| Liberty League | |
| Established | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Association | NCAA |
| Division | Division III |
| Members | 11 |
| Sports fielded | 26 (men's: 14; women's: 13) |
| Region | Upstate New York |
| Former names | Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association |
| Headquarters | Troy, New York |
| Commissioner | Tracy King |
| Website | libertyleagueathletics.com |
| Locations | |
The Liberty League is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. Member schools are top institutions that are all located in the state of New York.
History[]
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 2017-2018 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 2012-2013 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.
Map showing current full member institutions (click to enlarge)
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]
Member schools[]
Current members[]
Full member institutions include:
| Institution | Nickname | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joined | Football? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bard College | Raptors | Annandale-on-Hudson, New York | 1860 | Private | 1,958 | 2011 | No |
| Clarkson University | Golden Knights | Potsdam, New York | 1896 | Private | 2,848 | 1995 | No |
| Hobart College[5] | Statesmen | Geneva, New York | 1822 | Private | 905 | 1995 | Yes |
| Ithaca College | Bombers | Ithaca, New York | 1892 | Private | 6,769 | 2017 | Yes |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Engineers | Troy, New York | 1824 | Private | 5,431 | 1995 | Yes |
| University of Rochester | Yellowjackets | Rochester, New York | 1850 | Private | 5,601 | 1995 | Yes |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | Tigers | Henrietta, New York | 1829 | Private | 18,000 | 2011 | No |
| St. Lawrence University | Saints | Canton, New York | 1856 | Private | 2,327 | 1995 | Yes |
| Skidmore College | Thoroughbreds | Saratoga Springs, New York | 1903 | Private | 2,734 | 1995 | No |
| Union College | Dutchmen | Schenectady, New York | 1795 | Private | 2,197 | 1995 | Yes |
| Vassar College | Brewers | Poughkeepsie, New York | 1861 | Private | 2,446 | 2001 | No |
| William Smith College[5] | Herons | Geneva, New York | 1908 | Private | 1,045 | 1995 | No |
- Note
- Rochester holds both dual conference membership with the Liberty and with the University Athletic Association (UAA).
Associate members[]
| Institution | Nickname | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joined | Primary Conference |
Liberty Sport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Holyoke College | Lyons | South Hadley, Massachusetts | 1837 | Private | 2,100 | 2012–13 | NEWMAC | women's golf |
| New York University | Violets | New York City | 1832 | Private | 22,280 | 2012–13 | UAA | men's golf women's golf |
| St. John Fisher College | Cardinals | Rochester, New York | 1948 | Private | 4,000 | 2013–14 | Empire 8 | men's rowing women's rowing |
| Wellesley College | Blue | Wellesley, Massachusetts | 1870 | Private/Non-sectarian | 2,300 | 2012–13 | NEWMAC | women's golf |
Former members[]
| Institution | Nickname | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joined | Left | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton College* | Continentals | Clinton, New York | 1793 | Private | 1,864 | 1995 | 2011 | NESCAC |
- Note
- Hamilton left the Liberty League after the 2010-11 academic 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 in the Liberty and NESCAC conferences.
Former associate members[]
| Institution | Nickname | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joined | Left | Current Conference in Former Liberty Sport |
Primary Conference |
Liberty Sport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard) | Bears | New London, Connecticut | 1876 | Federal | 1,045 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | NEWMAC[lower-alpha 1] | NEWMAC | football |
| United States Merchant Marine Academy (Merchant Marine) | Mariners | Kings Point, New York | 1942 | Federal | 910 | 2004–05 (football) 2009–10 (golf) |
2016–17 (football) 2011–12 (golf) |
NEWMAC (football) N/A (golf) |
Skyline | football[6] men's golf |
| Springfield College | Pride | Springfield, Massachusetts | 1885 | Private | 5,062 | 2012–13 | 2016–17 | NEWMAC | NEWMAC | football[7] |
| Susquehanna University | River Hawks | Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania | 1858 | Private | 2,200 | 2007-08 | 2009-10 | Centennial[lower-alpha 2] | Landmark | football |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Engineers | Worcester, Massachusetts | 1865 | Private | 5,071 | 2004–05 | 2016–17 | NEWMAC | NEWMAC | football |
- Notes
- ↑ Kevin McGuire (May 2, 2015). "Ali Marpet puts D3 Hobart on the NFL Draft scoreboard – College Football Talk". NBC Sports. http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/02/ali-marpet-puts-d3-hobart-on-the-nfl-draft-scoreboard/.
- ↑ "Liberty League Athletics – Liberty League announces 2014 Football Award Recipients". Liberty League. http://www.libertyleagueathletics.com/news/2014/11/19/FB_1119141022.aspx.
- ↑ "Press Release: News: Senior Bowl". seniorbowl.com. http://www.seniorbowl.com/news-highlights-detail.php?news=286.
- ↑ "AFCA Announces 2014 Division III Coaches All-America Team". afca.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20150227094413/http://www.afca.com/article/article.php?id=2576.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hobart (men) and William Smith (women) are together the Colleges of the Seneca and usually grouped together, but they participate separately in athletics.
- ↑ Liberty League Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20100210092513/http://www.spfldcol.edu/homepage/athletics.nsf/Headline/F6154E7D46617C5F852576C1004F27F1. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
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.
References[]
External links[]
| |||||||||||
Template:NCAA Division III conference navbox
Cite error: <ref> tags exist for a group named "lower-alpha", but no corresponding <references group="lower-alpha"/> tag was found