New England Small College Athletic Conference

New England Small College Athletic Conference
NESCAC
Established 1971
Association NCAA
Division Division III
Members 11
Sports fielded
  • 26
    • men's: 13
    • women's: 13
Region New England (except New Hampshire and Rhode Island) and New York
Headquarters Hadley, Massachusetts
Commissioner Andrea Savage (since 1999)
Website nescac.com
Locations

The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is a collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eleven schools, which are ten small liberal arts colleges and one medium-sized research university. The schools are all private, located in the Northeastern United States, and are often associated with the Little Ivies.[nb 1] The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eleven schools as a group. 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 schools draw parallels to the academic caliber of schools in the Ivy League. The term NESCAC has connotations of academic excellence and selectivity in admissions.[11] All eleven colleges place in the top 15% of the 2016 U.S. News & World Report and Forbes university rankings.[12][13]

The conference originated with an agreement among Amherst, Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Williams in 1955.[14] In 1971, Bates, Colby, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, and Union College joined on and the NESCAC was officially formed. Union withdrew in 1977[15] 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 $2.6 billion being the largest. Undergraduate enrollment at the schools ranges from about 1,792 (Bates) to 5,200 (Tufts).[16]

Members

Member colleges of the athletic conference possesses some of the largest financial endowments in the world. As of the 2016-2017 academic year, Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, has the largest endowment of any college in the conference.[17][18]

Location Athletic nickname Enrollment 2017 endowment Colors Founded
Amherst College  Massachusetts Mammoths[note 1] 1,817 $2.25 billion[19]           1821
Bates College  Maine Bobcats 1,792 $345 million[20]           1855
Bowdoin College  Maine Polar Bears 1,805 $1.46 billion[21]           1794
Colby College  Maine Mules 1,838 $775 million[22]           1813
Connecticut College  Connecticut Camels 1,911 $290 million[23]           1911
Hamilton College  New York Continentals 1,864 $905 million[24]           1793
Middlebury College  Vermont Panthers 2,507 $1.07 billion[25]           1800
Trinity College  Connecticut Bantams 2,344 $584 million[26]           1823
Tufts University  Massachusetts Jumbos 5,138 $1.77 billion[27]           1852
Wesleyan University  Connecticut Cardinals 2,870 $1 billion[28]           1831
Williams College  Massachusetts Ephs 2,124 $2.44 billion[29]           1793
  1. ↑ Amherst's original, unofficial nickname for its teams, the Lord Jeffs, was retired in 2016 due to controversy over the propriety of honoring Lord Jeffrey Amherst.

History

The 1901 Williams College football team posing for a photo in the yearbook.

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.[30] 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.[31][32] Colby began its now most notable hockey rivalry, with Bowdoin in 1922.[33]

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.[34][35][36][37]

The conference originated with an agreement among Amherst, Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Williams in 1955.[14] 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.[14]

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.[14]

Membership timeline

Connecticut CollegeUnion CollegeWilliams CollegeWesleyan UniversityTufts UniversityTrinity College (Connecticut)Middlebury CollegeHamilton College (New York)Colby CollegeBowdoin CollegeBates CollegeAmherst College

Student life

The Snow Bowl of Middlebury College features the college's blue and white school colors and its mascot, the panther.

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."[38]

Bates rejected the fraternity system in 1855, when it was founded. Colby disbanded its fraternities and sororities in 1984.[39] At Bowdoin, fraternities were phased out in 2000.[40] Despite the lack of Greek life, NESCAC schools are widely known for a prominent drinking culture.[41][42][43][44]

Academics and financial aid

Many schools in the New England Small College Athletic Conference are known for low grade inflation and rigorous academic standards. The practice was often contrasted with the Ivy League schools with respect to uncovered grade inflation. Some members have received limited media coverage over perceived grade inflation.[45][46][47] The colleges are known for a range of high and relatively low tuition rates and compressive fees, some of the colleges have been named the most expensive in the United States.[48]

Geographic distribution

Most applicants to schools in the NESCAC come from the Northeast, largely from the New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia areas. As all NESCAC schools are located on the East Coast, and all but one are in New England, most graduates end up working and residing in the Northeast after graduation.[49]

Fashion and lifestyle

A 1917 Bates College yearbook featuring students donning traditional, preppy attire.

