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Centennial Conference
Association NCAA
Founded1981
CommissionerPortia Hoeg [1]
Sports fielded
  • 24
    • men's: 12
    • women's: 12
Division Division III
No. of teams11 chartered members, 6 associate members
Headquarters Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Region Mid-Atlantic
Official website centennial.org
Locations
Location of teams in Centennial Conference

The Centennial Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Chartered member teams are located in Maryland and Pennsylvania; associate members are also located in New York and Virginia. [2]

Eleven private colleges compose the Centennial Conference. Five of ten members of the Centennial Conference rank among the top 50 national liberal arts colleges and Johns Hopkins University is ranked seventh among national universities.

On average, Centennial members sponsor 19 varsity teams. Conference members have won seventeen NCAA team titles: Johns Hopkins women's cross country (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021), Gettysburg women's lacrosse (2011, 2017, 2018), 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

Centennial Conference
50km
30miles
Dickinson
Susquehanna
Moravian
Merchant Marine
Marymount
Juniata
Cabrini
Washington
Haverford
Bryn Mawr
Ursinus
Swarthmore
Muhlenberg
McDaniel
Johns Hopkins
Gettysburg
.
Franklin & Marshall
Location of Centennial members: full, affiliate, affiliate departing

According to the Centennial Conference's website, "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.

Chronological timeline

  • 1981 - On June 4, 1981, the Centennial Conference was founded as a football-only league, then known as the Centennial Football Conference. Charter members included Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall College, Gettysburg College, Johns Hopkins University, Muhlenberg College, Swarthmore College, Ursinus College, and Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College.
  • 1992 - The Centennial Football Conference became the Centennial Conference when the conference expanded to add other sports, effective in the 1992-93 academic year. Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College and Washington College also joined the newly-formed all-sports conference.
  • 1998 - Washington and Lee University joined the Centennial as an affiliate member for men's wrestling, effective in the 1998-99 academic year.
  • 2001 - Johns Hopkins left the University Athletic Association (UAA) to fully align with the Centennial Conference for all the sports being sponsored, effective in the 2001-02 academic year.
  • 2004 - The United States Merchant Marine Academy (Merchant Marine) and Stevens Institute of Technology (Stevens or Stevens Tech) joined the Centennial as affiliate members for men's wrestling, effective in the 2004-05 academic year.
  • 2007 - Juniata College and Moravian College joined the Centennial as affiliate members for football, effective in the 2007 fall season (2007-08 academic year).
  • 2010 - Susquehanna University joined the Centennial as an affiliate member for football and women's golf, effective in the 2010-11 academic year.
  • 2012 - New York University joined the Centennial as an affiliate member for men's wrestling, effective in the 2012-13 academic year.
  • 2016 - NYU left the Centennial as an affiliate member for wrestling, effective after the 2015-16 academic year.
  • 2017 - Susquehanna left the Centennial as an affiliate member for women's golf, effective after the 2017 spring season (2016-17 academic year).
  • 2017 - Marymount University and Neumann University joined the Centennial as affiliate members for women's golf, effective in the 2018 spring season (2017-18 academic year).
  • 2019 - Two institutions left the Centennial as affiliate members: Neumann for women's golf and Stevens for men's wrestling, effective after the 2018-19 academic year.
  • 2019 - Cabrini University joined the Centennial as an affiliate member for women's golf to replace Neumann's spot, effective in the 2020 spring season (2019-20 academic year).
  • 2022 - Washington and Lee University departed as an affiliate member in wrestling for their primary conference, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
  • 2023 - Football affiliates Juniata, Moravian and Susquehanna will depart for the new football league started in the Landmark Conference, effective after the 2022 fall season (2022-23 academic year). [3]

Member schools

Current members

The Centennial currently has 11 full members, all are private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Acceptance
Rate
Nickname Joined Football
Bryn Mawr College [a] Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 1885 Nonsectarian 1,381 38% [4] Owls 1992–93 No
Dickinson College Carlisle, Pennsylvania 1783 Nonsectarian 2,420 35% [5] Red Devils 1981–82 Yes
Franklin & Marshall College Lancaster, Pennsylvania 1787 Nonsectarian 2,255 35% [6] Diplomats 1981–82 Yes
Gettysburg College Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 1832 Lutheran ELCA 2,384 56% [7] Bullets 1981–82 Yes
Haverford College Haverford, Pennsylvania 1833 Nonsectarian 1,268 12.9% [8] Fords 1992–93 No
Johns Hopkins University [b] Baltimore, Maryland 1876 Nonsectarian 20,174 6.5% [9] Blue Jays 1981–82 Yes
McDaniel College Westminster, Maryland 1867 Nonsectarian 1,559 70% [10] Green Terror 1981–82 Yes
Muhlenberg College Allentown, Pennsylvania 1848 Lutheran ELCA 2,408 68% [11] Mules 1981–82 Yes
Swarthmore College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 1864 Nonsectarian 1,543 8% [12] Garnet 1981–82 No
Ursinus College Collegeville, Pennsylvania 1869 Secular 1,556 80% Bears 1981–82 Yes
Washington College Chestertown, Maryland 1782 Nonsectarian 1,479 92% [13] Shoremen (men's)
Shorewomen (women's)
1992–93 No


