Susquehanna accepted an invitation to join the Centennial Conference as an associate member in the sports of football and women’s golf, beginning in 2010.

The move will give the league 10 football-playing members beginning with that fall’s season, while the golf team, which currently competes as an independent, will become eligible for the league title in spring 2010.

“Athletics is the window by which a large number of people come to know and become acquainted with colleges and universities,” said Susquehanna President Jay Lemons. “You are known by the company you keep. An association with the Centennial Conference aligns us with some of the top liberal arts institutions in the country and reunites us with some of our oldest rivals.”

The school currently plays football in the Liberty League. It has sponsored the sport for 110 seasons, including a period from 1947 to 1952 when Amos Alonzo Stagg Sr. and his son Amos Jr. coached the team.

“As we discussed the future of Centennial football scheduling, the state of NCAA Division III football, women’s golf and the economic realities faced by our institutions and the country, the conference’s Presidents Council looked in our backyard and found our perfect answer in Susquehanna University,” said council chair Joan Develin Coley, McDaniel president.

“The academic reputation, the tradition in football, the emergence of women’s golf and the commitment to the legacy of the scholar-athlete at Susquehanna were also deciding factors as we enhance the conference.”

Susquehanna has sponsored women’s golf since 2002.

“The benefits that it affords our women’s golf team cannot be overlooked,” said Athletics Director Pam Samuelson. “The program now has a home that will give further opportunities to our female athletes.”