The College Athletic Conference That Does It Right

With each passing year, I not only feel more connected to the larger sense of what my undergraduate alma mater, Williams College, represents, I also increasingly appreciate the idea of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). It's hard to imagine a comparable conference in all of college sports. Geographically (well, ok, Hamilton seems like something of an interloper), in size, scope, mission, philosophy, student body, and place in the academic hierarchy, NESCAC is a unique manifestation of places that, The Game of Life be damned, still try to do it right and succeed a lot more often than they fail.

As a former athlete at Williams, I feel an affinity with Middlebury and Bowdoin and Tufts, hell, even with Wesleyan and Amherst. (OK -- I admit, I feel somewhat dirty typing that last bit.) I am apparently not alone in my sentiments about the conference, and not merely Williams' (dominant) place within it. NESCACNation.com is, in its own words, "a community connecting NESCAC students, alumni, and fans." NESCACNation gives a pretty good feel for not only the vibrant goings-on in the conference, but also of the nature of NESCAC. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Williams features prominently on the site.