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.

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.
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.
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. He was three-time All-Liberty League first team, and 2014 Liberty League Co-Offensive Player of the Year—the first offensive lineman in league history to be so honored.

Member schools

Current members

Full member institutions include:
InstitutionNicknameLocationFoundedTypeEnrollmentJoinedFootball?
Bard CollegeRaptorsAnnandale-on-Hudson, New York1860Private1,9582011No
Clarkson UniversityGolden KnightsPotsdam, New York1896Private2,8481995No
Hobart CollegeStatesmenGeneva, New York1822Private9051995Yes
Ithaca CollegeBombersIthaca, New York1892Private6,7692017Yes
Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteEngineersTroy, New York1824Private5,4311995Yes
YellowjacketsRochester, New York1850Private5,6011995Yes
Rochester Institute of TechnologyTigersHenrietta, New York1829Private18,0002011No
SaintsCanton, New York1856Private2,3271995Yes
Skidmore CollegeThoroughbredsSaratoga Springs, New York1903Private2,7341995No
Union CollegeDutchmenSchenectady, New York1795Private2,1971995Yes
Vassar CollegeBrewersPoughkeepsie, New York1861Private2,4462001No
William Smith CollegeHeronsGeneva, New York1908Private1,0451995No

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Former members

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Membership timeline


DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1995 till:2020
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#
Colors =
id:barcolor value:rgb

id:line value:black

id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:Clarkson
bar:2 color:AssocOS from:1995 till:2011 text:Hamilton
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:Hobart
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:RPI
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:Rochester
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:Skidmore
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:St. Lawrence
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:Union
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:William Smith
bar:10 color:FullxF from:2000 till:end text:Vassar
bar:11 color:FullxF from:2011 till:end text:Bard
bar:12 color:FullxF from:2011 till:end text:RIT
bar:13 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text:Ithaca
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:1995

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.