Founded in 1983, the North Coast Athletic Conference is dedicated to fostering a complementary relationship between intercollegiate athletics and the pursuit of academic excellence. Consisting of nine academically selective colleges and universities in Ohio and Indiana — Denison University, DePauw University, John Carroll University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Wabash College, Wittenberg University, and The College of Wooster, along with affiliate members Allegheny College, Earlham College, Transylvania University and Washington & Jefferson College — the NCAC believes that high-level athletic programs need not be sacrificed in order to meet rigid academic standards. 

Significantly, eight NCAC institutions, and three affiliate members, have been granted chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, the preeminent honor society for colleges and universities. Only 293 of the more than 3,000 four-year institutions in the United States have been so honored. 

A member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III, the NCAC features championship competition in 23 sports — 11 for men and 12 for women. The 12 women's sports are among the most offered by any Division III conference, and the equality in number and emphasis between men's and women's athletics is just one of the elements that sets the North Coast apart.

The goals of the conference express the best aspirations of American amateur athletics. The NCAC brings together a group of institutions that share a common allegiance to academic quality and to the conduct of athletics so as to support the educational purpose. Intercollegiate athletics can and should complement academic life, rather than compete with it, and sports should enhance the experience of students during their college years. This type of academic and athletic commitment has been led by the nine school presidents, who have taken an active role in the governance of the conference.

All nine NCAC member institutions were represented in the 2024-25 NCAA postseason, with 28 full teams from 18 sports and individuals competing in 10 additional sports — covering all 23 conference-sponsored sports.

NCAC teams recorded several strong Division III championship performances during the academic year. Denison men's swimming and diving won its sixth NCAA Division III national championship, while the Kenyon women's swimming & diving team recorded a third-place finish. Denison men's tennis won its first NCAA Division III national title, while Big Red junior Kael Shah ended the season as the national runner-up in the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Singles Championship for the second consecutive season. Also noteworthy, four NCAC Men's Soccer teams were selected into the NCAA Tournament, marking the fifth-consecutive and 27th time overall that the North Coast has been represented in the field by more than one team and the 10th time that the NCAC has sent three or more teams to the NCAA men's soccer postseason. 

NCAC member institutions have collected 74 national team championships since the conference's first playing season in 1984-85.

In the 2024-25 academic year, 209 All-America or College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America certificates were distributed to student-athletes from North Coast schools.

The NCAC's commitment to equity, its broad base of athletic programs, and an unwavering insistence on excellence in academics has served as a model for conferences throughout the country.   

The North Coast has shown not only that these ideals can coexist, but that they can flourish. The NCAC continues as a pace-setter in the 21st century.