The Central Massachusetts Conference was a high school athletic conference located in District 2 of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. All of the schools in the conference during the final years of existence were Catholic Schools located in the Worcester County of Massachusetts. St. Bernard's Football and Ice Hockey teams were part of the Catholic Central League.
The current iteration of the conference was founded in 1975 with schools Fitchburg, Gardner, Holy Name, Leominster, St. Bernard's, St. John's, St. Peter's (which would become St. Peter-Marian a year later after merging with Marian High), and Wachusett. Notre Dame Academy would join a couple years later in 1977. It wasn't long until members began leaving however, Gardner being the first to go join the massive Wachusett League in the fall of 1980. The conference remained stable for the better half of the decade until 1988, when Fitchburg, Leominster and Wachusett all left for the Midland League. By now, all schools had dwindling enrollment sizes except for St. John's who was easily overpowering the others in athletics. This led to St. John's leaving for the Catholic Conference in 2021. In 2025, with the conference on its final leg, it merged with the Colonial Athletic League, Dual Valley Conference, Inter-High League, and the Southern Worcester County League to create the Central Massachusetts Athletic Conference.
Former Members +SchoolLocationMascotColorsYear Left*Current ConferenceFitchburg High SchoolFitchburg, MassachusettsRed RaidersRed & Gray 1989Midland Wachusett LeagueGardner High SchoolGardner, MassachusettsWildcatsOrange & Black 1980Midland Wachusett LeagueLeominster High SchoolLeominster, MassachusettsBlue DevilsBlue & White 1989Midland Wachusett LeagueNotre Dame AcademyWorcester, MassachusettsRebelsGreen & Gold 2025Central Massachusetts Athletic ConferenceSaint Bernard's High SchoolFitchburg, MassachusettsBernardiansBlue & Gold 2025Central Massachusetts Athletic ConferenceSaint John's High SchoolShrewsbury, MassachusettsPioneersRed & White 2021Catholic ConferenceSt. Paul Diocesan Junior-Senior High SchoolWorcester, MassachusettsKnightsBlack & Gold 2025Central Massachusetts Athletic ConferenceWachusett Regional High SchoolHolden, MassachusettsMountaineersGreen & White 1989Midland Wachusett League *All schools joined when the league founded in 1975
State Championships This is a list of MIAA state championships won by schools while a part of the Central Mass Conference
Football Source:
Note: From 1972 to 2012, football state championships were separated by region, so there would be multiple champions from each division. From 1972 to 1977 and from 1997 to 2008, it was split between Eastern Mass and Central/Western Mass and there would be two champions in each division. From 1978 to 1996 and from 2009 to 2012 Central and Western Mass split so there would be three champions in each division. In 2013 everything was combined and therefore only allowed one state champion per division. St. John's - 1977, 2001, 2004 D1 Central/Western; 1985, 1988, 2001 D1 Central; 2005, 2006 D1AA Central/Western; 2017 D3 Leominster - 1978, 1981, 1982, D1 Central St. Peter-Marian - 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 D2 Central Holy Name - 2005, 2006 D2 Central/Western; 2008 D1A Central/Western St. Bernard's - 2018, 2019 D8
Cross Country Source:
Boys Gardner - 1976 D1 St. John's - 1992, 2017 D1
Soccer Source:
Boys Leominster - 1978 D1 St. John's - 1985, 2007 D1
Girls St. Peter-Marian - 1999 (Co-Champs with Oliver Ames High School) D2
Fall Golf
St. John's - 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2023
Field Hockey
Notre Dame Academy - 1992, 2002, 2003, 2005 D1
Basketball Source:
Boys St. Bernard's - 1988 D2 St. John's - 2000, 2009 D1
Girls St. Peter-Marian - 1984 D1
Indoor Track
Boys
Fitchburg - 1978 Class C
Ice Hockey Source:
Boys St. John's - 1999, 2004 D1
Alpine Ski Source:
Boys St. John's - 2007 St. Peter-Marian - 2014
Baseball Source: St. John's - 1976, 2002 D1 St. Peter-Marian - 1977, 1987 D1
Softball Source:
St. Peter-Marian - 1977, 1979, 1981, 1985, 2015 D1 Leominster - 1987 D1
Tennis Source:
Boys
St. John's - 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004 D1
Girls
Notre Dame Academy - 2004-2006 D2
Spring Golf Source:
Notre Dame Academy - 2015, 2016
References