Welcome to the NESCAC, where the girls are...smart, the weather is miserable, and the football is mediocre at best. But wait! Before you start wishing you'd accepted that spot at (fill-in-the-blank), let us introduce you to the sports you'll be following in these pages for the next four years. Because we love the NESCAC, and we're looking for converts.
Formed in 1971, the New England Small College Athletic Conference is recognized as the nation's premier academic-athletic league. Basically, we're the smartest of the jock schools, and the jockiest of the smart schools. That's not just wordplay; NESCAC schools were three of the top five finishers in the Directors' Cup, awarded annually to the nation's best Div. III athletics program (No. 1 Williams, No. 2 Middlebury, No. 4 Amherst).
It also has the most unique mascots this side of the UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. Yes, this crazy conference that we call home houses the Lord Jeffs (Amherst), the Bantams (Trinity), the Ephs (Williams, whose mascot is a purple cow) and of course, your home Jumbos. So here's a little something to get you started.
Middlebury College (Panthers)Middlebury, Vt.
We try to hate Middle-bury, but we can't. It isn't for lack of just cause--the Panthers can lay claim to the most dynastic run in NESCAC sports, having won every lacrosse title (men's and women's) since the tournament's inception in 2001. They are also frighteningly good at hockey, both the ice and field variety. But they don't cheat (that we can prove), they're not overly arrogant, they have a respectable mascot, and they live in Vermont. Ben & Jerry's! Skiing! Wahoo!
Williams College (Ephs)Williamstown, Mass.
Everyone's love-to-hate rival, Williams is infuriatingly good at nearly everything. They're like Yankees, Cowboys and Lakers rolled into one (the reference works especially well, as Steinbrenner himself was an Eph, Class of 1952). Williams picked up its ninth Div. III Directors' Cup in May, and has won 69 NESCAC titles since 2000-2001.
Hamilton College (Continentals)Clinton, N.Y.
We'll put them on the map when they earn it. Maybe it's that long bus ride...
Trinity College (Bantams)Hartford, Conn.
No surprise that Trinity has owned NESCAC football for the better part of a decade. Can you say "safety school?" Wecan--and did, in a memorable display of sportsmanship at a men's basketball game in Cousens Gym. Loudly. And repeatedly. Seriously though, did you apply? Are you there now? Right.
Wesleyan University (Cardinals)Middletown, Conn.
Wesleyan earned the respect of the entire league when they upset Williams in a Cinderella-esque run to the 2005 men's soccer title. Other than that, they are generally a good neighbor. They mind their own business, they don't rock the boat and they usually provide decent competition across the board.
Connecticut College (Camels)New London, Conn.
After wandering in the desert for a few decades, the Camels found their way into the league in 1981. And Hamilton is glad they did, as Conn. College shares perennial doormat duties with their brethern to the south. Conn. College is best known in recent years for being the source of the "NESCAC rash," which ravaged cross country teams across the league at the 2006 NESCAC Championships. Thanks, guys.
Amherst College (Lord Jeffs)Amherst, Mass.
Amherst teams are named after a stuffy English nobleman infamously connected to the smallpox-blankets scheme that decimated American Indians (don't believe us? Wikipedia it). The Lord Jeffs are currently the top dog in NESCAC men's basketball, and have a heated rivalry with Tufts that includes overtime games in the regular season, the NESCAC final and the NCAA tournament.
Colby College (Mules)Waterville, Maine
God bless Colby. Overshadowed by Bowdoin and Bates (ouch) and mocked by nearly everyone else, the NESCAC's highest-latitude school keeps suiting up. The Mules got their first NESCAC tournament title in 2005, when they defeated Tufts for the volleyball crown. And then they slipped quietly back into the night...
Bates College (Bobcats)Lewistown, Maine
Momentary blaze of women's soccer glory, and a few good men's basketball seasons, aside, Bates is very average in most sports. On the upside, chances are you'll see the Daily Sports department attempt to work in a "master-Bates" joke this semester.
Bowdoin College (Polar Bears)Brunswick, Maine
With a women's basketball dynasty well-established and a field hockey one in the making, Bowdoin can officially lay claim to the strongest leg of the NESCAC's Maine tripod. To be fair, the r?©sum?© of the other two aren't exactly upping the ante in the Pine Tree State. Colby and Bates each have one league title in the past five years.
Tufts University (Jumbos)Medford, Mass.
Don't be fooled by the "University" -- we're bigger, but no better. The place you've chosen to make your home goes through busts and booms, generally falling somewhere in the middle of the pack. Notable exceptions: softball (four NESCAC titles in seven years), women's soccer (two NCAA Final Four appearances since 2000), men's cross country (three Div. III New England regional titles since 2003), and sailing (a veritable three-decade dynasty).
"Remember how I described the phrase 'press box hot,' how there are so few females that cover sports that the ones who do become disproportionately hot to everyone else sitting in the press box? And how this happens on a much more distorted degree at any NESCAC school?"
-ESPN columnist Bill Simmons
