The Northwest Athletic Conference ( NWAC ), formerly the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges ( NWAACC ), is a sports association for community colleges in the U.S. states of Oregon , Washington , and along with the Canadian province of British Columbia .
20-811: The NWAC, now with 36 members, is the largest community college conference in the United States. It is not affiliated with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), but acknowledges on the NWAC website athletes representing conference schools in the NJCAA wrestling tournament. The NWAC ("En-Wack") was originally formed in 1946 as the Washington State Junior College Athletic Conference ( WSJCAC ). In 1961,
40-470: A national program of junior college sports and activities consistent with the educational objectives of junior colleges. A constitution was presented and adopted at the charter meeting in Fresno on May 14, 1938. In 1949, the NJCAA was reorganized by dividing the nation into sixteen regions. The officers of the association were the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, public relations director, and
60-607: Is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). In 2009–10, CCC served more than 38,000 students and had approximately 8,900 FTE (full-time equivalent students). Clackamas Community College opened in 1966 with 693 part-time students taking classes at Gladstone High School . Two years later, ground was broken for Clairmont Building on the Oregon City Campus – CCC's first permanent home. The college has expanded significantly in
80-458: Is the governing association of community college , state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states and is divided into 3 divisions. The idea for the NJCAA was conceived in 1937, in Fresno, California . A handful of junior college representatives met to organize an association that would promote and supervise
100-685: The Clackamas Town Center and the Green Line light rail . The Harmony Community Campus also is home to: CCC's Wilsonville campus (the Wilsonville Training Center – WTC), located just off I-5, offers programs to prepare career-seekers for jobs in the utility and energy management industry and serves as a utility training center for employees of area utilities including Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp. CCC general education courses are also offered, in
120-825: The Oregon Community College Athletic Association (OCCAA). At that time, the WAACC became the Northwest AACC, reflecting its two-state membership. The NWAACC merged with its Oregon counterpart in 1983, resulting in a 26-member circuit stretching from southwestern Oregon to the Canada–US border. On July 1, 2014, the conference announced that they were becoming the Northwest Athletic Conference. Although athletic competition between junior colleges existed in
140-635: The 1930s, the first structured league and championship events in men's sports came in 1946 when the Washington State Junior College Athletic Conference (WSJCAC) was formed. Following the nine charter members, Columbia Basin College joined in 1955. Initially, the conference offered football, basketball, baseball, tennis, track and golf. In 1963 wrestling was added, followed by cross country in 1965 and soccer in 1974. The WSJCAC existed without bylaws until
160-659: The 1968–69 school year, when Chemeketa, Clackamas, Lane, Linn-Benton, Mt. Hood, Portland and Umpqua community colleges joined the circuit. During the 1970s, the newly renamed NWAACC saw the growth of women's sports at its member institutions. Women's athletics were governed by the Northwest College Women's Sports Association (NCWSA) until 1978, when the NCWSA was absorbed by the NWAACC. Volunteer athletic directors had overseen conference functions and activities until
180-559: The Division I or II level if they so desire. The NJCAA is divided into 24 different regions: Due to the relatively small number of schools fielding teams, some football-only conferences exist. They may be home to teams from multiple regions. There are also independent schools in regions 2 (Arkansas Baptist), 3 (upstate New York), 8 (ASA-Miami), 10 (Louisburg, N.C.), 12 (Hocking College), and 17 (Georgia Military). Onondaga Community College 's football program does not compete in
200-480: The NJCAA but instead competes at the club football level. Regions 7, 9, 16, 20, 21, 22 and 24 do not have any football programs. Clackamas Community College Clackamas Community College ( CCC ) is a public community college in Oregon City, Oregon . Founded in 1966, it is one of the largest community colleges in the state of Oregon. Clackamas Community College offers courses at three campuses:
220-625: The NJCAA chooses to compete on the Division I, II or III level. Division I colleges may offer full athletic scholarships, totaling a maximum of tuition, fees, room and board, course-related books, up to $ 250 in course-required supplies, and transportation costs one time per academic year to and from the college by direct route. Division II colleges are limited to awarding tuition, fees, course related books, and up to $ 250 in course required supplies. Division III institutions may provide no athletically related financial assistance. However, NJCAA colleges that do not offer athletic aid may choose to participate at