Preppy styles are often associated with the NESCAC and its culture.[32] The athletic conference is often associated with the upper class White Anglo-Saxon Protestant community of the Northeast, Old Money, or more generally, the American upper middle and upper classes.[50] However, all schools 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]

Some typical preppy styles also reflect traditional upper class New England leisure activities, such as equestrian, sailing or yachting, hunting, fencing, rowing, lacrosse, tennis, squash, golf, and rugby. Longtime New England and Canadian outdoor outfitters, such as L.L. Bean,[53] Patagonia,[54] Canada Goose, Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, and Vineyard Vines have become part of conventional NESCAC style. This can be seen in sport stripes and colors, equestrian clothing, plaid shirts, field jackets and nautical-themed accessories worn by the students of the NESCAC.

U.S. Presidents and the NESCAC

Schools in the New England Small College Athletic Conference have graduated three U.S. Presidents. The first president to graduate from the athletic conference was Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the U.S., a Bowdoin graduate of 1856.[55] The 20th President of the U.S., James A. Garfield graduated from Williams College in 1888.[56] The third U.S. President to graduate from a NESCAC was Calvin Coolidge, who graduated from Amherst College in 1895.[57]

Competition and athletics

The mascot of Tufts University is the elephant.

Four NESCAC institutions are among the 39 that founded the NCAA in 1905: Amherst, Tufts, Wesleyan, and Williams.[58] 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).[59]

Football scheduling

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.[60] Prior to 2017, NESCAC football teams rotated their opening opponents on the below two-year cycle.[61][62]

In addition to the ban on post-season 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.[63]

Athletic spending

The U.S. Department of Education publishes statistics on athletic spending by colleges. In 2013–14, athletic spending by NESCAC schools was as follows:[64]

Athletic spending Amount per (unduplicated) athlete Div III Rank Amount per student
Amherst College $5,822,492 $10,324 41 $3,262
Bates College $5,181,170 $7,631 15 $3,293
Bowdoin College $5,905,648 $9,072 18 $3,303
Colby College $5,149,582 $8,110 19 $2,829
Connecticut College $3,756,307 $7,322 66 $2,006
Hamilton College $4,869,188 $8,618 38 $2,557
Middlebury College $5,235,614 $7,588 13 $2,132
Trinity College $5,885,489 $8,945 16 $2,752
Tufts University $4,342,883 $5,752 4 $849
Wesleyan University $5,379,896 $9,134 24 $1,863
Williams College $7,276,419 $9,780 5 $3,548

Note: Nine (out of the eleven) NESCAC schools rank in the top 25 Division III for total athletic spending. With the exception of Connecticut College, all NESCAC schools rank in the top 10% of Division III for # of varsity athletes. Connecticut College athletic spending and # of varsity athletes are lowest because it does not have a football team. Tufts per-student athletic spending is low because it has nearly double the undergraduate population (5,100) of its nearest NESCAC rival (Wesleyan, with 2,800), and it has not emphasized athletic spending.

