Liberty League

Liberty League
Formerly	Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association
Association	NCAA
Founded	1995
Commissioner	Tracy King
Sports fielded	26 men's: 14; women's: 13; ;
Division	Division III
No. of teams	12
Headquarters	Troy, New York
Region	Upstate New York
Official website	libertyleagueathletics.com
Locations

The Liberty League is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division III. Member schools are institutions that are all located in the state of New York.

History

Map showing current full member institutions (click to enlarge)

It was founded in 1995 as the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association. The conference was renamed during the summer of 2004 to the current name.

The league includes founding members Clarkson University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the University of Rochester, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, St. Lawrence University, Skidmore College, and Union College. Vassar College became a full member of the league during the 2000–01 academic year, Bard College and Rochester Institute of Technology joined for the 2011–12 academic year, and Ithaca College officially joined for the 2017–18 academic year. Founding member Hamilton College departed following the 2010–11 academic year in order to fully integrate its athletic programs within the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).

The United States Merchant Marine Academy, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Springfield College are associate members in football only.

At the beginning of the 2012–13 season, New York University became an associate member in both men's and women's golf, while Wellesley College and Mount Holyoke College became associate members in women's golf.

Accomplishments

Offensive linesman Ali Marpet of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, drafted in the 2nd round, 61st overall, of the 2015 NFL draft, is the highest-drafted pick in the history of Division III football.[1] He was three-time All-Liberty League first team (2012, 2013, 2014), and 2014 Liberty League Co-Offensive Player of the Year—the first offensive lineman in league history to be so honored.[2][3][4]

Chronological timeline

1995 – In 1995, the Liberty League was founded as the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA). Charter members included Clarkson University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the University of Rochester, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), St. Lawrence University, Skidmore College and Union College, effective beginning the 1995–96 academic year.
2001 – Vassar College joined the UCAA, effective in the 2000–01 academic year.
2004 – On July 1, 2004, the UCAA has been rebranded as the Liberty League; effective in the 2004–05 academic year.
2004 – The United States Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Merchant Marine) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) joined the Liberty League as associate members for football, effective in the 2004 fall season (2004–05 academic year).
2006 – U.S. Coast Guard left the Liberty League as an associate member for football, effective after the 2005 fall season (2005–06 academic year).
2007 – Susquehanna University joined the Liberty League as an associate member for football, effective in the 2007 fall season (2007–08 academic year).
2009 – U.S. Merchant Marine added men's golf to its Liberty League associate membership, effective in the 2010 spring season (2009–10 academic year).
2010 – Susquehanna left the Liberty League as an associate member for football, effective after the 2009 fall season (2009–10 academic year).
2011 – Founding member Hamilton College left the Liberty League in order to fully integrate its athletic programs within the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), effective after the 2010–11 academic year.
2011 – Bard College and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) joined the Liberty League, effective in the 2011–12 academic year.
2012 – U.S. Merchant Marine left the Liberty League as an associate member for men's golf after dropping the sport, effective after the 2012 spring season (2011–12 academic year).
2012 – Four institutions joined the Liberty League as associate members: Springfield College for football, New York University for both men's and women's golf, and Wellesley College and Mount Holyoke College for women's golf, all effective in the 2012–13 academic year.
2013 – St. John Fisher College joined the Liberty League as an associate member for men's and women's rowing, effective in the 2013–14 academic year.
2017 – Springfield, U.S. Merchant Marine and Worcester Poly (WPI) left the Liberty League as associate members for football, effective after the 2016 fall season (2016–17 academic year).
2017 – Ithaca College joined the Liberty League, effective in the 2017–18 academic year.
2019 – Buffalo State College joined the Liberty League as an associate member for football, effective in the 2019 fall season (2019–20 academic year).
2020 – Mount Holyoke left the Liberty League as an associate member for women's golf after dropping the sport, effective after the 2020 spring season (2019–20 academic year).

