# North Coast Athletic Conference

The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III which is composed of colleges located in Ohio and Indiana. It sponsors 23 sports, 11 for men and 12 for women.

## History

The formation of the NCAC was announced at joint news conferences in Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh in February 1983. Allegheny College, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University, and The College of Wooster were charter members in 1984, the same year that NCAC athletic conference play began. The conference offered 10 women's sports, the most offered by a conference at that time.
In 1988, Earlham College and Wittenberg College accepted invitations to join the NCAC, pushing conference membership to nine schools in three states. The two schools would begin play in the fall of 1989. In 1998, Hiram College, and Wabash College accepted invitations to join the NCAC, pushing conference membership to 10 schools in three states, which both schools began play in the fall of 1999. Case Western Reserve, a charter member of the NCAC, announced that it would leave the NCAC following the 1998–99 academic year. The Spartans would compete on a full-time basis in the University Athletic Association (UAA) after more than a decade of joint conference membership affiliation.
Earlham announced it would depart the NCAC for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC), beginning with the 2010–11 season. DePauw University became the 10th member of the NCAC beginning in the 2011–12 season.
Allegheny left the NCAC after the 2021–22 school year to return to its former home of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Allegheny and Earlham remain single-sport NCAC members in field hockey. Later in 2022, Transylvania University and Washington & Jefferson College were announced as single-sport NCAC members for field hockey, beginning with the 2023 season.
The most recent changes to the NCAC membership were announced in 2024. First, on January 18, John Carroll University announced it was leaving the Ohio Athletic Conference to join the NCAC. Then on April 23, Hiram announced it would leave the NCAC in 2025 to return to the PAC, which it had left in 1989.

### Chronological timeline

* 1983 – In February 1983, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) was founded. Charter members included Allegheny College, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University and The College of Wooster, beginning the 1984–85 academic year.
* 1988 – Earlham College and Wittenberg College joined the NCAC in the 1989–90 academic year.
* 1999 – Case Western Reserve left the NCAC to fully align all of its sports to the University Athletic Association (UAA) after the 1998–99 academic year.
* 1999 – Hiram College and Wabash College joined the NCAC in the 1999–2000 academic year.
* 2010 – Earlham left the NCAC to join the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) after the 2009–10 academic year.
* 2011 – DePauw University joined the NCAC in the 2011–12 academic year.
* 2022 – Allegheny left the NCAC to rejoin the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) after a 38-year absence in the 2022–23 academic year.
* 2025
** Hiram will leave the NCAC to rejoin the PAC beginning the 2025–26 academic year.
** John Carroll University will join the NCAC beginning the 2025–26 academic year.
* 2026 – Washington University in St. Louis will join the NCAC as an associate member for football, beginning in the 2026 fall season (2026–27 academic year).

### Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives

In 2019, the NCAC was one of the first NCAA conferences to participate in the organization's LGBTQ OneTeam Program, which launched in fall 2019. Two facilitators from the NCAC – Seth Hayes of Denison University and Rhea Debussy of Kenyon College – were among the first 30 facilitators for this NCAA Division III program. In 2021, the NCAA announced that two NCAC staff members – Kate Costanzo of Allegheny College and Rhea Debussy of Kenyon College – were finalists for the NCAA Division III LGBTQ Administrator/Coach/Staff of the Year Award.

## Member schools
### Current members

The NCAC currently has nine full members, all private schools. Departing member Hiram is indicated in pink.
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | 2022 US News ranking | 2021 Forbes Top Colleges | Nickname | Joined |
| Denison University | Granville, Ohio | 1831 | Nonsectarian | 2,100 | 42 | 288 | Big Red | 1984 |
| DePauw University | Greencastle, Indiana | 1837 | Methodist | 2,350 | 46 | 130 | Tigers | 2011 |
| Hiram College | Hiram, Ohio | 1850 | Disciples of Christ | 1,395 | — | — | Terriers | 1999 |
| Kenyon College | Gambier, Ohio | 1824 | Episcopal/Anglican | 1,640 | 30 | 287 | Owls | 1984 |
| Oberlin College | Oberlin, Ohio | 1833 | Nonsectarian | 2,850 | 37 | 290 | Yeomen (men's) Yeowomen (women's) | 1984 |
| Ohio Wesleyan University | Delaware, Ohio | 1842 | Nonsectarian | 1,850 | 98 | 446 | Battling Bishops | 1984 |
| Wabash College | Crawfordsville, Indiana | 1832 | Nonsectarian | 850 | 57 | 327 | Little Giants | 1999 |
| Wittenberg University | Springfield, Ohio | 1845 | Lutheran ELCA | 2,050 | 155 | 435 | Tigers | 1989 |
| The College of Wooster | Wooster, Ohio | 1866 | Nonsectarian | 1,827 | 71 | 428 | Fighting Scots | 1984 |

#### Notes

* ↑ Formerly affiliated with the United Methodist Church until 2019.
* ↑ This institution is a men's college, therefore it does not compete in women's teams.

### Future member

The NCAC will have one future full member, which is also a private school.
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | Year Joining | Current conference |
| John Carroll University | University Heights, Ohio | 1886 | Catholic (Jesuit) | 2,615 | Blue Streaks | | 2025 | Ohio (OAC) |

### Affiliate members

| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | NCAC sport(s) | Primary conference |
| Allegheny College | Meadville, Pennsylvania | 1815 | United Methodist | 1,442 | Gators | 2022 | field hockey | Presidents' (PAC) |
| Earlham College | Richmond, Indiana | 1847 | Quaker | 900 | Quakers | 2021 | field hockey | Heartland (HCAC) |
| Transylvania University | Lexington, Kentucky | 1780 | Disciples of Christ | 963 | Pioneers | 2023 | field hockey | Heartland (HCAC) |
| Washington & Jefferson College | Washington, Pennsylvania | 1781 | Nonsectarian | 1,168 | Presidents | 2023 | field hockey | Presidents' (PAC) |

### Future affiliate members

| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joining | NCAC sport(s) | Primary conference |
| Washington University in St. Louis | St. Louis, Missouri | 1853 | Nonsectarian | 14,117 | Bears | 2026 | Football | University (UAA) |

### Former members

The NCAC has three former full members, all private schools. Allegheny and Earlham remain in the NCAC as affiliate members in field hockey.
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference |
| Allegheny College | Meadville, Pennsylvania | 1815 | United Methodist | 2,100 | Gators | 1984 | 2022 | Presidents' (PAC) |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, Ohio | 1826 | Nonsectarian | 11,824 | Spartans | 1984 | 1999 | University (UAA) |
| Earlham College | Richmond, Indiana | 1847 | Quakers | 1,181 | Quakers | 1989 | 2010 | Heartland (HCAC) |

#### Notes

* ↑ Case Western Reserve had dual athletic conference membership with the University Athletic Association from 1986–87 to 1998–99, then the Spartans left the NCAC in order to fully align with the UAA.