Beginning in 2025, Carnegie Mellon football will compete within a new league as the Tartans announced Monday morning they will join the Centennial Conference as an associate member after this season.
Since 2014, the Division III Tartans have competed in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) for football only, winning league titles in 2021 and ’22.
In all other sports, CMU will continue to compete in the University Athletic Association.
The PAC announced Carnegie Mellon’s release from its multi-year football affiliate contract Monday.
The Tartans are set to become the Centennial Conference’s eighth football program, joining Dickinson, Franklin and Marshall, Gettysburg, Johns Hopkins, McDaniel, Muhlenberg and Ursinus.
“We have cherished our time in the PAC and the experiences it has provided,” said Josh Centor, Carnegie Mellon’s associate vice president for community engagement and director of athletics in a statement. “Our participation in the PAC has been extremely rewarding, marked by strong performances and meaningful rivalries. We look forward to this upcoming football season and continued nonconference competition in all of our sports.
“We believe the transition will have an impact on the competitiveness of our football program while providing student-athletes with enriching travel experiences and opportunities to compete against some of the nation’s top teams.”
The Tartans are 22-2 under coach Ryan Larsen, who took over the program in 2022.
Carnegie Mellon is 1-0 in Larsen’s third campaign, having defeated Thiel, 58-0, in its season opener.
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.