The 2026-27 athletic season begins this weekend across the NESCAC for the fall sport teams.
Before turning the page to the 2026-27 season, here's a look back on the 2025-26 campaign which was another banner year in the NESCAC.
NESCAC NETWORK
All home games for NESCAC institutions and all games/sessions of NESCAC Championships for sports that support a webcast can be watched on computers, mobile devices, and OTT apps like Roku, AppleTV, and Amazon Fire TV via the NESCAC Network. All live broadcasts are free.
Cross Country
The 2026 season begins on September 5 with five teams in action and ramps up on September 12 with eight teams competing. Middlebury is scheduled to host the NESCAC Championships on campus on October 31. Tufts is the defending NESCAC Champion on the men's side as the Jumbos claimed their first title since 2012 last year. Williams won its sixth straight NESCAC Women's Cross Country title in 2025. The NESCAC had 12 teams (6 men, 6 women) qualify for the NCAA Championships in 2025, the most in a single season in conference history. Additionally, eight individuals from the conference competed in the national meet. Middlebury's Audrey MacLean claimed the NCAA women's individual title and Williams finished as the national runner-up in the women's team competition.
Field Hockey
Tufts is the defending national champion. The Jumbos won their second national championship with an overtime victory over Johns Hopkins. The NESCAC was represented by a conference-record eight teams in the NCAA Tournament field in 2025. Bates is the defending NESCAC Champion. The Bobcats defeated Wesleyan to earn their first NESCAC title in program history.
Football
The NESCAC football season gets underway on Saturday, September 19. Trinity and Wesleyan finished the 2025 season with identical 7-2 records and were NESCAC Co-Champions. The 2026 campaign marks the first season in conference history that NESCAC football teams are eligible to participate in the NCAA Tournament.
Week 1 - Saturday, Sept. 19
Men's Golf
The fall segment of the NESCAC men's golf season tees off on September 12-13 with the annual Duke Nelson Invitational hosted by the Middlebury Panthers at Ralph Myhre Golf Club in Middlebury, Vermont, which also happens to be the site of the 2027 NESCAC Men's Golf Championship (May 7-9). The Williams Ephs captured the 2026 NESCAC title at Fox Hopyard Golf Club in East Haddam, Connecticut and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Women's Golf
The NESCAC women's golf teams begin the fall season at the annual Bowdoin Invitational at the Brunswick Golf Club in Brunwsick, Maine on September 12-13. The NESCAC Championship will be hosted by Trinity, May 7-9. Amherst is the defending NESCAC Champion. The Mammoths were joined by Middlebury and Williams at the NCAA Women's Golf Championship and Hamilton's Aubrey Lee and Amanda Phillips of Wesleyan were two of the six individuals selected to compete in the tournament.
Men's Soccer
Tufts is the defending NCAA Division III Champion. The Jumbos won their fifth title in program history with an overtime victory in the national championship game. Tufts is also the defending NESCAC Champion, winning its fourth conference crown in team history at Bello Field last fall. The Jumbos were one of seven NESCAC teams to compete in the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament last season.
| Date |
Away |
Home |
Time |
Location |
Links |
| Fri., Sept. 4 |
Wheaton College (Mass.) |
|
8:00 P.M. |
Waterville, ME |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Springfield |
Wesleyan |
11:00 A.M. |
Middletown, CT |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Utica University |
Hamilton |
12:00 P.M. |
Clinton, NY |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Bates |
Williams |
12:00 P.M. |
Williamstown, MA (Conf.) |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Middlebury |
US Merchant Marine Academy |
1:00 P.M. |
Kings Point, NY |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Conn. College |
Amherst |
2:30 P.M. |
Amherst, MA (Conf.) |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Salve Regina |
Bowdoin |
3:30 P.M. |
Brunswick, ME |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Trinity |
Tufts |
7:00 P.M. |
Medford, MA (Conf.) |
Stats Video |
| Sun., Sept. 6 |
Univ. Hartford |
Trinity |
5:00 P.M. |
Hartford, CT |
Stats Video |
Women's Soccer
Six NESCAC women's soccer teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2025. The Tuffts Jumbos, the defending NESCAC Champions, reached the national semifinals before bowing out of the tournament. The Jumbos won their second NESCAC title in program history at Bello Field last season.
