John Carroll University of University Heights, Ohio, has accepted a unanimous invitation to join the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Blue Streaks will begin NCAC competition in 2025-26.
“For 40 years, the NCAC has been a values driven conference committed to fostering a complementary relationship between athletic and academic excellence,” said Adam Weinberg, president of both Denison University and the NCAC. “John Carroll shares our values and commitments and will be a great addition to the conference. I am excited to welcome them.”
The NCAC was founded in 1983 based upon the principles of a strong commitment to equality, a firm belief in a broad-based athletic program as part of an institutions’ greater academic mission and a reliance on mutual trust and presidential leadership. Beginning play in 1984-85, the conference now sponsors 23 championship sports, 11 for men and 12 for women.
The expansion brings the core NCAC membership to 10 NCAA Division III institutions spanning Ohio and Indiana. John Carroll joins Denison University (Granville, OH), DePauw University (Greencastle, IN), Hiram College (Hiram, OH), Kenyon College (Gambier, OH), Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH), Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, OH), Wabash College (Crawfordsville, IN), Wittenberg University (Springfield, OH) and the College of Wooster (Wooster, OH). The NCAC also includes four field hockey affiliate members in Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania: Allegheny College (Meadville, PA), Earlham College (Richmond, IN), Transylvania University (Lexington, KY) and Washington & Jefferson College (Washington, PA).
The addition solidifies the NCAC footprint with an institution devoted to highly competitive athletics within a rigorous academic environment and provides permanent quality opponents within conference play.
“Athletics has been an integral part of the student experience at John Carroll for more than a century and we are pleased to accept the invitation to join the NCAC during a pivotal time in our history,” said President Al Miciak. “Our Board of Directors and University leadership are committed to ongoing strategic investments that will ensure that the gift of a Jesuit education from John Carroll is available for generations to come. We are pleased to align with a group of academically and athletically competitive partners in the NCAC who enjoy national reach and reputation as high-ranking liberal arts institutions.”
Founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus, John Carroll is a private, selective, coeducational, residential liberal arts university with an undergraduate enrollment of 2,615 representing 36 states and 15 countries. The Blue Streaks compete in 24 sports. John Carroll has won 12 Ohio Athletic Conference men’s all-sports trophies, including the past eight in a row; the Blue Streaks women have finished within the top half of the conference in each of the past 11 years. John Carroll, which re-joined the OAC in 1989 after a stint from 1932-1949, was also a founding member of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. JCU is nationally competitive with top-30 finishes in the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup in each of the last two years, along with seven individual national championships, 55 individual All-Americans, and 29 NCAA Championship appearances since 2021.
“John Carroll University is a welcome addition to the NCAC,” added Wabash College Athletic Director Matt Tanney. “Its shared values and competitive athletics program squarely match the profile of a conference that prides itself on the championship achievements of our talented scholar-athletes. If a ‘rising tide lifts all boats,’ then the entirety of the league benefits from today’s exciting announcement.”
