The Chesapeake Conference was an intercollegiate athletic conference composed of member schools located in the state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The league existed from 1933 to 1937.Chesapeake Conference
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 9, 2011.

History

The Chesapeake Conference was formed on January 12, 1933, by

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

Bridgewater College Bridgewater College is a private liberal-arts college in Bridgewater, Virginia. Established in 1880, Bridgewater College admitted both men and women from the time of its founding and was the first four-year liberal arts college in Virginia to ...

Lynchburg College The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It has approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate ...

Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...

and Randolph–Macon College.American University Athletics Timeline
, American University, retrieved June 9, 2011. The latter two defected from the

Virginia Conference The Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (often shortened to just the Virginia Conference) was an intercollegiate athletic conference primarily composed of member schools located in the state of Virginia, though the conference did brief ...

over a

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rule.Split Seen Fatal in Va. Conference
''The Free Lance-Star'', December 7, 1935. By 1935, both Hampden–Sydney and Randolph–Macon were dissatisfied and considered returning to the Virginia Conference. At that time, however, that league had dwindled to only four members, and the following year disbanded after two left for the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

. In January 1937, Hampden–Sydney and Randolph–Macon were invited to join a potential new conference centered upon the state of Virginia and

the Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean ...

alongside Catawba, Lenoir-Rhyne, Elon,

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, Wofford,

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, and Emory and Henry, but declined admission. The Chesapeake Conference continued to exist through the 1937 spring sports season, but had disbanded before the football season.

Members

The following colleges held membership in the Chesapeake Conference: *

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

(1933–1937)Several Upsets Seen On Gridiron's Front
''The Palm Beach Post'', September 24, 1933. * Bridgewater (1933–1935?) * Hampden-Sydney (1933–1937) * Lynchburg (1933–1935?)Men's Basketball – Team History
Lynchburg College, retrieved June 9, 2011. * Randolph–Macon (1933–1936)

Football champions

*1933 – Randolph-Macon *1934 – Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon *1935 – Randolph-Macon *1936 – Randolph-Macon

References

{{Reflist 1933 establishments in Virginia 1933 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1937 disestablishments