The Northeast
Conference
By Matt Shetler
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is
an eleven member Division I conference that competes in
twenty-two men’s and women’s sports. All of the NEC members are
based in the Northeast, United States. The NEC headquarters are
located in Somerset, New Jersey and the commissioner of the
conference is Brenda Ware, a post she has held since 2006.
The NEC was founded in 1981 as the ECAC-Metro Conference and
took the name NEC in 1989. Charter members of the conference
include: Farleigh Dickinson University, Long Island University,
Robert Morris University, Saint Francis College, Saint Francis
University, Wagner College, Marist College, Loyola College,
Sienna College and Towson University.
The NEC has expanded seven times since and while Marist, Loyola,
Sienna and Towson have since dropped out of the conference, the
NEC has since added: Central Connecticut State University,
Monmouth University, Mount St. Mary’s University, Quinnipiac
University and Sacred Heart University.
The NEC competes in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision
(formally I-AA) for football and competes at the Division I
level for all other sports. For football only, the University of
Albany and Duquesne University compete in the NEC. Since the
conference started sponsoring football in 1996, the Robert
Morris Colonials and Monmouth Hawks lead all NEC teams with four
titles each. The conference also receives an automatic bid to
the NCAA Basketball Tournament every season.
In 2012, the NEC will increase to twelve members; as Bryant
University has accepted a formal bid to the conference.
