Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University is known first and foremost for its excellent academic standards, consistently turning up on U.S. News & World Report's list of top 25 colleges in the country. The athletics program at this private university is currently part of the NCAA Division III system, specifically, the University Athletic Association, although, in the earlier part of the 20th century, the school was Division I. All the teams at Carnegie Mellon share the nickname Tartans, along with a Scottish terrier mascot. While the athletics department participates in basketball, baseball, track and field, soccer, volleyball and tennis, the school's football team has the most history, having dominated for several years in the 1930s.
Established in 1773, originally as a grammar school, Carlisle's Dickinson College, now a private liberal arts institution, is one of the oldest schools in Pennsylvania. The school's athletics program operates within the Division III system as a member of the Centennial Conference along with several other Mid-Atlantic schools. The school's sports teams include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, lacrosse, swimming and a number of others, all sharing the nickname Red Devils. Although, like Carnegie Mellon, Dickinson's football team had moments of glory pre-World War II, it was the school's lacrosse team that brought home the national championship in 1958.
Gettysburg College, another private liberal arts college, is located in the famous Pennsylvania town of the same name, although the school, having opened its doors in 1832, predates the Civil War. The Division III college shares the same division as Dickinson, the Centennial Conference, and, as a reminder of the historic battle fought just outside its campus, features the team nickname the Bullets. The athletics program participates in 12 sports, including basketball, football, golf, field hockey and cross country, with a men's and women's team in each. From 1993 to 2010, Gettysburg dominated the Centennial Conference, winning 80 championships in a number of different sports.
Moravian College, established in 1742, dates back even further than Dickinson. In fact, this Bethlehem private liberal arts college is among the 10 oldest schools in the country and, within the state, ranks second in age only to the University of Pennsylvania. The school, which is also a theological seminary, has an athletics program that participates in multiple Division III conferences. Most of the sports teams at Moravian College, nicknamed the Greyhounds, belong to the Landmark Conference, which was established in 2006, with Moravian as a founding member. The school's football team participates in the Centennial Conference, however, along with Gettysburg and Dickinson.