Conference of New England

Commonwealth Coast Conference
Association	NCAA
Founded	1984
Commissioner	Gregg M. Kaye (since 2007)
Sports fielded	20 men's: 10; women's: 10; ;
Division	Division III
No. of teams	10 (11 in 2024)
Headquarters	Biddeford, Maine
Region	New England
Official website	cccathletics.com
Locations

The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions are located in New England in the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

Overview

The CCC and Commonwealth Coast Football unveiled a new family of logos during a June 2019 visual rebrand.^[1]

History

100km
62miles

Maine Maritime

Johnson & Wales

Hartford

Suffolk

Husson

Western New England

Wentworth

Univ. of New England

Salve Regina

Roger Williams

Nichols

Gordon

Endicott

Curry

Location of the current members; associate members in blue, future members in red, departing member in yellow, future associate member in white

Chronological timeline

1984 - On 1984, the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) was founded. Charter members included Anna Maria College, Curry College, Emerson College, Hellenic College, Salve Regina College (now Salve Regina University), the United States Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard) and Wentworth Institute of Technology (Wentworth Tech); effective beginning the 1984-85 academic year.
1985 - Hellenic left the CCC when the school dropped its athletic program after lasting only one season, effective after the 1984-85 academic year.
1985 - Roger Williams College (now Roger Williams University) joined the CCC, effective in the 1985-86 academic year.
1986 - The CCC was granted membership within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III ranks, effective in the 1986-87 academic year.
1987 - The U.S. Coast Guard left the CCC to join the Constitution Athletic Conference, effective after the 1986-87 academic year.
1987 - Gordon College joined the CCC, effective in the 1987-88 academic year.
1988 - Regis College joined the CCC, effective in the 1988-89 academic year.
1989 - Emerson left the CCC to become an NCAA D-III Independent, effective after the 1988-89 academic year.
1989 - New England College of New Hampshire joined the CCC, effective in the 1989-90 academic year.
1992 - Eastern Nazarene College joined the CCC, effective in the 1992-93 academic year.
1995 - Colby–Sawyer College and Nichols College joined the CCC, effective in the 1995-96 academic year.
1999 - Endicott College and the University of New England of Maine joined the CCC, effective in the 1999-2000 academic year.
2007 - Western New England University joined the CCC, effective in the 2007-08 academic year.
2011 - Four member schools left the CCC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Anna Maria to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), Regis (Mass.) to the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC), and Colby–Sawyer and New England (N.H.) to the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), all effective after the 2010-11 academic year.
2016 - Becker College, Johnson and Wales University, Providence and Suffolk University joined the CCC as associate members for men's ice hockey, effective 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 (CCC Football), effective in the 2017 fall season (2017-18 academic year).
2017 - Becker added football to its CCC membership, effective in the 2017 fall season (2017-18 academic year).
2018 - Eastern Nazarene left the CCC to join the NECC, effective after the 2017-18 academic year.
2018 - Johnson & Wales and Suffolk left the CCC as associate members for men's ice hockey, effective after the 2017-18 academic year.
2019 - Husson University joined CCC Football effective in the 2019 fall season (2019-20 academic year).
2020 - Suffolk returned to the CCC, but with full membership status, effective in the 2020-21 academic year.
2022
- The University of Hartford announced that it would join the CCC effective with the 2023-24 academic year.^[2]
- Salve Regina announced it would leave both the CCC and CCC Football to join the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference, also effective in 2023–24.^[3]
- Due to changes in NCAA legislation regarding the number of member required for an automatic qualifier (AQ), football was fully incorporated into the CCC multi-sport conference, eliminating the need for the single-sport Commonwealth Coast Football league.
- Johnson & Wales (RI) announced it would join the CCC as soon as the 2024-25 academic year.^[4]
2023 - Maine Maritime Academy announced they would be reinstating their varsity football program and joining the CCC for football effective in the 2025 fall season (2025-26 academic year).^[5]

