Conference of New England

Overview

History

Recent events

Chronological timeline

• 1984 – On 1984, the Commonwealth Coast Conference was founded. Charter members included Anna Maria College, Curry College, Emerson College, Hellenic College, Salve Regina College, the Coast Guard Academy">United States Coast Guard Academy">Coast Guard Academy and Wentworth Institute of Technology, beginning the 1984–85 academic year.
• 1985:
• * Hellenic left the CCC when the school dropped its athletic program after lasting only one season after the 1984–85 academic year.
• * Roger Williams College joined the CCC in the 1985–86 academic year.
• 1986 – The CCC was granted membership within the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III ranks in the 1986–87 academic year.
• 1987:
• * The U.S. Coast Guard left the CCC to join the Constitution Athletic Conference after the 1986–87 academic year.
• * Gordon College joined the CCC in the 1987–88 academic year.
• 1988 – Regis College joined the CCC in the 1988–89 academic year.
• 1989:
• * Emerson left the CCC to become an NCAA D-III Independent after the 1988–89 academic year.
• * New England College of New Hampshire joined the CCC in the 1989–90 academic year.
• 1992 – Nazarene College">Church of the Nazarene">Nazarene College joined the CCC in the 1992–93 academic year.
• 1995 – Colby–Sawyer College and Nichols College joined the CCC in the 1995–96 academic year.
• 1999 – Endicott College and the University of New England of Maine joined the CCC in the 1999–2000 academic year.
• 2007 – Western New England University joined the CCC in the 2007–08 academic year.
• 2011 – Four member schools left the CCC to join their respective new home primary conferences, all effective after the 2010–11 academic year:
• * Anna Maria to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference
• * Regis to the New England Collegiate Conference
• * and Colby–Sawyer and New England to the North Atlantic Conference
• 2016 – Becker College, Johnson and Wales University, Providence and Suffolk University joined the CCC as associate members for men's ice hockey in the 2016–17 academic year.
• 2017:
• * The CCC added football as a sponsored sport, although not directly as it absorbed the former and defunct New [England Football Conference] and rebranded as Commonwealth Coast Football in the 2017 fall season.
• * Becker added football to join the CCC Football league in the 2017 fall season.
• 2018:
• * Eastern Nazarene left the CCC to join the NECC after the 2017–18 academic year.
• * Johnson & Wales and Suffolk left the CCC as associate members for men's ice hockey after the 2017–18 academic year.
• 2019 – Husson University joined CCC Football in the 2019 fall season.
• 2020 – Suffolk upgraded as a full member of the CCC for all sports in the 2020–21 academic year.
• 2022 – Due to changes in NCAA legislation regarding the number of member schools required for an automatic qualifier, football was fully incorporated into the CCC multi-sport conference, eliminating the need for the single-sport Commonwealth Coast Football league, beginning the 2022–23 academic year.
• 2023:
• * Salve Regina left the CCC to join the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference after the 2022–23 academic year; while it remained in the conference as an associate member for men's and women's ice hockey only for the 2023–24 academic year.
• * The University of Hartford joined the CCC in the 2023–24 academic year.
• 2024:
• * The University of Saint Joseph of Connecticut joined the CCC as associate members for men's tennis in the 2025 spring season.
• * The CCC was rebranded as the Conference of New England, effective beginning the 2024–25 academic year.
• * Johnson & Wales returned to the CNE as an associate member for men's and women's ice hockey for the 2024–25 academic year.
• * The CNE added a women's golf championship in the 2025–26 academic year, coinciding with the addition of the sport by full member Roger Williams; giving the CNE the six women's golf members needed to qualify for an automatic bid to the NCAA championship.
• 2025:
• * Johnson & Wales upgraded as a full member of the CNE for all sports, beginning the 2025–26 academic year.
• * Maine Maritime Academy reinstated their varsity football programs and joined the CNE as associate members for football in the 2025 fall season.
• * The CNE added men's volleyball as its 22nd championship sport, beginning the 2026–27 academic year.
• 2026 – Salve Regina will rejoin the CNE as an associate member for men's and women's ice hockey, beginning the 2026–27 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

Associate members

Future associate members

Former members

Former associate members

Membership timeline

Sports