Northeast Conference

The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a college athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA. The NCAA designates the Northeast Conference to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for Division I Men's Football (formerly Division I-AA) and to Division I Sports for all other sports. Participating schools are primarily located in the northeastern United States.

The circuit was named the ECAC Metro Conference when it was established in 1981. The original eleven member schools were Fairleigh Dickinson University, Long Island University, Loyola College in Maryland (left in 1989), Marist College (left in 1997), Robert Morris University, St. Francis College (N.Y.), St. Francis College (Pa.), Siena College (left in 1984), Towson State University (left in 1982), the University of Baltimore (left in 1983) and Wagner College.

The conference's name was changed to its present form on August 1, 1988. Other names considered were Big North, Great North, North Shore, Northern, Northeastern, Eastern and Eastern Private Intercollegiate.

The Northeast Conference has expanded seven times since 1981. The expansions and additions from the original charter members were in 1985 (Monmouth University), 1989 (Mount St. Mary's University), 1992 (Rider University, who left in 1997), 1997 (Central Connecticut State University), 1998 (Quinnipiac University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County who left in 2003), 1999 (Sacred Heart University) and 2008 (Bryant University).

The Northeast Conference has a total of twelve members in 23 championship sports: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s bowling, men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball. Men's lacrosse became the league’s 23rd sport by the 2011 season. There are also nine affiliate members that compete in football, field hockey, and women's bowling. The Northeast Conference's ranks increased to 12 in 2008 with the addition of Bryant University.

Member schools
There are a total of twenty-two institutions that compete in the Northeast Conference twelve full-time member schools and ten affiliate member schools.

Full members

 * Notes:
 * - Monmouth and Quinnipiac announced on December 14, 2012 they will leave the NEC for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in 2013. At that time, Monmouth's football plans were unknown; the MAAC does not currently sponsor the sport. These plans became clear on February 14, 2013, when the Big South Conference announced that Monmouth would become a football-only member of that conference in 2014. The Hawks will play the 2013 season as an independent.

Affiliate members

 * Notes:
 * - Albany football will leave the NEC after the 2012 season to join the Colonial Athletic Association.

Membership timeline
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Sports Sponsored
The Northeast Conference sponsors championship competition in ten men's and thirteen women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Eight schools are Associate members in three of those sports.

Tournament championships by school

 * †Former member of NEC

Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Locations

 * 1982: Arnold and Marie Schwartz Athletic Center, Long Island, NY
 * 1983: first rounds at campus sites; final at John Jay Center, Moon Township, PA
 * 1984: McCann Field House, Poughkeepsie, NY
 * 1985: Reitz Arena, Baltimore, MD
 * 1986: Charles L. Sewall Center, Moon Township, PA
 * 1987: first round at campus sites, rest at McCann Field House
 * 1988: first round at campus sites; rest at Rothman Center, Hackensack, NJ
 * 1989: first round at campus sites; rest at Sewall Center
 * 1990: same
 * 1991: first rounds at campus sites; final at DeGol Arena, Loretto, PA
 * 1992: first rounds at campus sites; final at Sewall Center
 * 1993: first rounds at campus sites; final at Alumni Gymnasium, Lawrenceville, NJ
 * 1994: same
 * 1995: same
 * 1996: first rounds at campus sites; final at William T. Boylan Gymnasium, West Long Branch, NJ
 * 1997: first rounds at campus sites; final at Schwartz Athletic Center
 * 1998: first rounds at William H. Detrick Gymnasium, New Britain, CT; final at Schwartz Athletic Center
 * 1999: Spiro Sports Center, Staten Island, NY
 * 2000: Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton, New Jersey
 * 2001: same
 * 2002: first rounds at campus sites; final at Detrick Gymnasium
 * 2003: first rounds at campus sites; final at Spiro Sports Center
 * 2004: first rounds at campus sites; final at Boylan Gymnasium
 * 2005: first rounds at campus sites; final at Rothman Center
 * 2006: same
 * 2007: all games at highest seed; championship at Detrick Gymnasium
 * 2008: all games at highest seed; championship at William H. Pitt Center
 * 2009: all games at highest seed; championship at Sewall Center
 * 2010: all games at highest seed; championship at TD Bank Sports Center, Hamden, CT
 * 2011: all games at highest seed; championship at Athletic, Recreation & Wellness Center, Brooklyn, NY
 * 2012: same

Football Champions

 * 1996 — Robert Morris/Monmouth
 * 1997 — Robert Morris
 * 1998 — Monmouth/Robert Morris
 * 1999 — Robert Morris
 * 2000 — Robert Morris
 * 2001 — Sacred Heart
 * 2002 — Albany
 * 2003 — Monmouth/Albany
 * 2004 — Monmouth/Central Connecticut State
 * 2005 — Stony Brook/Central Connecticut State
 * 2006 — Monmouth
 * 2007 — Albany
 * 2008 — Albany
 * 2009 — Central Connecticut State
 * 2010 — Robert Morris/Central Connecticut State
 * 2011 — Albany/Duquesne
 * 2012 — Wagner/Albany

Most conference championships
6 — Albany (3 shared)

6 — Robert Morris (3 shared)

5 — Monmouth (4 shared)

4 — Central Connecticut State (3 shared)

1 — Duquesne (1 shared) 1 — Sacred Heart

1 — Stony Brook (1 shared)

1 — Wagner (1 shared)

0 — Bryant

0 — St. Francis (PA)

NEC Rivalries
The NEC has 6 rivalry match-ups in the conference; which is most prevalent during NEC's men's and women's basketball "Rivalry Week." The concept of playing back-to-back games against a local rival the same week is the only one of its kind among the nation's 31 NCAA Division I conferences. The NEC rivalries are as follows:


 * Battle of Brooklyn: Long Island vs. St. Francis (NY)
 * Garden State Rivalry: Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Monmouth
 * Keystone Clash: Robert Morris vs. Saint Francis (PA)
 * Governor's Cup: Quinnipiac vs. Sacred Heart
 * The Duel in New England: Central Connecticut vs. Bryant
 * North-South Showdown: Mount St. Mary's vs. Wagner