Member schools

Current members

The CCC currently has 10 full members, all private schools.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Football?
Curry College	Milton, Massachusetts	1879	Nonsectarian	2,410	Colonels	1984	Yes
Endicott College	Beverly, Massachusetts	1939	Nonsectarian	4,528	Gulls	1999	Yes
Gordon College	Wenham, Massachusetts	1889	Evangelical	1,816	Fighting Scots	1987	No
University of Hartford	West Hartford, Connecticut	1877	Nonsectarian	6,792	Hawks	2023	No
Nichols College	Dudley, Massachusetts	1815	Nonsectarian	1,518	Bison	1995	Yes
Roger Williams University	Bristol, Rhode Island	1956	Nonsectarian	4,702	Hawks	1985	No
Suffolk University	Boston, Massachusetts	1906	Nonsectarian	6,832	Rams	2020^[a]	No
University of New England	Biddeford, Maine	1831	Nonsectarian	7,208	Nor'easters	1999	Yes
Wentworth Institute of Technology	Boston, Massachusetts	1904	Nonsectarian	4,397	Leopards	1984	No
Western New England University	Springfield, Massachusetts	1919	Nonsectarian	3,702	Golden Bears	2007	Yes

Notes

^ Suffolk competed in the CCC as an associate member for men's ice hockey from 2016–17 to 2017–18.

Future members

The CCC will have one new full member, also a private school.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joining	Colors	Football?	Current conference
Johnson & Wales University	Providence, Rhode Island	1914	Nonsectarian	4,652	Wildcats	2024^[4]^[a]		No	Great Northeast (GNAC)

Notes

^ Johnson & Wales competed in the CCC as an associate member for men's ice hockey from 2016–17 to 2017–18.

Associate members

The CCC currently has one associate member, which is also a private school:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Primary conference	CCC sport(s)	Colors
Husson University	Bangor, Maine	1898	Nonsectarian	3,476	Eagles	2019	North Atlantic (NAC)	football

Future associate member

The CCC currently has one future associate member, which is a public school:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joining	Primary conference	CCC sport(s)	Colors
Maine Maritime Academy	Castine, Maine	1941	Public	941	Mariners	2025-26	North Atlantic (NAC)	football

Former members

The CCC had nine former full members, with all but one being private schools.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
Anna Maria College	Paxton, Massachusetts	1946	Catholic	1,432	AMCats	1984	2011	Great Northeast (GNAC)
Colby–Sawyer College	New London, New Hampshire	1837	Nonsectarian	1,200	Chargers	1995	2011	Great Northeast (GNAC)
Eastern Nazarene College	Quincy, Massachusetts	1900	Nazarene	1,063	Lions	1992	2018	North Atlantic (NAC)
Emerson College	Boston, Massachusetts	1880	Nonsectarian	4,290	Lions	1984	1989	New England (NEWMAC)
Hellenic College	Brookline, Massachusetts	1937	GOArch	222	Owls	1984	1985	N/A^[a]
New England College	Henniker, New Hampshire	1946	Nonsectarian	1,460	Pilgrims	1989	2011	Great Northeast (GNAC)
Regis College^[b]	Weston, Massachusetts	1927	Catholic (Sisters of St. Joseph)	1,737	Pride	1988	2011	Great Northeast (GNAC)
Salve Regina University	Newport, Rhode Island	1934	Catholic (Sisters of Mercy)	2,771	Seahawks	1984	2023	New England (NEWMAC)
United States Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard)	New London, Connecticut	1876	Federal	1,045	Bears	1984	1987	New England (NEWMAC)

Notes

^ Hellenic dropped its athletics program following the 1984–85 school year.
^ This institution is a former women's college, which later had become a co-educational college (Regis (Mass.) since 2007–08).

Former associate members

The CCC had three former associate members, all were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Primary conference	CCC sport(s)
Becker College	Worcester, Massachusetts	1784	Nonsectarian	1,892	Hawks	2016^m.i.h.; 2017^fb.	2021^m.i.h.; 2021^fb.	N/A^[a]	men’s ice hockey football
Johnson & Wales University	Providence, Rhode Island	1914	Nonsectarian	16,000	Wildcats	2016	2018	Great Northeast (GNAC)	men’s ice hockey
Suffolk University	Boston, Massachusetts	1906	Nonsectarian	16,095	Rams	2016	2018	Commonwealth Coast (CCC)	men’s ice hockey

Notes

^ Becker discontinued its athletic program and closed in 2021.

