| National Conference | |
| Pixels: | 150px |
| Divisions: | East Central West |
| Sport: | Soccer |
| Inaugural: | 1978 |
| Folded: | 1980 |
| Teams: | 12 |
| Most Champs: | New York Cosmos (2 titles) |
The National Soccer Conference was one of two conferences of the original North American Soccer League between 1978 and 1980. It along with the American Conference were formed for the 1978 season as part of a realignment to accommodate an expanding league, and bolster more competitive play which had been lacking under the previous Atlantic and Pacific conferences. It is speculated, that the league decided to realign the league to be more similar to the National Football League (American football) format, with one league official stating that the league hoped that new expansions and initiatives would cause "enough demand for soccer that they [could] sell the TV rights to two networks like the NFL did."[1] During their three-season tenure, National Conference teams dominated the league, and won all three available premierships, and all three league championships. Of these honors, five of them were won by the New York Cosmos, whose only playoff defeat in the National Conference came in 1979 where they were beaten by eventual champions, the Vancouver Whitecaps, in the Conference Finals.
Following the realignment, the conference was initially made up of four teams from the Atlantic Conference, seven teams from the Pacific Conference, and one team making their NASL debut. After playing just one season, the Colorado Caribous were sold and relocated to Atlanta to revive the Atlanta Chiefs franchise.
| Team | Division | First season | Last season | Previous conference (division) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | 1978 | 1980 | Atlantic (East) | |
| East | 1978 | 1980 | Atlantic (North) | |
| East | 1978 | 1980 | Atlantic (North) | |
| East | 1978 | 1980 | Atlantic (East) | |
| Central | 1978 | 1978 | 1978 debut | |
| Central | 1978 | 1980 | Pacific (South) | |
| Central | 1978 | 1980 | Pacific (West) | |
| Central | 1978 | 1980 | Pacific (South) | |
| Central | 1979 | 1980 | South Division (1973) | |
| West | 1978 | 1980 | Pacific (South) | |
| West | 1978 | 1980 | Pacific (West) | |
| West | 1978 | 1980 | Pacific (West) | |
| West | 1978 | 1980 | Pacific (West) | |
| Season | Champions | Series | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Cosmos | 2–0 | Portland Timbers |
| 1979 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2–1 | New York Cosmos |
| 1980 | New York Cosmos | 2–0 | Los Angeles Aztecs |
| Year | Team | Division | Points (W–L) | Playoffs result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | East | 212 (24–6) | ||
| West | 199 (24–6) | |||
| Central | 156 (17–13) | |||
| 1979 | New York Cosmos | East | 216 (24–6) | |
| Central | 184 (21–9) | |||
| West | 172 (20–10) | |||
| 1980 | New York Cosmos | East | 213 (24–8) | |
| West | 207 (25–7) | |||
| Central | 157 (18–14) |