Commonwealth Coast Football
FormerlyNew England Football Conference
AssociationNCAA
Founded1965 (Renamed 2017)
CommissionerGregg M. Kaye (since 2015)
Sports fielded
  • 1
DivisionDivision III
No. of teams7
HeadquartersBiddeford, Maine
RegionNew England
Official websitewww.cccathletics.com/sports/fball/index
Locations
Location of teams in {{{title}}}

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

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]

Due to changes in NCAA Division III legislation regarding the number of members required for a conference to receive an automatic qualifier (AQ), football was incorporated into the multi-sport Commonwealth Coast Conference in 2022, eliminating the need for the football-only league.

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 on the 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 consists of nine schools, and the league champion is 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 also join 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 begins 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 compete in a renamed NEFC known as Commonwealth Coast Football (CCC Football) in succeeding years. Becker joins as an associate member in 2017 and the University of New England adds a football program and becomes CCC Football's seventh football member in 2018. As a renamed NEFC, CCC Football continues to receive automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

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

2019 – Husson joins as an associate member.

2021 – Becker ceases operations.

2022 - Football fully incorporated into the CCC sport sponsorship, rendering CCC Football a defunct league.

Member schools

Current members

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Primary
Conference		 Colors
Curry College Milton, Massachusetts 1879 Private 2,410 Colonels 1965
1998		 CCC    
Endicott College Beverly, Massachusetts 1939 Private 4,528 Gulls 2003 CCC    
Husson University Bangor, Maine 1898 Private 3,476 Eagles 2019 NAC    
Nichols College Dudley, Massachusetts 1815 Private 1,518 Bison 1972
1998		 CCC    
Salve Regina University Newport, Rhode Island 1934 Private/Catholic 2,771 Seahawks 1998 CCC    
University of New England Biddeford, Maine 1831 Private 7,208 Nor'easters 2018 CCC    
Western New England University Springfield, Massachusetts 1919 Private 3,702 Golden Bears 1981
1998		 CCC    

    Former NEFC/CCC Football 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
    Becker College Worcester, Massachusetts 1784 Private 2,189 Hawks 2017 2021 Closed in 2021
    Boston State College Boston, Massachusetts 1872 Public 11,000 [6] Warriors 1972 1982 Merged into the University of Massachusetts Boston
    Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, Massachusetts 1840 Public 10,651 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 4,659 Falcons 1985 2013 MASCAC
    Framingham State University Framingham, Massachusetts 1839 Public 4,876 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 16,259 Beacons 1988 2001 no longer sponsors football Little East (LEC)
    University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Dartmouth, Massachusetts 1895 Public 8,513 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 1,637 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 4,491 Panthers 1971
    1989    		 1991
    2013    		 MASCAC Little East (LEC)
    Western Connecticut State University Danbury, Connecticut 1903 Public 5,246 Colonials 1979 1986 MASCAC Little East (LEC)
    Westfield State University Westfield, Massachusetts 1838 Public 5,400 Owls 1982 2013 MASCAC
    Worcester State University Worcester, Massachusetts 1874 Public 6,434 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.
    Commonwealth Coast Football
    🌍
    Location of the current members

    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 CollegePlymouth 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.[7]

    References

    1. ↑ "New England Football Conference to Restructure". The Ellsworth American. February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
    2. ↑ "MASCAC Set to Add Football as Championship Sport in 2013–14". MASCAC. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
    3. ↑ "CCC Football Past Champions". Commonwealth Coast Conference. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
    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. ↑ "CCC Unveils Visual Rebrand and Identity Initiative". Commonwealth Coast Conference. June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
    6. ↑ "(94)Boston State College". lost-colleges. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
    7. ↑ 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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