Membership timeline

Sports

The CCC sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in 20 sports. The conference started sponsoring football in the 2017-18 season, absorbing the former football-only New England Football Conference. From 2017-2021 football was operated as a single-sport conference branded Commonwealth Coast Football.^[6] Due to changes in NCAA legislation regarding the number of members required for a for a conference to receive and automatic qualifier (AQ), football was fully incorporated into the multi-sport conference in 2022, eliminating the need for the football-only league. Women's ice hockey was added as a conference sport in 2020-21 when the CCC took over operations of the Colonial Hockey Conference.^[7]

**Championship Sports**
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Field hockey		Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y
Ice Hockey	Y	Y
Lacrosse	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track and Field	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

Sports Sponsorship
School	MXC	WXC	FH	FB	MSOC	WSOC	WTEN	WVB	MBB	MIH	WIH	WBB	BASE	GOLF	MLAX	WLAX	SOFT	MTEN	M T&F	W T&F
Curry	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y
Endicott	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y
Gordon	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Hartford	Y	Y			Y	Y		Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y
Nichols	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Roger Williams	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Suffolk	Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y
U. of New England	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y			Y
Wentworth	Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Western New England	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

References

^ "CCC Unveils Visual Rebrand and Identity Initiative". Commonwealth Coast Conference. June 17, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
^ University of Hartford Athletics Joins Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) - University of Hartford Athletics
^ "NEWMAC Welcomes Salve Regina University as Newest Member Effective July 1, 2023" (Press release). New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
^ ^a ^b CCC Accepts Johnson & Wales University As Newest Conference Member - JWU Providence Athletics
^ "Maine Maritime Academy to Reinstate Football Program - About MMA - Maine Maritime Academy". Retrieved 2023-04-09.
^ "Commonwealth Coast Conference To Administer Football Championship Beginning in 2017-18". Commonwealth Coast Conference. October 5, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
^ "CCC To Administer Women's Ice Hockey Starting In 2020-21". Commonwealth Coast Conference. October 4, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2022.

External links

Official website

[6] Suffolk competed in the CCC as an associate member for men's ice hockey from 2016–17 to 2017–18.

[7] Johnson & Wales competed in the CCC as an associate member for men's ice hockey from 2016–17 to 2017–18.

[8] Hellenic dropped its athletics program following the 1984–85 school year.

[9] This institution is a former women's college, which later had become a co-educational college (Regis (Mass.) since 2007–08).

[10] Becker discontinued its athletic program and closed in 2021.

[1] "CCC Unveils Visual Rebrand and Identity Initiative". Commonwealth Coast Conference. June 17, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2022.

[UHart-2] University of Hartford Athletics Joins Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) - University of Hartford Athletics

[3] "NEWMAC Welcomes Salve Regina University as Newest Member Effective July 1, 2023" (Press release). New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.

[JWU-4] CCC Accepts Johnson & Wales University As Newest Conference Member - JWU Providence Athletics

[5] "Maine Maritime Academy to Reinstate Football Program - About MMA - Maine Maritime Academy". Retrieved 2023-04-09.

[11] "Commonwealth Coast Conference To Administer Football Championship Beginning in 2017-18". Commonwealth Coast Conference. October 5, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2022.

[12] "CCC To Administer Women's Ice Hockey Starting In 2020-21". Commonwealth Coast Conference. October 4, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2022.

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v t e Conference of New England
Current full members	Curry Colonels Endicott Gulls Gordon Fighting Scots (non-football and ice hockey member) Hartford Hawks (non-football and ice hockey member) University of New England (ME) Nor'easters (non-tennis member) Nichols Bison Roger Williams Hawks (non-football and ice hockey member) Suffolk Rams (non-football and lacrosse member) Wentworth Leopards (non-football member) Western New England Golden Bears
Current associate member	Husson Eagles (football)
See also	Commonwealth Coast Football

v t e NCAA Division III ice hockey conferences
Men	Conference of New England Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Middle Atlantic Conferences Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference New England Hockey Conference New England Small College Athletic Conference Northern Collegiate Hockey Association State University of New York Athletic Conference United Collegiate Hockey Conference Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Independents
Women	Conference of New England Middle Atlantic Conferences Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference New England Hockey Conference New England Small College Athletic Conference Northern Collegiate Hockey Association State University of New York Athletic Conference United Collegiate Hockey Conference Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
NCAA	College ice hockey NCAA Division III Championships: Men / Women
Former	Colonial Hockey Conference ECAC West ECAC Northeast Northeast Women's Hockey League