Centennial Conference
The Centennial Conference is an NCAA conferences|intercollegiate 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.
Eleven private colleges compose the chartered member teams of the Centennial Conference. Five of its 11 members rank among the top 50 national liberal arts colleges and Johns Hopkins University is ranked sixth 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, Gettysburg women's lacrosse, Haverford men's cross country, Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse, Ursinus field hockey, Washington men's lacrosse, and Washington men's tennis.
History
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. Johns Hopkins and McDaniel College both played in the Mason–Dixon Conference prior to entering the MAC in 1975.
Recent changes
On August 21, 2019, Cabrini University joined the Centennial as an affiliate member for women's golf to replace Neumann University's spot, effective in the 2020 spring season.On August 31, 2022, football affiliates Juniata College, Moravian University and Susquehanna University departed for a new football league in the Landmark Conference, beginning the 2023 fall season.
On August 6, 2024, Carnegie Mellon University will join the Centennial as an associate football member, effective beginning the 2025 fall season.
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, beginning the 1981 fall season.
- 1992 – The Centennial Football Conference was rebranded as the Centennial Conference when the conference expanded to add other sports, beginning 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 in the 1998–99 academic year.
- 2001 – Johns Hopkins left the University Athletic Association to fully align with the Centennial Conference for all the sports being sponsored in the 2001–02 academic year.
- 2004 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy and Stevens Institute of Technology joined the Centennial as affiliate members for men's wrestling in the 2004-05 academic year.
- 2007 – Juniata College and Moravian College joined the Centennial as affiliate members for football in the 2007 fall season.
- 2009 – Susquehanna University joined the Centennial as an affiliate member for women's golf in the 2010 spring season.
- 2010 – Susquehanna added football into its Centennial affiliate membership in the 2010 fall season.
- 2012 – New York University joined the Centennial as an affiliate member for men's wrestling in the 2012–13 academic year.
- 2016 – NYU left the Centennial as an affiliate member for wrestling after the 2015–16 academic year.
- 2017:
- * Susquehanna left the Centennial as an affiliate member for women's golf after the 2017 spring season.
- * Marymount University and Neumann University joined the Centennial as affiliate members for women's golf in the 2018 spring season.
- 2019:
- * Two institutions left the Centennial as affiliate members, both effective after the 2018–19 academic year:
- ** Neumann for women's golf
- ** and Stevens for men's wrestling
- * Cabrini University joined the Centennial as an affiliate member for women's golf to replace Neumann's spot in the 2020 spring season.
- 2022 – Washington and Lee University left as an affiliate member in wrestling for their primary conference home, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, after the 2021–22 academic year.
- 2023 – Juniata, Moravian and Susquehanna left the Centennial as football affiliates for a new football league within their primary conference home, the Landmark Conference, after the 2022 fall season.
- 2024 – Cabrini left the Centennial as an affiliate member for women's golf after the 2024 spring season ; as the school ceased operations in June 2024.
- 2025 – Carnegie Mellon University joined the Centennial as an associate football member, beginning the 2025 fall season.
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 | Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania | 1885 | Nonsectarian | 1,381 | 38% | Owls | 1992 | No |
| Dickinson College | Carlisle, Pennsylvania | 1783 | Nonsectarian | 2,420 | 35% | Red Devils | 1981 | Yes |
| Franklin & Marshall College | Lancaster, Pennsylvania | 1787 | Nonsectarian | 1,911 | 28% | Diplomats | 1981 | Yes |
| Gettysburg College | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania | 1832 | Lutheran ELCA | 2,384 | 56% | Bullets | 1981 | Yes |
| Haverford College | Haverford, Pennsylvania | 1833 | Nonsectarian | 1,268 | 12.9% | Fords | 1992 | No |
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, Maryland | 1876 | Nonsectarian | 20,174 | 6.5% | Blue Jays | 1981 | Yes |
| McDaniel College | Westminster, Maryland | 1867 | Nonsectarian | 1,559 | 70% | Green Terror | 1981 | Yes |
