Little Three

The Little Three is an athletic conference of three liberal arts colleges in New England, in the United States. The Little Three comprises

Amherst, Wesleyan and Williams first formed an athletic conference formally in 1899 as the Triangular League, which broke up three years later. Not until 1910 did the three form what may be "America’s oldest, continuous intercollegiate athletic conference without a membership change." Although sometimes called "The Triumvirate," it may have acquired the nickname that stuck in 1923, when John Hallahan wrote, in Football in New England Colleges, "Williams College again won the championship of the Little Three, which includes Wesleyan and Amherst . . ." — perhaps as a play upon the Big Three.

These colleges are all members of New England Small College Athletic Conference, and all of these schools are commonly included in the group of schools known as the Little Ivies and are considered to be among the most prestigious colleges in America.

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