Following 30 years as a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), Johnson & Wales University became a full-time member of the Conference of New England (formerly the Commonwealth Coast Conference) on July 1, 2025. During that span, the Wildcats captured 87 GNAC Championships. The wrestling program owns 11 conference titles and became the first program in school history to win an NCAA Championship in 2005. The men's and women's ice hockey programs each began competition as members of the CCC before moving to the New England Hockey Conference prior to the start of the 2018-19 campaign. In 2024, both hockey programs rejoined the CNE.
NCAA Tournament History
JWU enters the 2025-26 campaign having appeared in the NCAA Tournament 82 times, led by wrestling with 22.
| Program |
Appearances |
Years |
| Wrestling |
22 |
2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 (4th place), 2018, 2019 (3rd place), 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 (1st place) |
| Women's Volleyball |
12 |
1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017 (Elite 8), 2018 (Regional Final), 2019 (Regional Final), 2021, 2022 |
| Men's Soccer |
10 |
2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2023 |
| Women's Soccer |
6 |
2000, 2005, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Softball |
6 |
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2025 |
| Women's Lacrosse |
6 |
2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025 |
| Field Hockey |
4 |
2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Men's Basketball |
4 |
2003-04, 2010-11, 2015-16 (Sweet 16), 2017-18 |
| Baseball |
4 |
2021, 2022, 2023, 2025 |
| Men's Golf |
4 |
2009, 2010, 2018, 2019 |
| Women's Basketball |
2 |
2014-15; 2015-16 (at-large) |
| Women's Tennis |
2 |
2016-17, 2017-18 |
| Men's Lacrosse |
1 |
2018 |
NCAA Tournament Success
The Wildcats have seen two programs - wrestling and women's volleyball - capture an NCAA Regional Championship. JWU hosted the 2025 NCAA Division III National Championship at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island on March 14-15. The Wildcats walked away with the first team National Championship by accumulating 83.5 points.
| Sport |
Regional Appearances |
Years |
| Wrestling |
7 |
2007, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| Women's Volleyball |
1 |
2017 |
Equestrian Success
The Equestrian (IDA) program has captured seven regional championships (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2023, 2025) and the 2012 National Championship. Individually, JWU has produced six individual national champions: Brittany Parini (2004), Jessica Forend (2008, 2009, 2010), Jula McNellis (2013), Samantha Burke (2014), Jennifer DiPietro (2018), and Madison Cary (2025),Â
Conference Championships
Â
| Program |
Championships |
Years |
| Women's Volleyball |
12 |
1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 |
| Wrestling |
10 |
2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2025 |
| Men's Soccer |
10 |
1995, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2023 |
| Men's Cross Country |
8 |
1995, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014 |
| Men's Golf |
7 |
1995, 2001, 2007 2008, 2009, 2017, 2018 |
| Women's Cross Country |
6 |
1996, 2002, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Women's Soccer |
6 |
2000, 2005, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Women's Lacrosse |
6 |
2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024 |
| Softball |
6 |
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2025 |
| Men's Tennis |
5 |
1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2008 |
| Women's Tennis |
5 |
2000, 2001, 2002, 2016, 2017 |
| Baseball |
5 |
1998, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025 |
| Men's Basketball |
4 |
2003-04, 2010-11, 2015-16, 2017-18 |
| Field Hockey |
4 |
2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Women's Outdoor Track & Field |
1 |
2025 |
| Men's Lacrosse |
1 |
2018 |
| Women's Basketball |
1 |
2014-15 |
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GNAC Commissioner's Cup
The GNAC Commissioner's Cup annually recognizes the member institution that achieves the highest level of athletic success throughout the academic year. It is based upon a point system and standings are determined by percentages in order to reflect the number of GNAC sports that each member sponsors. The Wildcats cappd their tenure in the GNAC by winning their fourth-straight Women's Commissioner's Cup.
| Women (9) |
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 |
| Men (9) |
2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
Learfield Director's Cup
The Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships. The Wildcats highest finish was 55th place in 2017-18.
| Year |
Place |
Points |
| 2023-24 |
109th |
180.00 |
| 2022-23 |
82nd |
223.50 |
| 2021-22 |
90th |
204.00 |
| 2018-19 |
84th |
235.00 |
| 2017-18 |
55th |
326.00 |
| 2016-17 |
113th |
180.00 |
| 2015-16 |
99th |
198.50 |
National Coach of the Year
Lonnie Morris, wrestling (2017, 2019, 2023, 2025)
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Nancy Somera, women's volleyball (2017)
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Crystal Taylor, IDA (2013)
CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-Americans
| Student-Athlete |
Sport |
Year |
| Jonathan Baker |
Men's Soccer |
2023 |
| Maria Coniglio |
Women's Volleyball |
2018, 2019 |
| Emily DeRoehn |
Women's Soccer |
2023 |
| Emily Gorecki |
Softball |
2017 |
| Stephen Jarrell |
Wrestling |
2017 |
| Katie Leidhold |
Women's Volleyball |
2018 |
| Katie Rufo |
Softball |
2018 |
| Kate Walker |
Women's Volleyball |
2017, 2018, 2019 |
