For most sports, CCC realigns into three divisions of 10 teams each

The Central Connecticut Conference, the state’s largest scholastic league, has re-aligned their divisions and will debut a new three division format beginning this winter.

With the departure of Hartford Public to the Capital Region Athletic League (CRAL) last spring, the CCC has 30 teams and will realign into three 10-team divisions for a majority of sports.

The three-division alignment will be applied to boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls track and field, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls soccer, girls volleyball and boys and girls cross country.

Avon, Farmington, Lewis Mills and Simsbury will be in the CCC Central division.

Wrestling and boys and girls swimming will remain in their existing four division alignment due to scheduling limitations. There will be no change in football, which will continue to use their four Tier divisions.

In the three division alignment, teams will play each of their divisional opponents once (nine games) to determine a divisional champion.

For the remainder of their CCC contests, the league will create five competitively-balanced tiers of six teams each in basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, soccer and girls volleyball. Teams will play one game against each of the other five teams in their tier for 16 mandated CCC games. The number of mandated CCC games in soccer will be 14.

If two schools are in the same division and same tier, they will play twice during the season with the second meeting counting toward the division title.

The CCC began in 1984 with 24 teams after the merger of the Central Connecticut Interscholastic League (CCIL), Capitol District Conference, Colonial Conference and Connecticut Valley Conference.

Enfield left the league in June 1999 for the North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC) only to return in September 2016 after the school merged with Fermi High. E.O. Smith took Enfield’s spot in September 1999.

Farmington joined the CCC in September 2008 and a year later, six schools from the Northwest Conference (Berlin, East Catholic, Middletown, NW Catholic, Plainville and Rocky Hill) and Tolland from the NCCC joined the CCC in September 2009.

Avon joined the league in September 2015 as a replacement for Fermi, who merged with Enfield. Lewis Mills left the Berkshire League to join in September 2019, replacing Rockville, who left for the NCCC in June 2016.

Three charter members – Hartford Public, Bulkeley and Weaver – have all left the league for the Capital Region Athletic Conference. Weaver was the first to leave following the 2015-16 season with Bulkeley leaving in the spring of 2022. Hartford Public left in June 2024, leaving the league with 30 teams.

CCC alignment beginning December 2024