UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — John Carroll University is welcoming a new era of athletics after the school announced that they are leaving the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC).
After joining the conference in 1989, the Blue Streaks have decided it is time to depart and join the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), effective fall of 2025.
University officials say the decision to join the NCAC is another step in John Carroll's three-year, $100 million strategy to "bolster the student experience, grow the academic portfolio, enhance the campus, and expand the institution’s reach."
“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.”
With the addition of John Carroll, the NCAC will have 10 full-time members, with institutions from Ohio and Indiana.
Currently, the NCAC is made up of Denison University, DePauw University, Hiram College, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Wabash College, Wittenberg University and the College of Wooster. Additionally, Allegheny College, Earlham College, Transylvania University, and Washington and Jefferson College are affiliate members.
“At John Carroll, students can pursue excellence in the classroom and on the playing field without sacrificing one for the other,” said Director of Athletics Brian Polian ‘97. “We work everyday to attract the type of student who wants an exceptional Jesuit education and who wants to compete at the highest level of Division III athletics. We believe today’s announcement aligns John Carroll with peer institutions that share a common mission and that attract students from across the country.”
Following the departure, the OAC will become a nine-member conference as John Carrol leaves behind Northeast Ohio rivals Baldwin Wallace University and the University of Mount Union.
"It is bittersweet to lose our OAC rivalries and we will work to keep some intact. However, we are excited about developing new rivalries in this new era for JCU athletics," said Polian.
John Carroll re-joined the OAC during the 1989-90 academic year after previously competing in the conference from 1932-49. In 1955, the Blue Streaks became a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference for 34 years.
Since 1984, the NCAC has collected 71 national team championships. In recent years, John Carroll has had athletic success 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.
“We are thrilled to welcome our friends at John Carroll University to the North Coast Athletic Conference family,” said Keri Alexander Luchowski, Executive Director, NCAC. “We are excited about the new opportunities John Carroll brings to the NCAC and can’t wait for competition to begin. John Carroll’s commitment to all sports and its support for its student-athletes make it a first-class addition to our league. I look forward to seeing how they enhance our rich tradition and history as they move into full NCAC membership.”
The move also provides John Carroll’s football team with a seemingly easier path to the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs.
While sharing the OAC with Mount Union, who normally gets the automatic conference bid into the NCAA Tournament, John Carroll Football only reached the postseason seven times.
Despite being .800 over the last four seasons (excluding the shortened 2020-21 COVID-19 season), the Blue Streaks have not been to the playoffs since 2018.
With the current format of the NCAA Division III playoffs, it was merely impossible for John Carroll, as an OAC runner-up, to make it into the postseason. The current format allows only four schools to receive at-large bids in addition to the 28 conference champion's automatic bids.