  1. ^ This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not sponsor men's teams.
  2. ^ Johns Hopkins had dual athletic conference membership with the University Athletic Association from 1992–93 to 2000–01, then the Blue Jays left the UAA in order to fully align with the Centennial Conference. Additionally, its men's and women's lacrosse teams do not play in the Centennial Conference, but instead play as Division I teams in the Big Ten Conference.

Affiliate members

The Centennial currently has three affiliate members, all but one are private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Primary
conference
Centennial
sport
Cabrini University Radnor, Pennsylvania 1957 Catholic
( Missionary Sisters)
1,759 Cavaliers 2019–20 Atlantic East (AEC) women's golf
Marymount University Arlington, Virginia 1950 Catholic
( RSHM)
3,684 Saints 2017–18 Atlantic East (AEC) women's golf
United States Merchant Marine Academy
(Merchant Marine)
Kings Point, New York 1943 Federal 1,011 Mariners 2004–05 Skyline wrestling

Former affiliate members

The Centennial had seven former affiliate members, all were private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Primary
conference
Centennial
sport
Juniata College Huntingdon, Pennsylvania 1876 Church of the Brethren 1,568 Eagles 2007–08 2022–23 Landmark football
Moravian University Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 1742 Moravian 1,568 Greyhounds 2007–08 2022–23 Landmark football
Neumann University Aston, Pennsylvania 1965 Catholic
( Franciscan)
3,000 Knights 2017–18 2018–19 Atlantic East (AEC) women's golf
New York University New York City 1832 Nonsectarian 22,280 Violets 2011–12 2015–16 University (UAA) wrestling
Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey 1870 Nonsectarian 5,260 Ducks 2004–05 2018–19 MAC Freedom wrestling
Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania 1858 Lutheran ELCA 2,195 River Hawks 2010–11 2016–17 Landmark women's golf
2022–23 football
Washington and Lee University Lexington, Virginia 1749 Nonsectarian 1,830 Generals 1998–99 2021–22 Old Dominion (ODAC) wrestling
Notes

Membership timeline

Cabrini University Neumann University Marymount University New York University Susquehanna University Moravian College Juniata College Stevens Institute of Technology United States Merchant Marine Academy Washington and Lee University Washington College Haverford College Bryn Mawr College Ursinus College Swarthmore College Muhlenberg College McDaniel College Johns Hopkins University Gettysburg College Franklin %26 Marshall College Dickinson College

Sports

A divisional format was used for basketball (M / W) from 1992–93 to 2002–03.
East
  • Bryn Mawr
  • Haverford
  • Muhlenberg
  • Swarthmore
  • Ursinus
  • Washington
West
  • Dickinson
  • Franklin & Marshall
  • Gettysburg
  • Johns Hopkins
  • McDaniel

The Centennial Conference sponsors championships in the following sports:

Conference sports
Sport Men's Women's
Baseball
Green tickY
Basketball
Green tickY
Green tickY
Cross Country
Green tickY
Green tickY
Field Hockey
Green tickY
Football
Green tickY
Golf
Green tickY
Green tickY
Lacrosse
Green tickY
Green tickY
Soccer
Green tickY
Green tickY
Softball
Green tickY
Swimming
Green tickY
Green tickY
Tennis
Green tickY
Green tickY
Track and field (indoor)
Green tickY
Green tickY
Track and field (outdoor)
Green tickY
Green tickY
Volleyball
Green tickY
Wrestling
Green tickY

Men's sponsored sports by school

School Baseball Basketball Cross country Football Golf Lacrosse Soccer Swimming Tennis Track & Field
(indoor)
Track & Field
(outdoor)
Wrestling Total
Dickinson Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN 11
Franklin
& Marshall
Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN [A] 11
Gettysburg Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 12
Haverford Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN 9
Johns Hopkins Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Red XN [B] Green tickY Red XN [C] Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 9
McDaniel Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 12
Muhlenberg Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 11
Swarthmore Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN 10
Ursinus Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 12
Washington Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN 6
Totals 10 10 9 7 7 9 10 7 10 9 9 5+1 104+1
Merchant Marine Green tickY 1
Notes
  1. ^ Franklin & Marshall sponsors men's wrestling, however, the team does not compete in the Centennial Conference, but instead competes as a Division I team in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association.
  2. ^ Johns Hopkins sponsors men's lacrosse, however, the team does not compete in the Centennial Conference, but instead competes as a Division I team in the Big Ten Conference.
  3. ^ Johns Hopkins sponsors men's swimming, however, the team is yet to attend a conference championship. They were a member of the Bluegrass Mountain Conference, a Division II swimming conference, from the 2009-10 season until the 2015-16 season, the team now functions as a swimming independent.

