The Centennial Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Chartered member teams are located in Maryland and Pennsylvania; associate members are also located in New York and Virginia. Eleven private colleges compose the Centennial Conference. Five of its 11 members of the Centennial Conference rank among the top 50 national liberal arts colleges and Johns Hopkins University is ranked seventh among national universities. On average, Centennial members sponsor 19 varsity teams. Conference members have won seventeen NCAA team titles: Johns Hopkins women's cross country (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021), Gettysburg women's lacrosse (2011, 2017, 2018), Haverford men's cross country (2010), Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse (2007, 2009), Ursinus field hockey (2006), Washington men's lacrosse (1998), and Washington men's tennis (1994, 1997).

History

According to the Centennial Conference's website, "On June 4, 1981, Keith Spalding, then-president of Franklin & Marshall College, made the announcement that "eight private colleges found it timely and appropriate to form a round-robin football schedule among institutions with similar attitudes and practices in intercollegiate football competition." With that statement, the Centennial Conference was born. Those private colleges were Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall College, Gettysburg College, Johns Hopkins University, Muhlenberg College, Swarthmore College, Ursinus College, and Western Maryland College, later renamed and now known as McDaniel College. The conference moved from a football-only conference to an all-sports conference after a 1991 feasibility study. The study also recommended to expand from eight schools to eleven. The other schools recommended were Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and Washington College. Those three schools accepted and became charter members in 1992 as the conference expanded its sports offerings. All of the charter members defected from the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC). Johns Hopkins and McDaniel College both played in the Mason-Dixon Conference prior to entering the MAC in 1975.

Chronological timeline

Member schools

Current members

The Centennial currently has 11 full members, all are private schools:

Affiliate members

The Centennial currently has two affiliate members, a private school and a public school:

Future affiliate members

The Centennial will have one new affiliate member, a private school:

Former affiliate members

The Centennial had eight former affiliate members, all were private schools:

Membership timeline

Sports

The Centennial Conference sponsors championships in the following sports:

Men's sponsored sports by school

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Centennial Conference that are played by Centennial schools

Women's sponsored sports by school

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Centennial Conference that are played by Centennial schools

Current champions