Conference venues

School Football Basketball Soccer
Stadium Capacity Arena Capacity Stadium Capacity
Amherst Pratt Field 8,000 LeFrak Gymnasium 2,450 Hitchcock Field 6,000
Bates Garcelon Field 3,000 Alumni Gymnasium 750 Russel Street Field 4,000
Bowdoin Whittier Field 9,000 Morrell Gymnasium 2,000 Pickard Field 4,500
Colby Harold Alfond Stadium 5,000 Wadsworth Gymnasium 2,500 Colby Soccer Field 3,700
Connecticut Non-football school N/A Luce Fieldhouse 800 Freeman Field 1,000
Hamilton Steuben Field 2,500 Margaret Bundy Scott Field House 2,500 Love Field 2,500
Middlebury Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium 3,500 Pepin Gymnasium 1,200 Middlebury Soccer Field 1,200
Trinity Jessee/Miller Field 6,500 Oosting Gym 2,000 Jessee/Miller Field 6,500
Tufts Ellis Oval 6,000 Cousens Gym 1,000 Ellis Oval 6,000
Wesleyan Andrus Field 5,000 Silloway Gymnasium 1,200 Jackson Field 1,200
Williams Weston Field 10,000 Chandler Gymnasium 2,900 Weston Field 10,000

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Little Ivies as a grouping of academically selective liberal arts colleges in the United States.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

