Commonwealth Coast Football

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
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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.

  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.