Member schools

Current members

The Liberty League currently has 12 full members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Football?
Bard College	Annandale-on-Hudson, New York	1860	Episcopal	1,958	Raptors	2011	No
Clarkson University	Potsdam, New York	1896	Nonsectarian	2,848	Golden Knights	1995	No
Hobart College[lower-alpha 1]	Geneva, New York	1822	Episcopal	905	Statesmen	1995	Yes
Ithaca College	Ithaca, New York	1892	Nonsectarian	6,769	Bombers	2017	Yes
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)	Troy, New York	1824	Nonsectarian	5,431	Engineers	1995	Yes
University of Rochester[lower-alpha 2]	Rochester, New York	1850	Nonsectarian	12,233	Yellowjackets	1995	Yes
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)	Henrietta, New York	1829	Nonsectarian	18,000	Tigers	2011	No
St. Lawrence University	Canton, New York	1856	Nonsectarian	2,327	Saints	1995	Yes
Skidmore College	Saratoga Springs, New York	1903	Nonsectarian	2,734	Thoroughbreds	1995	No
Union College	Schenectady, New York	1795	Nonsectarian	2,197	Garnet Chargers	1995	Yes
Vassar College	Poughkeepsie, New York	1861	Nonsectarian	2,446	Brewers	2001	No
William Smith College[lower-alpha 1]	Geneva, New York	1908	Episcopal	1,045	Herons	1995	No

Notes

Hobart (men) and William Smith (women) are together the Colleges of the Seneca and usually grouped together, but they participate separately in athletics.
Rochester holds both dual conference membership with the Liberty and with the University Athletic Association (UAA).

Associate members

The Liberty League currently has four associate members, all but one are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Primary conference	Liberty sport
Buffalo State College	Buffalo, New York	1871	Public	8,339	Bengals	2019–20	New York State (SUNYAC)	football
New York University	New York City	1832	Private	22,280	Violets	2012–13^m.gf.; 2012–13^w.gf.	University (UAA)	men's golf; women's golf
St. John Fisher University	Rochester, New York	1948	Private	4,000	Cardinals	2013–14	Empire 8	men's rowing women's rowing
Wellesley College	Wellesley, Massachusetts	1870	Nonsectarian	2,300	Blue	2012–13	New England (NEWMAC)	women's golf

Former members

The Liberty League had one former full member, which was also a private school:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
Hamilton College[lower-alpha 1]	Clinton, New York	1793	Nonsectarian	1,864	Continentals	1995–96	2010–11	New England (NESCAC)

Notes

Hamilton left the Liberty League after the 2010–11 school year in order to fully align with the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), of which it has been a charter member since 1971. The school previously held dual membership with both the Liberty and NESCAC conferences.

Former associate members

The Liberty League had six former associate members, all but two were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference in former Liberty sport	Current primary conference	Liberty sport
United States Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard)	New London, Connecticut	1876	Federal	1,045	Bears	2004–05	2005–06	New England (NEWMAC)[lower-alpha 1]		football
United States Merchant Marine Academy (Merchant Marine)	Kings Point, New York	1942	Federal	910	Mariners	2004–05^fb.; 2009–10^m.gf.	2016–17^fb.; 2011–12^m.gf.	NEWMAC^fb.; N/A^m.gf.[lower-alpha 2]	Skyline	football;[5] men's golf
Mount Holyoke College	South Hadley, Massachusetts	1837	Nonsectarian	2,100	Lyons	2012–13	2019–20	N/A[lower-alpha 3]	NEWMAC	women's golf
Springfield College	Springfield, Massachusetts	1885	Nonsectarian	5,062	Pride	2012–13	2016–17	New England (NEWMAC)		football[7]
Susquehanna University	Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania	1858	Lutheran ECLA	2,200	River Hawks	2007–08	2009–10	Centennial[lower-alpha 4]	Landmark	football
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)	Worcester, Massachusetts	1865	Nonsectarian	5,071	Engineers	2004–05	2016–17	New England (NEWMAC)		football

Liberty League other members

🌍

Locations of Liberty League other members, 2021–2022

Current associate

Former full

Former associate

Notes

Coast Guard was a football-only associate member in the 2004 and 2005 seasons after its previous conference, the Freedom Football Conference, disbanded (it competed in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) in most other sports, where it remains). After two seasons it moved to the New England Football Conference (since rebranded as Commonwealth Coast Football), where it remained through the 2016 season. Coast Guard football joined its other sports in the NEWMAC in 2017, when that league began sponsoring football.
Merchant Marine discontinued men's golf after the 2011–12 school year.
Mount Holyoke discontinued women's golf after the 2019–20 school year.[6]
Susquehanna was a football-only associate member in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons after leaving its previous football conference, the Middle Atlantic Conferences (it then competed in the Landmark Conference in most other sports, where it remains). After three seasons it moved to the Centennial Conference.

