Liberty League

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.

For other uses, see Liberty League (disambiguation).
Liberty League
Established1995
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision III
Members11
Sports fielded
  • 26
    • men's: 14
    • women's: 13
RegionUpstate New York
Former namesUpstate Collegiate Athletic Association
HeadquartersTroy, New York
CommissionerTracy King
Websitelibertyleagueathletics.com
Locations

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 2017–18 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.

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 12,233 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

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
Buffalo State College Bengals Buffalo, New York 1871 Public 10,000 2019 SUNYAC football

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
  1. 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.
  2. 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
Ithaca CollegeRochester Institute of TechnologyBard CollegeVassar CollegeHobart and William Smith CollegesUnion CollegeSt. Lawrence UniversitySkidmore CollegeUniversity of RochesterRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteHobart and William Smith CollegesHamilton College (New York)Clarkson University

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
  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.
  4. "AFCA Announces 2014 Division III Coaches All-America Team". afca.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27.
  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. Liberty League Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-02-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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