| Muhlenberg College | Allentown, Pennsylvania | 1848 | Lutheran ELCA | 2,408 | 68% | Mules | 1981 | Yes |
| Swarthmore College | Swarthmore, Pennsylvania | 1864 | Nonsectarian | 1,543 | 8% | Garnet | 1981 | No |
| Ursinus College | Collegeville, Pennsylvania | 1869 | Secular | 1,556 | 80% | Bears | 1981 | Yes |
| Washington College | Chestertown, Maryland | 1782 | Nonsectarian | 1,479 | 92% | Shoremen & Shorewomen | 1992 | No |
;Notes:
Affiliate members
The Centennial currently has three affiliate members, two private schools and a public school:| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Centennial sport | Primary conference |
| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1900 | Nonsectarian | 10,875 | Tartans | 2025 | football | University (UAA) | |
| Marymount University | Arlington, Virginia | 1950 | Catholic | 3,684 | Saints | 2017 | women's golf | Atlantic East (AEC) |
| Kings Point, New York | 1943 | Federal | 1,011 | Mariners | 2004 | wrestling | Skyline |
;Notes:
Former affiliate members
The Centennial had eight former affiliate members, all were private schools:| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Centennial sport | Primary conference |
| Cabrini University | Radnor, Pennsylvania | 1957 | Catholic | 1,759 | Cavaliers | 2019 | 2024 | women's golf | N/A |
| Juniata College | Huntingdon, Pennsylvania | 1876 | Church of the Brethren | 1,568 | Eagles | 2007 | 2023 | football | Landmark |
| Moravian University | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | 1742 | Moravian | 1,568 | Greyhounds | 2007 | 2023 | football | Landmark |
| Neumann University | Aston, Pennsylvania | 1965 | Catholic | 3,000 | Knights | 2017 | 2019 | women's golf | Atlantic East (AEC) |
| New York University | New York City | 1832 | Nonsectarian | 22,280 | Violets | 2011 | 2016 | wrestling | University (UAA) |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | Hoboken, New Jersey | 1870 | Nonsectarian | 5,260 | Ducks | 2004 | 2019 | wrestling | MAC Freedom |
| Susquehanna University | Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania | 1858 | Lutheran ELCA | 2,195 | River Hawks | 2009 | 2017 | women's golf | Landmark |
| Susquehanna University | Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania | 1858 | Lutheran ELCA | 2,195 | River Hawks | 2010 | 2023 | football | Landmark |
| Washington and Lee University | Lexington, Virginia | 1749 | Nonsectarian | 1,830 | Generals | 1998 | 2022 | wrestling | Old Dominion (ODAC) |
;Notes:
Membership timeline
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id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference
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bar:2 color:Full from:1992 till:end
bar:3 color:AssocF from:1981 till:1992 text:Gettysburg
bar:3 color:Full from:1992 till:end
bar:4 color:AssocF from:1981 till:1992 text:Johns Hopkins
bar:4 color:Full from:1992 till:end
bar:5 color:AssocF from:1981 till:1992 text:McDaniel
bar:5 color:Full from:1992 till:end
bar:6 color:AssocF from:1981 till:1992 text:Muhlenberg
bar:6 color:Full from:1992 till:end
bar:7 color:AssocF from:1981 till:1992 text:Swarthmore
bar:7 color:Full from:1992 till:2001
bar:7 color:FullxF from:2001 till:end
bar:8 color:AssocF from:1981 till:1992 text:Ursinus
bar:8 color:Full from:1992 till:end
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end text:Bryn Mawr
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end text:Haverford
bar:11 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end text:Washington (Md.)
bar:12 color:AssocOS from:1998 till:2022 text:Washington and Lee
bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2004 till:end text:Merchant Marine
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2004 till:2019 text:Stevens
bar:15 color:AssocF from:2007 till:2023 text:Juniata
bar:16 color:AssocF from:2007 till:2023 text:Moravian
bar:17 color:AssocF from:2010 till:2023 text:Susquehanna
bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2016 text:New York
bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:end text:Marymount
bar:20 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2019 text:Neumann
bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2024 text:Cabrini
bar:22 color:AssocF from:2025 till:end text:Carnegie Mellon
bar:N color:powderblue from:1981 till:1992 text:Centennial Football Conference
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Sports
The Centennial Conference sponsors championships in the following sports:| Sport | Men's | Women's |
| Baseball | ||
| Basketball | ||
| Cross Country | ||
| Field Hockey | ||
| Football | ||
| Golf | ||
| Lacrosse | ||
| Soccer | ||
| Softball | ||
| Swimming | ||
| Tennis | ||
| Track and field (indoor) | ||
| Track and field (outdoor) | ||
| Volleyball | ||
| Wrestling |