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Centennial Conference that are played by Centennial schools

School Fencing Rowing Sailing Squash Trap & Skeet Water Polo
Dickinson Red XN Red XN Red XN MASC Red XN Red XN
Franklin & Marshall Red XN MARC Red XN MASC Red XN Red XN
Haverford MACFA Red XN Red XN CSA Red XN Red XN
Johns Hopkins MACFA Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN MAWPC
Washington Red XN MARC MAISA Red XN ACUI Red XN

Women's sponsored sports by school

School Basketball Cross country Field
Hockey
Golf Lacrosse Soccer Softball Swimming Tennis Track & Field
(indoor)
Track & Field
(outdoor)
Volleyball Total
Bryn Mawr Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
Dickinson Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 12
Franklin
& Marshall
Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 12
Gettysburg Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 12
Haverford Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
Johns Hopkins Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Red XN [A] Green tickY Red XN Red XN [B] Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
McDaniel Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 12
Muhlenberg Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 11
Swarthmore Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 11
Ursinus Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 12
Washington Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Red XN Green tickY 8
Totals 11 10 11 6+2 10 11 9 8 11 10 10 11 118+2
Cabrini Green tickY 1
Marymount Green tickY 1
Notes
  1. ^ Johns Hopkins sponsors women's lacrosse, however, the team does not play in the Centennial Conference, but instead play as Division I teams in the Big Ten Conference.
  2. ^ Johns Hopkins sponsors women's swimming, however, the team is yet to attend a conference championship. They were a member of the Bluegrass Mountain Conference, a Division II swimming conference, from the 2009-10 season until the 2015-16 season, the team now functions as a swimming independent.

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Centennial Conference that are played by Centennial schools

School Badminton Fencing Gymnastics Rowing Sailing Squash Trap & Skeet
Bryn Mawr Independent Red XN Red XN MARC Red XN Red XN Red XN
Dickinson Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN MASC Red XN
Franklin & Marshall Red XN Red XN Red XN MARC Red XN MASC Red XN
Haverford Red XN EWFC/NIWFA Red XN Red XN Red XN CSA Red XN
Johns Hopkins Red XN MACFA Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN
Swarthmore Independent Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN
Ursinus Red XN Red XN NCGA Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN
Washington Red XN Red XN Red XN MARC MAISA Red XN ACUI

Current champions

Season Sport Women's Champion Men's Champion
Fall 2022 Cross Country Johns Hopkins (X15) Johns Hopkins (X14)
Field Hockey Johns Hopkins (X7)
Football Susquehanna (X1)
Soccer Muhlenberg (X7) Johns Hopkins (X15)
Volleyball Johns Hopkins (X9)
Winter 2022-23 Basketball Swarthmore (X2) Gettysburg (x4)
Swimming Swarthmore (X4) Swarthmore (X4)
Indoor Track & Field Johns Hopkins (X11) Johns Hopkins (X8)
Wrestling Ursinus (X12)
Spring 2022 Baseball Swarthmore (X1)
Golf Marymount (X2) Franklin and Marshall (X1)
Lacrosse Gettysburg (X3) Dickinson (X1)
Softball Muhlenberg (X1)
Tennis Johns Hopkins (X15) Johns Hopkins (X16)
Outdoor Track and Field Johns Hopkins (X12) Ursinus (X1)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Centennial Conference Athletics".
  2. ^ "Centennial Conference Membership". Centennial Conference Athletics. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  3. ^ "Landmark Membership to Expand; Lycoming & Wilkes to Join in '23" (Press release). Landmark Conference. February 10, 2022. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  4. ^ "Meet the Class: Text Version | Bryn Mawr College".
  5. ^ "With a Record Number of Applications, Dickinson Focuses on Selectivity".
  6. ^ "Franklin & Marshall – F&M First-Year Facts".
  7. ^ "Facts and figures - Gettysburg.edu".
  8. ^ "The Class of 2027".
  9. ^ "Johns Hopkins invites 1,586 to join the class of 2026".
  10. ^ "Admissions Statistics for the Class of 2024".
  11. ^ "Class Profile".
  12. ^ "Swarthmore Begins Classes, Welcomes Class of 2025". 26 August 2021.
  13. ^ "WC's sudden jump in acceptance rate has no bearing on quality of education – the Elm".

External links