References

  1. ↑ McDonald, Michael (December 22, 2016). "Little Good News for the Little Ivies". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  2. ↑ Winey, Madison (April 23, 2012). "The Not-So-Little Ivies". thecollegevoice.org. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  3. ↑ Xinhua (November 6, 2011). "Elite high school graduates look abroad". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  4. ↑ Staff, Forbes (August 6, 2013). "Little Ivies, or the small renowned liberal arts schools". Forbes. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  5. ↑ Matson, Zachary (December 28, 2016). "College investments sink". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  6. ↑ Newsmax (November 11, 2010). "5 Best Colleges in Connecticut". Newsmax. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  7. ↑ Massey, Alana (June 20, 2014). "Higher Ed Pays a High Price for Mediocrity". The Baffler. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  8. ↑ Seltzer, Rick (December 1, 2016). "Trinity College in Connecticut sells building and changes enrollment strategy, the socially elite Little Ivies". Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  9. ↑ J.P., Lawrence (October 22, 2014). "Veterans in the Ivory Tower". Pacific Standard. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  10. ↑ Peck, Don (November 2003). "The Selectivity Illusion". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  11. ↑ "The Not-So-Little Ivies | The College Voice". Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  12. ↑ "National Liberal Arts College Ranking: Top Liberal Arts Colleges - US News Best Colleges". U.S World News.
  13. ↑ "America's Top Colleges". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "NESCAC". nescac.com.
  15. ↑ http://www.union.edu/Presidents/bonner.php, retrieved October 1, 2008. "[I]n March 1977, a letter from the president of Williams College brought to light evidence that, a year earlier, Harkness had violated the NESCAC recruiting rules and then lied about the matter when confronted by President Bonner. Bonner immediately suspended Harkness, and offered his own resignation to the Board of Trustees at its April meeting. The trustees reinstated Harkness, refused to accept the president's resignation—reappointing him for one year—and voted to terminate Union's membership in NESCAC."
  16. ↑ "NESCAC". www.nescac.com. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  17. ↑ "http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2015/11/10/williams-colleges-financial-muscle-grows-with.html". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2017-06-16. External link in |title= (help)
  18. ↑ "Williams College Endowment Fund". endowments.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  19. ↑ https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/media/2017%2520Audited%2520Financial%2520Statements.pdf
  20. ↑ http://www.bates.edu/accounting/files/2011/06/Financial-Statements-Bates-College-FY17.pdf
  21. ↑ https://www.bowdoin.edu/treasurer/pdf/2016-2017-audited-financial-statements.pdf
  22. ↑ http://www.colby.edu/vpadmin/wp-content/uploads/sites/157/2017/10/2016-17-Colby-Audited-Financial-Statement.pdf
  23. ↑ https://www.conncoll.edu/media/website-media/controller/FY17-Connecticut-College-audited-financial-statements.pdf
  24. ↑ https://www.hamilton.edu/documents/HamiltonCollegeFS2017.pdf
  25. ↑ http://www.middlebury.edu/system/files/media/Middlebury%20College%20FY17.pdf
  26. ↑ http://www.trincoll.edu/AboutTrinity/offices/accounting/Documents/TrinityCollegeFinalFinancialStatementsFY17.pdf
  27. ↑ http://finance.tufts.edu/budgetacc/files/2017_AnnualFinancialReport.pdf
  28. ↑ http://www.wesleyan.edu/giving/endowment.html
  29. ↑ https://controller.williams.edu/files/williams_financial_statement_2017-1.pdf
  30. ↑ "Williams". ephsports.williams.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  31. ↑ Nevin, David (1970). Muskie of Maine. Ladd Library, Bates College: Random House, New York. p. 99.
  32. 1 2 Woz, Markus (2002). Traditionally Unconventional. Ladd Library, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine: Bates College. p. 6.
  33. ↑ Klein, Jeff Z. "Want a Real Rivalry? Try Bowdoin-Colby". Slap Shot. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  34. ↑ One version of the facts: my life in ... - Henry Edmison Duckworth - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  35. ↑ "The Global Language Monitor » Blog Archive » 2011 Top 300 Colleges and Universities Ranked by Internet 'Brand Equity'". Languagemonitor.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  36. ↑ "Around the Courts: College Squash Weekend Highlights (1/30/2011)". College Squash Association. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  37. ↑ "M. Squash | Big tuneups versus 'Little Three'". The Daily Pennsylvanian. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  38. ↑ Schonfeld, Zach. "Inside the Colleges that killed Frats for Good".
  39. ↑ digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=... Retrieved 2016-04-15
  40. ↑ Retrieved 2016-04-15
  41. ↑ "BSG discusses NESCAC alcohol survey, printing plan — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  42. ↑ "NESCAC Schools Survey Alcohol Use". The Middlebury Campus. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  43. ↑ Zach. "NESCAC NEWS: Over 50 Colby Students Facing Alcohol Charges". Wesleying. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  44. ↑ "Let's Talk About Booze Part 3". Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  45. ↑ "Amherst Mag - When It Comes to Grade Inflation, Think "When in Rome..."".
  46. ↑ "The Amherst Student Opinion Grade Inflation Devalues Education". amherststudent-archive.amherst.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  47. ↑ "Grade Inflation : EphBlog". ephblog.com. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  48. ↑ Staley, Oliver. "Bates Charging $51,300 Leads Expensive U.S. Colleges List". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  49. ↑ Clark, Charles E. (2005). Bates Through the Years: an Illustrated History. Edmund Muskie Archives: Bates College, Lewiston, Maine. p. 37.
  50. ↑ "Getting Intimate With My Elitist Indignation". Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  51. ↑ "Student Financial Services, Bates College". www.bates.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  52. ↑ "Financial Aid". finaid.williams.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  53. ↑ Zlotnick, Sarah (February 24, 2012). "Your cheat sheet to preppy style". The Washingtonian.
  54. ↑ "7 Things You Need To Explain To Your Non-Bowdoin Friends". Her Campus. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  55. ↑ "Franklin Pierce: Life Before the Presidency—Miller Center". 2016-03-10. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  56. ↑ "James A. Garfield - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com". HISTORY.com. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  57. ↑ "Calvin Coolidge: Life Before the Presidency—Miller Center". 2016-01-24. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  58. ↑ NCAA News Archive - Founding members hold true to NCAA educational mission
  59. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/directorscup/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/june6DIIIupdated.pdf
  60. ↑ "NESCAC Football Moves to Full Round-Robin Schedule". www.nescac.com. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  61. ↑ "Jumbos Welcome Wesleyan to Ellis Oval/Zimman Field on Saturday for 2012 Football Opener". Tufts.
  62. ↑ "2016 NESCAC Football - NESCAC". www.nescac.com. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  63. ↑ "NESCAC". nescac.com.
  64. ↑ "Equity in Athletics Data Analysis Cutting Tool Website". ed.gov.
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