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#1732765890546240-484: The NWAACC. The merger between the Washington and Oregon colleges has helped the NWAACC become a strong organization. Since 1984, nine other colleges have added intercollegiate athletics and/or became NWAACC members. The NWAACC was renamed the Northwest Athletic Conference on July 1, 2014 and has 36 member schools. The NWAC currently has 36 full members, all are public schools: North Idaho College - Officially left
260-1987: The NWAC in the beginning of the 2023-2024 athletic season with basketball teams being recognized as independent, then with the start of the 2024-2025 season the remaining sports will all be with the NJCAA The NWAC sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in the following sports: Bellevue College Big Bend Community College Blue Mountain Community College Centralia College Chemeketa Community College Clackamas Community College Clark College Columbia Basin College Douglas College Edmonds College Everett Community College Grays Harbor College Green River College Highline College Lane Community College Linn-Benton Community College Lower Columbia College Mt. Hood Community College North Idaho College Olympic College Peninsula College Pierce Portland Community College Rogue Community College North Seattle College Shoreline Community College Skagit Valley College South Puget Sound Community College Southwestern Oregon Community College Community Colleges of Spokane Tacoma Community College Treasure Valley Community College Umpqua Community College Walla Walla Community College Wenatchee Valley College Whatcom Community College Yakima Valley College National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association ( NJCAA ), founded in 1938,
280-741: The State Legislature removed a legal roadblock that had barred the establishment of junior colleges in counties with four-year colleges. After the Legislature took action, the number of schools in the WSJCAC nearly doubled. Three years later, the conference was renamed the Washington Athletic Association of Community Colleges ( WAACC ). In 1970 the conference admitted its first non-Washington member, Mt. Hood Community College of Gresham, Oregon , which had left
300-561: The addition of women's athletics. The subsequent increased workload caused the NWAACC to convene a five-member hiring committee, which in 1979 appointed Frank Bosone as the conference's first executive director. Bosone retired in 1992 and was succeeded by Dick McClain, a longtime baseball coach in Corvallis, Oregon . Community college athletics in the Pacific Northwest changed dramatically in 1983, when seven OCCAA members joined
320-505: The athletic fields and facilities supporting CCC's sports programs. The Harmony Community Campus offers courses to train students for jobs in the healthcare field. The college's newest building not only houses the college's center for health education, but also a variety of student services and programs, including courses toward an Oregon transfer degree. The Harmony Community Campus is centrally located in North Clackamas, close to
340-644: The central campus in Oregon City, Harmony Community Campus in Clackamas, and the Wilsonville campus. Extension sites are also located in the towns of Canby and Molalla , where CCC offers English as a Second Language, GED in Spanish, computer science and community education classes. CCC is also the only college to offer an urban agriculture certificate in the state of Oregon. Clackamas Community College
360-610: The sixteen regional vice presidents. Although the NJCAA was founded in California, it no longer operates there, having been supplanted by the unaffiliated California Community College Athletic Association . The NJCAA only allowed male competitors until 1975, when it established a women's division following the enactment of Title IX . Based out of Hutchinson, Kansas since 1968, the national office relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1985. Headquarters moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2018. Each institution belonging to
380-604: The spring of 1948, when Executive Secretary Jim Ennis of Everett JC, Dave DuVall of Skagit Valley and Maury Phipps of Grays Harbor, wrote the conference's original constitution. The document set forth the overall philosophy of the conference's athletic program, and prescribed scholarship limits and grade eligibility requirements. In 1963, five Oregon schools joined to form the Oregon Community College Athletic Association (OCCAA). Charter members were Blue Mountain, Central Oregon, Clatsop, Southwestern Oregon and Treasure Valley community colleges. The conference more than doubled in size in
400-484: The years since, and is now a network of three campuses serving a student body of more than 25,000 students, with more than 1,300 classes taught each term. Clackamas Community College's main campus is located in historic Oregon City, located off of Interstate 205, Highway 213 and Beavercreek Road. The 165-acre (67 ha) CCC Oregon City campus features 17 buildings, including the award-winning Niemeyer Center for Communication Arts, Roger Rook Hall and Art Center, as well as
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