Conference of New England

Last updated
Conference of New England
Conference of New England logo.png
Association NCAA
Founded1984
CommissionerPatrick Colbert (since 2023)
Sports fielded
  • 20
    • men's: 10
    • women's: 10
Division Division III
No. of teams11
Headquarters Biddeford, Maine, U.S.
Region New England
Official website cnesports.org
Locations
Map of the USA with The Commonwealth Coast Conference region highlighted.png

The Conference of New England (CNE), formerly known as 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.

Contents

Overview

Previous logo Commonwealth Coast Conference Full Primary Logo Introduced June 2019.jpg
Previous logo

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

History

Conference of New England
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100km
62miles
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Saint Joseph
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New England College
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Colby–Sawyer
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Maine Maritime
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Johnson & Wales
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Hartford
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Suffolk
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Husson
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Western New England
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Wentworth
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Univ. of New England
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Roger Williams
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Nichols
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Gordon
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Endicott
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Curry
Location of current members:
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Blue pog.svg associate member
White pog.svg future associate member

Recent events

On June 21, 2022, the University of Hartford announced that it would join the CCC, starting the 2023–24 academic year; [2] while Salve Regina announced it would leave both the CCC and CCC Football to join the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), once concluding the 2022–23 school year. [3]

On December 8, 2022, Johnson & Wales (RI) announced it would join the CCC as soon as the 2024–25 academic year. [4]

In 2023, two schools announced they would be reinstating their varsity football programs and joining the CCC for football, starting the 2025 fall season (2025–26 academic year); first Maine Maritime Academy on January 9, [5] then New England College followed suit on November 14. [6]

On August 1st, 2024, 40 years after it was founded, the conference announced that it would be rebranding as the Conference of New England (CNE), effective with the 2024-25 season. [7]

Chronological timeline

Member schools

Current members

The CNE currently has 11 full members, all private schools.

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedColorsFootball?
Curry College Milton, Massachusetts 1879Nonsectarian2,410 Colonels 1984   Yes
Endicott College Beverly, Massachusetts 1939Nonsectarian4,528 Gulls 1999   Yes
Gordon College Wenham, Massachusetts 1889 Evangelical 1,816 Fighting Scots 1987   No
University of Hartford West Hartford, Connecticut 1877Nonsectarian6,792 Hawks 2023   No
Johnson & Wales University Providence, Rhode Island 1914Nonsectarian4,652 Wildcats 2024 [lower-alpha 1]    No
Nichols College Dudley, Massachusetts 1815Nonsectarian1,518 Bison 1995   Yes
Roger Williams University Bristol, Rhode Island 1956Nonsectarian4,702 Hawks 1985     No
Suffolk University Boston, Massachusetts 1906Nonsectarian6,832 Rams 2020 [lower-alpha 2]    No
University of New England Biddeford, Maine 1831Nonsectarian7,208 Nor'easters 1999   Yes
Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, Massachusetts 1904Nonsectarian4,397 Leopards 1984     No
Western New England University Springfield, Massachusetts 1919Nonsectarian3,702 Golden Bears 2007   Yes
Notes
  1. Johnson & Wales competed in the CCC as an associate member for men's ice hockey from 2016–17 to 2017–18.
  2. Suffolk competed in the CCC as an associate member for men's ice hockey from 2016–17 to 2017–18.


Associate members

The CNE currently has three associate members, all private schools:

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedPrimary
conference
CCC
sport(s)
Colors
Colby–Sawyer College New London, New Hampshire 1946Nonsectarian2,262 Chargers 2024 Great Northeast (GNAC) men's tennis  
Husson University Bangor, Maine 1898Nonsectarian3,476 Eagles 2019 North Atlantic (NAC) football  
University of Saint Joseph West Hartford, Connecticut 1932Catholic
(R.S.M.)
2,467 Blue Jays 2024 Great Northeast (GNAC) men's tennis  

Future associate members

The CNE will have two future associate members, all but one are private schools:

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoiningPrimary
conference
CCC
sport(s)
Colors
Maine Maritime Academy Castine, Maine 1941Public941 Mariners 2025 North Atlantic (NAC) football  
New England College Henniker, New Hampshire 1946Nonsectarian4,327 Pilgrims 2025 Great Northeast (GNAC) football   

