Commonwealth Coast Football

Commonwealth Coast Football (CCC Football) is a single-sport athletic conference that competes in football in the NCAA's Division III. It began play as CCC Football in 2017 after the New England Football Conference was renamed following the 2016 season. CCC Football is administered by the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

Commonwealth Coast Football
CCC Football
Established1965 (Renamed 2017)
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision III
Members8
Sports fielded
  • 1
RegionNew England
Former namesNew England Football Conference
CommissionerGregg M. Kaye (since 2015)
Websitewww.cccathletics.com/sports/fball/index
Locations

The conference competed under the NEFC banner from 1965 through the 2016 season. Member teams are located in New England.

Before an NEFC conference split that took effect with the 2013 season, the NEFC was divided into the Boyd Division and the Bogan Division, with the division champions competing in Division III football's only season-ending conference championship game.[1]

After the 2012 season, the NEFC split, with the seven Massachusetts state institutions and Plymouth State playing in the MASCAC for football.[2] The conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs continued to be held by the eight remaining members: Curry, Endicott, Maine Maritime, MIT, Nichols, Salve Regina, Coast Guard, and Western New England. In the 12 seasons the NEFC hosted a championship game between its two division winners, these remaining eight members accounted for 16 of the 24 championship game participants and 8 of 12 conference champions.[3]

The decision to rename the NEFC was made in October 2015, as the Commonwealth Coast Conference announced that it would add football by effectively absorbing the NEFC as a single-sport conference known as Commonwealth Coast Football, starting with the 2017–18 school year. Accordingly, the 2016 season was the last for the NEFC under its long-standing name and acronym.[4]

The CCC and Commonwealth Coast Football unveiled a new family of logos during a June 2019 visual rebrand[5]

NEFC and CCC Football Membership evolution

1965 – The New England Football Conference is founded by charter members Curry, Bridgewater State and Maine Maritime.

1971 – Plymouth State and New England College become conference members.

1972 – Nichols College and Boston State become conference members.

1972 – New England College suspends football program following '72 season; Mass. Maritime Academy becomes conference member.

1973 – Framingham State and New Haven become conference members.

1979 – Western Connecticut State becomes conference member.

1981 – Western New England College becomes conference member.

1981 – New Haven leaves conference, moves to Division II.

1981 – Boston State suspends football program following '81 season.

1982 – Westfield State becomes conference member.

1985 – Fitchburg State and Worcester State become conference members.

1985 – Western Connecticut leaves conference to pursue independent schedule.

1987 – UMass Lowell becomes conference member in 1987, initiating a split into two six-team divisions with divisional winners meeting in championship playoff game.

1988 – UMass Boston and UMass Dartmouth become conference members.

1988 – Western New England leaves conference following '88 season.

1992 – Plymouth State and UMass Lowell join the Freedom Football Conference; Curry and Nichols join the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference.

1992 – The conference now numbers nine colleges that play a round robin schedule.

1997 – Five new members begin conference play in 1998: Curry, Nichols, MIT, Salve Regina and WNEC. The 14-team conference had two 7-team divisions.

1999 – Bridgewater State (10–0) receives first automatic qualification to NCAA playoffs.

2000 – The first Championship game in the 14-team Conference is scheduled. Wal*Mart agrees to sponsor the game. The Divisions are renamed with the Red being the Bogan Division and the Blue becoming the Boyd Division named after the NEFC's first two commissioners. Bridgewater State defeats Salve Regina 27–24 for the championship. UMass Boston drops football.

2001 – The Bogan Division plays with only six teams while the Boyd continues with seven. Endicott College begins a football program and is admitted into the Boyd Division beginning with the 2003 season.

2004 – A Most Valuable Player Award is established for the NEFC Championship Game and is named the William Mottola Award in honor of the long-time conference commissioner.

2005 – Plymouth State University and the United States Coast Guard Academy are admitted as members for play beginning in the 2006 season. Plymouth enters the Boyd Division and Coast Guard Academy competes in the Bogan Division. The Conference decides that the Championship Game will be played at the campus of the Bogan Division winner in even numbered years and at field of the Boyd Division champion in odd numbered years.

2007 – Curry College becomes the first NEFC team to win an NCAA Division III Championship Tournament game, defeating Hartwick College 42–21.

2008 – The NEFC qualifies two teams for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the first time. Conference champion Plymouth State University receives the automatic bid, and Curry College receives an at-large bid.

2010 – Maine Maritime Academy sets a new NCAA Division III season rushing record with 5189 yards in 11 games. The Mariners miss the all-Division mark set by the University of Oklahoma in 1971 by eight yards.

2011 – Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference institution presidents decide to form a MASCAC football league, which will consist of nine schools, and the league champion will be awarded an automatic berth to the NCAA D-III Football National Tournament. Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Westfield State University, and Worcester State University are the six core schools deciding to join the new MASCAC conference. Also, Plymouth State University, UMass-Dartmouth, and Western Connecticut State will also be joining the MASCAC conference as flagship members; effectively in 2013.

2012 – The NEFC qualifies two teams for the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the second time in league history. Framingham State (10–1) won the NEFC Championship and received the automatic bid, while Bridgewater State (9–1) received an at-large bid. Framingham State lost in the First Round, 20–19 to Cortland State (NY), while Bridgewater State also lost in the First Round, 44–14 to Widener University (PA).

2013 – Retired Bridgewater State University Director of Athletics John Harper is named Commissioner of the Conference

2014 – The Conference Championship traveling trophy is named for former Maine Maritime Academy Director of Athletics and football coach Bill Mottola. Mottola was NEFC Commissioner from 1997 to 2007 and was affiliated with the conference for four decades.

