New England Small College Athletic Conference

The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is a collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective, private liberal arts colleges in the Northeastern United States. The members are grouped within the NCAA Division III athletic conference. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group. The eleven institutions are Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Tufts University, Trinity College, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.

Many of the schools draw parallels to the academic caliber of schools in the Ivy League. Often referred to as the "Little Ivies", most of the schools have competed against one another since the 19th century. The conference originated with a agreement among Amherst, Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Williams in 1955. In 1971, Bates, Colby, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, and Union College joined on and the NESCAC was officially formed. Union withdrew in 1977, and was replaced by Connecticut College in 1982.