Membership timeline

Sports

The Liberty League sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's crew, men's and women's cross country, women's field hockey, men's football, men's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women’s soccer, women's softball, men's and women's squash, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and women's volleyball.

**Conference sports**
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Field hockey		Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Lacrosse	Y	Y
Rowing	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Squash	Y	Y
Swimming & Diving	Y	Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track and field (indoor)	Y	Y
Track and field (outdoor)	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

[8]

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Football	Golf	Lacrosse	Rowing	Soccer	Squash	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Total Liberty League Sports
Bard[9]	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Clarkson[10]	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	N	N	N	7
Hobart[11]	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	11
Ithaca[12]	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
RPI[13]	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Rochester[14]	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
RIT[15]	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
St. Lawrence[16]	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Skidmore[17]	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	N	8
Union[18]	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Vassar[19]	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Totals	11	11	10	6+1[lower-alpha 1]	6+1[lower-alpha 2]	9	6+1[lower-alpha 3]	11	5	11	10	8	8	115

[8]

Affiliate member Buffalo State.
Affiliate member NYU.
Affiliate member St. John Fisher.

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Liberty League

School	Alpine Skiing	Crew	Fencing	Ice Hockey	Nordic Skiing	Riding	Rugby	Sailing	Volleyball	Wrestling
Bard[9]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	NECC	No
Clarkson[10]	Independent	No	No	ECAC Hockey	Independent	No	No	No	No	No
Hobart[11]	Independent	No	No	NEHC	No	No	No	Independent	Independent	No
Ithaca[12]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference
RPI[13]	No	No	No	ECAC Hockey	No	No	No	No	No	No
RIT[15]	No	No	No	AHA	No	No	No	No	No	Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference
St. Lawrence[16]	Independent	No	No	ECAC Hockey	Independent	Independent	No	No	No	No
Skidmore[17]	No	No	No	NEHC	No	No	No	No	No	No
Union[18]	No	Independent	No	ECAC Hockey	No	No	No	No	No	No
Vassar[19]	No	No	Northeast Fencing Conference	No	No	No	Independent	No	UVC	No

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Field Hockey	Golf	Lacrosse	Rowing	Soccer	Softball	Squash	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Total Liberty League Sports
Bard[9]	Y	Y	N	N	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Clarkson[10]	Y	Y	N	N	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	N	N	N	Y	7
Ithaca[12]	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
RPI[13]	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	10
Rochester[14]	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
RIT[15]	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
St. Lawrence[16]	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	14
Skidmore[17]	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	N	Y	9
Union[18]	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Vassar[19]	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
William Smith[11]	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	11
Totals	11	10	8	5+2[lower-alpha 1]	11	7+1[lower-alpha 2]	11	8	4	11	10	8	8	10	125

[8]

Affiliate members NYU and Wellesley.
Affiliate member St. John Fisher.

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Liberty League

School	Alpine Skiing	Bowling	Crew	Fencing	Gymnastics	Ice Hockey	Nordic Skiing	Riding	Rugby	Sailing	Sculling
Clarkson[10]	Independent	No	No	No	No	ECAC Hockey	Independent	No	No	No	No
Ithaca[12]	No	No	No	No	Independent	No	No	No	No	No	Independent
RPI[13]	No	No	No	No	No	ECAC Hockey	No	No	No	No	No
RIT[15]	No	No	No	No	No	CHA	No	No	No	No	No
St. Lawrence[16]	Independent	No	No	No	No	ECAC Hockey	Independent	Independent	No	No	No
Skidmore[17]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Independent	No	No	No
Union[18]	No	No	Independent	No	No	ECAC Hockey	No	No	No	No	No
Vassar[19]	No	No	No	Northeast Fencing Conference	No	No	No	No	Independent	No	No
William Smith[11]	Independent	Independent	No	No	No	NEHC	No	No	No	Independent	No