2015 – Maine Maritime Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the United States Coast Guard Academy announce plans to leave the NEFC following the 2016 season to compete in the NEWMAC, which will begin sponsoring football as a championship sport in 2017.

2015 – Gregg Kaye, Commissioner of the Commonwealth Coast Conference, is named NEFC Commissioner.

2016 – The NEFC completes its final season of play under the NEFC name. Curry, Endicott, Nichols, Salve Regina, and Western New England will compete in a renamed NEFC known as Commonwealth Coast Football (CCC Football) in succeeding years. Becker will join as an associate member in 2017 and the University of New England will add a football program and become CCC Football's seventh football member in 2018. As a renamed NEFC, CCC Football will continue to receive automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

2017 – The NEFC begins play as Commonwealth Coast Football and will continue to operate as a single-sport conference administered by the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

2019 – Husson will join as an associate member in 2019.

Member schools

Current members
Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Primary
Conference		 Colors
Becker College Worcester, Massachusetts 1784 Private 2,189 Hawks 2017
 NECC Blue
Curry College Milton, Massachusetts 1879 Private 4,700 Colonels 1965
1998		 CCC Purple & White
Endicott College Beverly, Massachusetts 1939 Private 3,810 Gulls 2003 CCC Blue & Green
Husson University Bangor, Maine 1898 Private 2,600 Eagles 2019 NAC Green & Gold
Nichols College Dudley, Massachusetts 1815 Private 1,459 Bison 1972
1998		 CCC Green & Black
Salve Regina University Newport, Rhode Island 1934 Private/Catholic 2,589 Seahawks 1998 CCC Blue & Green
University of New England Biddeford, Maine 1831 Private 5,781 Nor'easters 2018 CCC Blue & White
Western New England University Springfield, Massachusetts 1919 Private 3,159 Golden Bears 1981
1998		 CCC Blue & Gold     
Notes

    Former NEFC members

    The years of departure listed are the calendar years in which each school left the conference. Because football is a fall sport, the year of departure is the calendar year after the last season of competition.

    Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Football
    conference    		 Primary
    conference
    Boston State College Boston, Massachusetts 1872 Public N/A Beacons 1972 1982 Merged into the University of Massachusetts Boston
    Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, Massachusetts 1840 Public 12,127 Bears 1965 2013 MASCAC
    United States Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard) New London, Connecticut 1876 Federal 988 Bears 2006 2017 NEWMAC
    Fitchburg State University Fitchburg, Massachusetts 1894 Public 5,201 Falcons 1985 2013 MASCAC
    Framingham State University Framingham, Massachusetts 1839 Public 5,989 Rams 1973 2013 MASCAC
    Maine Maritime Academy Castine, Maine 1941 Public 937 Mariners 1965 2017 NEWMAC NAC
    University of Massachusetts Boston South Boston, Massachusetts 1964 Public 15,741 Beacons 1988 2001 no longer sponsors football Little East (LEC)
    University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Dartmouth, Massachusetts 1895 Public 7,451 Corsairs 1988 2013 MASCAC Little East (LEC)
    University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, Massachusetts 1894 Public 18,338 River Hawks 1988 1992 no longer sponsors football[lower-alpha 1] America East (NCAA D-I)
    Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts 1891 Public 1,130 Buccaneers 1972 2013 MASCAC
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, Massachusetts 1861 Private 4,512[lower-alpha 2] Engineers 1998 2017 NEWMAC
    New England College Henniker, New Hampshire 1946 Private 1,460 Pilgrims 1971 1973 no longer sponsors football NAC
    University of New Haven West Haven, Connecticut 1920 Private 6,000 Chargers 1973 1982 Northeast-10 (NCAA D-II)
    Plymouth State University Plymouth, New Hampshire 1871 Public 6,600 Panthers 1971
    1989    		 1991
    2013    		 MASCAC Little East (LEC)
    Western Connecticut State University Danbury, Connecticut 1903 Public 6,001 Colonials 1979 1986 MASCAC Little East (LEC)
    Westfield State University Westfield, Massachusetts 1838 Public 5,166 Owls 1982 2013 MASCAC
    Worcester State University Worcester, Massachusetts 1874 Public 5,470 Lancers 1985 2013 MASCAC
    1. Although UMass Lowell left the NEFC in 1992, it continued to sponsor the sport through the 2002 season.
    2. Undergraduate enrollment; total enrollment is 11,319.

    Membership timeline
    Husson UniversityUniversity of New EnglandBecker CollegeUnited States Coast Guard AcademyEndicott CollegeSalve Regina UniversityMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyUniversity of Massachusetts DartmouthUniversity of Massachusetts BostonUniversity of Massachusetts LowellWorcester State UniversityFitchburg State UniversityWestfield State UniversityWestern New England UniversityWestern Connecticut State UniversityUniversity of New HavenFramingham State UniversityNichols CollegeMassachusetts Maritime AcademyBoston State CollegeNew England CollegeMaine Maritime AcademyCurry CollegeBridgewater State University

    Primary conferences

    When the conference operated under the NEFC name, its teams competed in other primary multi-sport conferences. See also: Commonwealth Coast Conference, New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference, Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference and North Atlantic Conference.

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    References
    1. "New England Football Conference to Restructure". newenglandfootballconference.com. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
    2. "MASCAC Set to Add Football as Championship Sport in 2013–14". mascac.com. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
    3. "Conference Champions". newenglandfootballconference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
    4. "Commonwealth Coast Conference To Administer Football Championship Beginning in 2017–18" (Press release). Commonwealth Coast Conference. October 5, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
    5. https://www.cccathletics.com/sports/general/2018-19/Releases/CCC_Rebrand
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