The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III which is composed of colleges located in Ohio and Indiana. It sponsors 23 sports, 11 for men and 12 for women.

History The formation of the NCAC was announced at joint news conferences in Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh in February 1983. Allegheny College, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University, and The College of Wooster were charter members in 1984, the same year that NCAC athletic conference play began. The conference offered 10 women's sports, the most offered by a conference at that time.

In 1988, Earlham College and Wittenberg College accepted invitations to join the NCAC, pushing conference membership to nine schools in three states. The two schools would begin play in the fall of 1989. In 1998, Hiram College, and Wabash College accepted invitations to join the NCAC, pushing conference membership to 10 schools in three states, which both schools began play in the fall of 1999. Case Western Reserve, a charter member of the NCAC, announced that it would leave the NCAC following the 1998–99 academic year. The Spartans would compete on a full-time basis in the University Athletic Association (UAA) after more than a decade of joint conference membership affiliation.

Earlham announced it would depart the NCAC for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC), beginning with the 2010–11 season. DePauw University became the 10th member of the NCAC beginning in the 2011–12 season.

Allegheny left the NCAC after the 2021–22 school year to return to its former home of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Allegheny and Earlham remain single-sport NCAC members in field hockey. Later in 2022, Transylvania University and Washington & Jefferson College were announced as single-sport NCAC members for field hockey, beginning with the 2023 season.

The most recent changes to the NCAC membership were announced in 2024. First, on January 18, John Carroll University announced it was leaving the Ohio Athletic Conference to join the NCAC. Then on April 23, Hiram announced it would leave the NCAC in 2025 to return to the PAC, which it had left in 1989.

Chronological timeline 1983 – In February 1983, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) was founded. Charter members included Allegheny College, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University and The College of Wooster, beginning the 1984–85 academic year. 1989 – Earlham College and Wittenberg College joined the NCAC in the 1989–90 academic year. 1999: Case Western Reserve left the NCAC to fully align all of its sports to the University Athletic Association (UAA) after the 1998–99 academic year. Hiram College and Wabash College joined the NCAC in the 1999–2000 academic year. 2010 – Earlham left the NCAC to join the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) after the 2009–10 academic year; while it remained in the conference as an affiliate member for field hockey, beginning the 2010–11 school year. 2011 – DePauw University joined the NCAC in the 2011–12 academic year. 2022 – Allegheny left the NCAC to rejoin the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) after the 2021–22 academic year; while it remained in the conference as an affiliate member for field hockey, beginning the 2022–23 school year. 2023 – Transylvania University and Washington & Jefferson College joined the NCAC as affiliate members for field hockey in the 2023 fall season (2023–24 academic year). 2025: Hiram left the NCAC to rejoin the PAC after the 2024–25 academic year. John Carroll University joined the NCAC beginning the 2025–26 academic year. 2026 – Washington University in St. Louis joined the NCAC as an affiliate member for football, beginning the 2026 fall season (2026–27 academic year).

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives In 2019, the NCAC was one of the first NCAA conferences to participate in the organization's LGBTQ OneTeam Program, which launched in fall 2019. Two facilitators from the NCAC – Seth Hayes of Denison University and Rhea Debussy of Kenyon College – were among the first 30 facilitators for this NCAA Division III program. In 2021, the NCAA announced that two NCAC staff members – Kate Costanzo of Allegheny College and Rhea Debussy of Kenyon College – were finalists for the NCAA Division III LGBTQ Administrator/Coach/Staff of the Year Award.

Member schools Current members The NCAC currently has nine full members, all private schools.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment 2022 US Newsranking 2021 ForbesTop Colleges Nickname Joined Colors Denison University Granville, Ohio 1831 Nonsectarian 2,100 42 288 Big Red 1984 DePauw University Greencastle, Indiana 1837 Methodist 2,350 46 130 Tigers 2011 John Carroll University University Heights, Ohio 1886 Catholic 2,615 Blue Streaks 2025 Kenyon College Gambier, Ohio 1824 Episcopal/Anglican 1,640 30 287 Owls 1984 Oberlin College Oberlin, Ohio 1833 Nonsectarian 2,850 37 290 Yeomen &Yeowomen 1984 Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware, Ohio 1842 Nonsectarian 1,850 98 446 Battling Bishops 1984 Wabash College Crawfordsville, Indiana 1832 Nonsectarian 850 57 327 Little Giants 1999 Wittenberg University Springfield, Ohio 1845 Lutheran ELCA 2,050 155 435 Tigers 1989 Wooster, Ohio 1866 Nonsectarian 1,827 71 428 Fighting Scots 1984

Notes

Affiliate members The NCAC has five affiliate members, all are private schools.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined NCACsport(s) Primaryconference Allegheny College Meadville, Pennsylvania 1815 United Methodist 1,442 Gators 2022 Field hockey Presidents' (PAC) Earlham College Richmond, Indiana 1847 Quaker 900 Quakers 2010 Field hockey Heartland (HCAC) Transylvania University Lexington, Kentucky 1780 Disciples of Christ 963 Pioneers 2023 Field hockey Heartland (HCAC) Washington & Jefferson College Washington, Pennsylvania 1781 Nonsectarian 1,168 Presidents 2023 Field hockey Presidents' (PAC) Washington University in St. Louis 1853 Nonsectarian 14,117 Bears 2026 Football University (UAA)

Notes

Former members The NCAC has four former full members, all private schools.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Currentconference Allegheny College Meadville, Pennsylvania 1815 United Methodist 2,100 Gators 1984 2022 Presidents' (PAC) Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio 1826 Nonsectarian 11,824 Spartans 1984 1999 University (UAA) Earlham College Richmond, Indiana 1847 Quakers 1,181 Quakers 1989 2010 Heartland (HCAC) Hiram College Hiram, Ohio 1850 Disciples of Christ 1,395 Terriers 1999 2025 Presidents' (PAC)

Notes

Membership timeline

Sports Conference Sports +SportMen'sWomen'sBaseballBasketballCross CountryField HockeyFootballGolfLacrosseSoccerSoftballSwimming & DivingTennisTrack & Field (Indoor)Track & Field (Outdoor)Volleyball

Men's Sports +SchoolBaseballBasketballCrossCountryFootballGolfLacrosseSoccerSwimming& DivingTennisTrack& Field(Indoor)Track&Field(Outdoor)TotalNCAC SportsDenison11DePauw11John Carroll11Kenyon11Oberlin10Ohio Wesleyan11Wabash11Wittenberg11Wooster11Totals9999+1899999998+1Affiliate MembersWashU1

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the NCAC +SchoolSquashVolleyballWrestlingDenisonLLJohn CarrollINDOhio WesleyanINDWabashMCVLINDWittenbergMCVL

Women's Sports +SchoolBasketballCrossCountryFieldHockeyGolfLacrosseSoccerSoftballSwimming& DivingTennisTrack& Field(Indoor)Track& Field(Outdoor)VolleyballTotalNCAC SportsDenison12DePauw12John Carroll12Kenyon12Oberlin11Ohio Wesleyan12Wittenberg12Wooster12Totals888+478888888895+4Affiliate MembersAllegheny1Earlham1Transylvania1Washington & Jefferson1

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the NCAC +SchoolBowlingFencingSquashWrestlingDenisonCCFCLLJohn CarrollAMCCWittenbergOBC

See also Five Colleges of Ohio NCAC men's basketball tournament

References

External links