References

Kevin McGuire (May 2, 2015). "Ali Marpet puts D3 Hobart on the NFL Draft scoreboard – College Football Talk". NBC Sports.
"Liberty League Athletics – Liberty League announces 2014 Football Award Recipients". Liberty League.
"Press Release: News: Senior Bowl". seniorbowl.com.
"AFCA Announces 2014 Division III Coaches All-America Team". afca.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27.
Liberty League Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
"Mount Holyoke College Discontinues Varsity Golf Program". Mount Holyoke College. 2020-09-10.
"Springfield College to Join the Liberty League as Associate Member in Football". Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
"Liberty League". libertyleagueathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"Bard College Athletics". bardathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"Clarkson University Athletics". clarksonathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"Hobart and William Smith College Athletics". hwsathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"Ithaca College Athletics". athletics.ithaca.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Athletics". rpiathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"University of Rochester Athletics". uofrathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics". ritathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"St. Lawrence University Athletics". saintsathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"Skidmore College Athletics". skidmoreathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"Union College Athletics". unionathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
"Vassar College Athletics". vassarathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

External links

Official website

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[HWS-5] Hobart (men) and William Smith (women) are together the Colleges of the Seneca and usually grouped together, but they participate separately in athletics.

[6] Rochester holds both dual conference membership with the Liberty and with the University Athletic Association (UAA).

[7] Hamilton left the Liberty League after the 2010–11 school year in order to fully align with the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), of which it has been a charter member since 1971. The school previously held dual membership with both the Liberty and NESCAC conferences.

[8] Coast Guard was a football-only associate member in the 2004 and 2005 seasons after its previous conference, the Freedom Football Conference, disbanded (it competed in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) in most other sports, where it remains). After two seasons it moved to the New England Football Conference (since rebranded as Commonwealth Coast Football), where it remained through the 2016 season. Coast Guard football joined its other sports in the NEWMAC in 2017, when that league began sponsoring football.

[9] Merchant Marine discontinued men's golf after the 2011–12 school year.

[12] Mount Holyoke discontinued women's golf after the 2019–20 school year.[6]

[14] Susquehanna was a football-only associate member in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons after leaving its previous football conference, the Middle Atlantic Conferences (it then competed in the Landmark Conference in most other sports, where it remains). After three seasons it moved to the Centennial Conference.

[27] Affiliate member Buffalo State.

[28] Affiliate member NYU.

[29] Affiliate member St. John Fisher.

[30] Affiliate members NYU and Wellesley.

[31] Affiliate member St. John Fisher.

[nbcsports.com-1] Kevin McGuire (May 2, 2015). "Ali Marpet puts D3 Hobart on the NFL Draft scoreboard – College Football Talk". NBC Sports.

[2] "Liberty League Athletics – Liberty League announces 2014 Football Award Recipients". Liberty League.

[3] "Press Release: News: Senior Bowl". seniorbowl.com.

[auto1-4] "AFCA Announces 2014 Division III Coaches All-America Team". afca.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27.

[10] Liberty League Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine

[11] "Mount Holyoke College Discontinues Varsity Golf Program". Mount Holyoke College. 2020-09-10.

[13] "Springfield College to Join the Liberty League as Associate Member in Football". Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-02-05.

[libertyleaguesports-15] "Liberty League". libertyleagueathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[bardsports-16] "Bard College Athletics". bardathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[clarksonsports-17] "Clarkson University Athletics". clarksonathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[hobartsports-18] "Hobart and William Smith College Athletics". hwsathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[ithacasports-19] "Ithaca College Athletics". athletics.ithaca.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[rpisports-20] "Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Athletics". rpiathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[rochestersports-21] "University of Rochester Athletics". uofrathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[ritsports-22] "Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics". ritathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[stlawrencesports-23] "St. Lawrence University Athletics". saintsathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[skidmoresports-24] "Skidmore College Athletics". skidmoreathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[unionsports-25] "Union College Athletics". unionathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

[vassarsports-26] "Vassar College Athletics". vassarathletics.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.

Liberty League
Current full members	Bard Raptors Clarkson Golden Knights Hobart Statesmen Ithaca Bombers RPI Engineers RIT Tigers Rochester Yellowjackets St. Lawrence Saints Skidmore Thoroughbreds Union Dutchmen and Dutchwomen Vassar Brewers William Smith Herons
Current associate members	Buffalo State Bengals (football) NYU Violets (men's and women's golf) St. John Fisher Cardinals (men's and women's rowing) Wellesley Blue (women's golf)
Former full member	Hamilton Continentals
Former associate members	Coast Guard Bears (football) Merchant Marine Mariners (football and men's golf) Mount Holyoke Lyons (women's golf) Springfield Pride (football) Susquehanna River Hawks (football) WPI Engineers (football)