| Date |
Away |
Home |
Time |
Location |
Links |
| Sat., Sept. 4 |
Colby |
Bowdoin |
7:30 P.M. |
Brunswick, ME (Conf.) |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Bates |
Williams |
10:00 A.M. |
Williamstown, MA (Conf.) |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Middlebury |
Wesleyan |
11:00 A.M. |
Middletown, CT (Conf.) |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Tufts |
Messiah University |
11:00 A.M. |
Purchase, NY |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Conn. College |
Amherst |
12:00 P.M. |
Amherst, MA (Conf.) |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Oswego State |
Hamilton |
3:00 P.M. |
Clinton, NY |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
University of Saint Joseph |
Trinity |
5:30 P.M. |
Hartford, CT |
Stats Video |
| Sun., Sept. 6 |
Wesleyan |
Clark |
11:00 A.M. |
Worcester, MA |
Stats Video |
Men's & Women's Tennis | Men's Fall Schedule | Women's Fall Schedule
The fall portion of the schedule for NESCAC tennis teams focuses on individual play at several tournaments and invitationals during the first two months of the academic year. Tournaments get underway during the weekend of September 11-12-13. Middlebury is hosting the men's ITA New England Regional (Sept. 25-26-27) while Bowdoin will host the women's competition on October 2-3-4.
Tufts is the defending NESCAC Men's Tennis Champion. The Jumbos won their first conference title since 1989 last season. Tufts and Bowdoin represented the NESCAC in the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship. The Jumbos advanced to the semifinals where they fell to UChicago. In the NCAA Men's Individual Tournament, Amherst's Andreas Sillaste and Bowdoin's Mark Kneiss reached the semifinals.
Wesleyan is the defending NCAA and NESCAC Champion on the women's side. The Cardinals won their second national title last spring and their sixth conference title. Wesleyan was one of six NESCAC teams to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament field, setting a conference record. In the NCAA Individual Tournament, Elise Van Wieren of Middlebury advanced to the quarterfinals.
Volleyball
Four teams were selected to the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship last season, matching a conference high. Colby advanced to the national quarterfinals for the first time since 2005 before bowing out of the tournament. Tufts is the defending conference championship after winning its fourth NESCAC title in program history.
| Date |
Away |
Home |
Time |
Location |
Links |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Wheaton College (Ill.) |
Bowdoin |
10:00 A.M. |
St. Louis, MO |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Tufts |
Berry College (Ga.) |
10:30 A.M. |
Scranton, PA |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Wesleyan |
Oswego State |
11:00 A.M. |
Geneva, NY |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Conn. College |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
11:00 A.M. |
Waltham, MA |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Plymouth State University |
Amherst |
11:00 A.M. |
Bristol, RI |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
SUNY Canton |
Trinity |
12:00 P.M. |
Hartford, CT |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Hamilton |
Colby-Sawyer |
12:00 P.M. |
Northampton, Mass. |
|
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
St. Olaf |
Bowdoin |
12:30 P.M. |
St. Louis, MO |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Amherst |
Roger Williams University |
1:00 P.M. |
Bristol, RI |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Williams |
WPI |
1:00 P.M. |
Waltham, MA |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
SUNY Cobleskill |
Middlebury |
1:00 P.M. |
Potsdam, NY |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Hamilton |
Smith |
2:00 P.M. |
Northampton, MA |
Stats |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Tufts |
University of Scranton |
2:00 P.M. |
Scranton, PA |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Conn. College |
Wellesley College |
3:00 P.M. |
Waltham, MA |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
SUNY Brockport |
Middlebury |
3:00 P.M. |
Potsdam, NY |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Husson University |
Trinity |
3:00 P.M. |
Hartford, CT |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Williams |
Brandeis |
3:00 P.M. |
Waltham, MA |
Stats Video |
| Sat., Sept. 5 |
Wesleyan |
SUNY Geneseo |
4:00 P.M. |
Geneva, NY |
Stats Video |
| Sun., Sept. 6 |
Bowdoin |
Washington University |
10:00 A.M. |
St. Louis, MO |
Stats Video |
| Sun., Sept. 6 |
St. Lawrence University |
Middlebury |
11:00 A.M. |
Canton, NY |
Stats Video |
| Sun., Sept. 6 |
Wesleyan |
William Smith |
12:00 P.M. |
Geneva, NY |
Stats Video |
| Sun., Sept. 6 |
Middlebury |
Clarkson University |
1:30 P.M. |
Potsdam, NY |
Stats Video |