Former members

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

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedLeftCurrent
conference
Anna Maria College Paxton, Massachusetts 1946 Catholic 1,432 AMCats 19842011 Great Northeast (GNAC)
Colby–Sawyer College New London, New Hampshire 1837Nonsectarian1,200 Chargers 19952011 Great Northeast (GNAC)
Eastern Nazarene College Quincy, Massachusetts 1900 Nazarene 1,063 Lions 19922018 North Atlantic (NAC)
Emerson College Boston, Massachusetts 1880Nonsectarian4,290 Lions 19841989 New England (NEWMAC)
Hellenic College Brookline, Massachusetts 1937 GOArch 222 Owls 19841985N/A [lower-alpha 1]
New England College Henniker, New Hampshire 1946Nonsectarian1,460 Pilgrims 19892011 Great Northeast (GNAC)
Regis College [lower-alpha 2] Weston, Massachusetts 1927Catholic
(Sisters of St. Joseph)
1,737 Pride 19882011 Great Northeast (GNAC)
Salve Regina University Newport, Rhode Island 1934 Catholic
(Sisters of Mercy)
2,771 Seahawks 19842023 New England (NEWMAC)
United States Coast Guard Academy
(Coast Guard)
New London, Connecticut 1876Federal1,045 Bears 19841987 New England (NEWMAC)
Notes
  1. Hellenic dropped its athletics program following the 1984–85 school year.
  2. 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 CNE had three former associate members, all were private schools:

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedLeftPrimary
conference
CCC
sport(s)
Becker College Worcester, Massachusetts 1784Nonsectarian1,892 Hawks 2016m.i.h.;
2017fb.
2021m.i.h.;
2021fb.
N/A [lower-alpha 1] men's ice hockey
football
Johnson & Wales University Providence, Rhode Island 1914Nonsectarian16,000 Wildcats 20162018 Great Northeast (GNAC) men's ice hockey
Suffolk University Boston, Massachusetts 1906Nonsectarian16,095 Rams 20162018Commonwealth Coast (CCC)men's ice hockey
Notes
  1. Becker discontinued its athletic program and closed in 2021.

Membership timeline

University of Saint JosephUniversity of HartfordHusson UniversitySuffolk UniversityJohnson and Wales UniversityBecker CollegeWestern New England UniversityUniversity of New England (United States)Endicott CollegeNichols CollegeGreat Northeast Athletic ConferenceNorth Atlantic ConferenceColby–Sawyer CollegeNorth Atlantic ConferenceNew England Collegiate ConferenceEastern Nazarene CollegeGreat Northeast Athletic ConferenceNew England Collegiate ConferenceNorth Atlantic ConferenceNew England CollegeGreat Northeast Athletic ConferenceNew England Collegiate ConferenceRegis College, MassachusettsGordon College (Massachusetts)Roger Williams UniversityWentworth Institute of TechnologyNew England Women's and Men's Athletic ConferenceSalve Regina UniversityHellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of TheologyNew England Women's and Men's Athletic ConferenceGreat Northeast Athletic ConferenceEmerson CollegeCurry CollegeNew England Women's and Men's Athletic ConferenceUnited States Coast Guard AcademyMassachusetts State Collegiate Athletic ConferenceGreat Northeast Athletic ConferenceAnna Maria CollegeConference of New England

Sports

The CNE 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 to 2021 football was operated as a single-sport conference branded Commonwealth Coast Football. [9] 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 CNE took over operations of the Colonial Hockey Conference. [10]

Championship sports
SportMen'sWomen's
Baseball
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Basketball
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Cross country
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Field hockey
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Football
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Golf
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Ice hockey
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Lacrosse
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Soccer
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Softball
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Tennis
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Track and field
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Volleyball
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Sports sponsorship
SchoolMXCWXCFHFBMSOCWSOCWTENWVBMBBMIHWIHWBBBASEGOLFMLAXWLAXSOFTMTENM T&FW T&F
Curry
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Endicott
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Gordon
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Hartford
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Nichols
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Roger Williams
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Suffolk
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U. of New England
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Wentworth
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Western New England
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References

  1. "CCC Unveils Visual Rebrand and Identity Initiative". Commonwealth Coast Conference. June 17, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  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.
  4. "CCC Accepts Johnson & Wales University As Newest Conference Member". JWU Providence Athletics. 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022.
  5. "Maine Maritime Academy to Reinstate Football Program - About MMA - Maine Maritime Academy" . Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  6. "New England College Set to Join Commonwealth Coast Conference as an Associate Member for Football" . Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  7. "The Conference of New England is Here" (Press release). Conference of New England. August 1, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  8. "Conference History". cnesports.org. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  9. "Commonwealth Coast Conference To Administer Football Championship Beginning in 2017-18". Commonwealth Coast Conference. October 5, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  10. "CCC To Administer Women's Ice Hockey Starting In 2020-21". Commonwealth Coast Conference. October 4, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2022.