Teams compete in men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's track and field, wrestling, baseball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, softball and men's and women's tennis.

References

    External links

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.