Liberty League

The Liberty League is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Member schools are all located in the state of New York.

The league includes founding members Clarkson University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Rochester, 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 (NESCAC).

Buffalo State University and Hilbert College are associate members in football only.

• 1995 – In 1995, the Liberty League was founded as the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA). Charter members included Clarkson University, Hamilton College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the University of Rochester, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), St. Lawrence University, Skidmore College and Union College, beginning the 1995–96 academic year.
• 2001 – Vassar College joined the UCAA in the 2000–01 academic year.
• 2004:
• On July 1, 2004, the UCAA was rebranded as the Liberty League; beginning the 2004–05 academic year.
• The United States Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Merchant Marine) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) joined the Liberty League as associate members for football in the 2004 fall season (2004–05 academic year).
• 2006 – U.S. Coast Guard left the Liberty League as an associate member for football after the 2005 fall season (2005–06 academic year).
• 2007 – Susquehanna University joined the Liberty League as an associate member for football in the 2007 fall season (2007–08 academic year).
• 2009 – U.S. Merchant Marine added men's golf to its Liberty League associate membership in the 2010 spring season (2009–10 academic year).
• 2010 – Susquehanna left the Liberty League as an associate member for football after the 2009 fall season (2009–10 academic year).
• 2011:
• Charter member Hamilton left the Liberty League in order to fully integrate its athletic programs within the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) after the 2010–11 academic year.
• Bard College and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) joined the Liberty League in the 2011–12 academic year.
• 2012:
• U.S. Merchant Marine left the Liberty League as an associate member for men's golf after dropping the sport after the 2012 spring season (2011–12 academic year).
• Four institutions joined the Liberty League as associate members, all effective in the 2012–13 academic year:
• Springfield College for football
• New York University for both men's and women's golf
• and Mount Holyoke College and Wellesley College for women's golf
• 2013 – St. John Fisher College joined the Liberty League as an associate member for men's and women's rowing in the 2013–14 academic year.
• 2017:
• Springfield, U.S. Merchant Marine and Worcester Poly (WPI) left the Liberty League as associate members for football after the 2016 fall season (2016–17 academic year).
• Ithaca College joined the Liberty League in the 2017–18 academic year.
• 2019 – Buffalo State College (now Buffalo State University) joined the Liberty League as an associate member for football in the 2019 fall season (2019–20 academic year).
• 2020 – Mount Holyoke left the Liberty League as an associate member for women's golf after dropping the sport after the 2020 spring season (2019–20 academic year).
• 2022:
• St. John Fisher left the Liberty League as an associate member for men's rowing after the 2021–22 academic year.
• Denison University joined the Liberty League as an associate member for men's and women's squash in the 2022–23 academic year.
• 2023 – Two institutions joined the Liberty League as associate members, both effective in the 2023–24 academic year:
• Haverford College for men's and women's squash
• and Mount Holyoke for women's squash
• 2024 – Mount Holyoke left the Liberty League as an associate member for women's squash after the 2023–24 academic year.
• 2025 – The Liberty League announced that it entered into a scheduling agreement for non-conference football games with the Empire 8 for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. As part of this agreement, Hilbert College joined the Liberty League from the Empire 8 as an associate member for football, beginning the 2025 fall season (2025–26 academic year), giving both leagues 8 football-playing members.

Notes

Notes

Notes

Notes

         id:line value:black
         id:bg value:white
         id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
         id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
         id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
         id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only
         id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference
         id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used
     

 width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
     

 bar:1  color:FullxF from:1995 till:end  text:Clarkson (1995–present)
     

 bar:2  color:AssocOS from:1995 till:2011  text:Hamilton (N.Y.) (1995–2011)
     

 bar:3  color:FullxF from:1995 till:2003  text:Hobart (1995–present)
 bar:3  color:Full from:2003 till:end  text:
     

 bar:4  color:FullxF from:1995 till:2003  text:RPI (1995–present)
 bar:4  color:Full from:2003 till:end  text:
     

 bar:5  color:FullxF from:1995 till:2003  text:Rochester (1995–present)
 bar:5  color:Full from:2003 till:end  text:
     

 bar:6  color:FullxF from:1995 till:end  text:[[Skidmore|Skidmore College]] (1995–present)
     

 bar:7  color:FullxF from:1995 till:2003  text:St. Lawrence (1995–present)
 bar:7  color:Full from:2003 till:end  text:
     

 bar:8  color:FullxF from:1995 till:2003  text:[[Union|Union College]] (1995–present)
 bar:8  color:Full from:2003 till:end  text:
     

 bar:9  color:FullxF from:1995 till:end  text:William Smith (1995–present)
     

 bar:10  color:FullxF from:2000 till:end  text:[[Vassar|Vassar College]] (2001–present)
     

 bar:11  color:AssocF from:2004 till:2006  text:Coast Guard (2004–2006)
     

 bar:12  color:AssocF from:2004 till:2017  text:Merchant Marine (2004–2017)
 bar:12  color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2012  text:
     

 bar:13  color:AssocF from:2004 till:2017  text:WPI (2004–2017)
     

 bar:14  color:AssocF from:2007 till:2010  text:Susquehanna (2007–2010)
     

 bar:15  color:FullxF from:2011 till:end  text:[[Bard|Bard College]] (2011–present)
     

 bar:16  color:FullxF from:2011 till:end  text:RIT (2011–present)
     

 bar:17  color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2020  text:Mount Holyoke (2012–2020, w.gf.)
 bar:17  color:AssocOS from:2023 till:2024  text:(2023–2024, sq.)
     

 bar:18  color:AssocOS from:2012 till:end  text:NYU (2012–present)
     

 bar:19  color:AssocOS from:2012 till:end  text:Wellesley (2012–present)
     

 bar:20  color:AssocF from:2012 till:2017  text:Springfield (2012–2017)
     

 bar:21  color:AssocOS from:2013 till:end  text:St. John Fisher (2013–present)
     

 bar:22  color:FullxF from:2017 till:end  text:[[Ithaca|Ithaca College]] (2017–present)
     

 bar:23  color:AssocF from:2019 till:end  text:Buffalo State (2019–present)
     

 bar:24  color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end  text:Denison (2022–present)
     

 bar:25  color:AssocOS from:2023 till:end  text:Haverford (2023–present)
     

 bar:26  shift:(-30) color:AssocF from:2025 till:end  text:[[Hilbert|Hilbert College]] (2025–present)
     

 bar:N color:red from:1995 till:2004  text:Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association
 bar:N color:blue from:2004 till:end  text:Liberty League
     

fontsize:M
textcolor:black
pos:(0,20) tabs:(400-center)
text:^"Liberty League membership history"