The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) was an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division II

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in Athletic conference, conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the var ...

based in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

that dissolved during the late 1990s after most of its members either moved to Division I or joined Division II leagues such as the

Northeast-10 Conference The Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states o ...

or the

New York Collegiate Athletic Conference The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located primarily in the state of New York, with a single ...

, now known as the East Coast Conference. The conference was founded in 1981 as the ''New England College Basketball League'', and eventually expanded to sponsor eleven sports: men's and women's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, men's and women's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

, men's and women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

History

Chronological timeline

* 1981 – The New England Collegiate Conference was founded as the New England College Basketball League (NECBL). Charter members included the

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB or UBPT) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin Unive ...

, the University of Lowell (now the University of Massachusetts Lowell), New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University), the

University of New Haven The University of New Haven (UNH) is a private university in West Haven, Connecticut, United States. History The University of New Haven was founded in 1920 as the New Haven YMCA Junior College, a division of Northeastern University, which sha ...

Quinnipiac College Quinnipiac University ( ) is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut, United States. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. History What became Qu ...

(now Quinnipiac University),

Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Roman Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1963 by Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholi ...

and

Southern Connecticut State College Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it w ...

(now Southern Connecticut State University), beginning the 1980–81 academic year. * 1982 – The NECBL became a multi-sport conference and was renamed and rebranded as the New England Collegiate Conference, beginning the 1982–83 academic year. * 1983 – Central Connecticut State College (now Central Connecticut State University) joined the NECC in the 1983–84 academic year. * 1985 – Central Connecticut State left the NECC to become an NCAA D-II Independent after the 1984–85 academic year. * 1986 –

Keene State College Keene State College is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Keene, New Hampshire. It is part of the University System of New Hampshire. Founded in 1909 as a teacher's college (originally, Ke ...

joined the NECC in the 1986–87 academic year. * 1987 – Quinnipiac left the NECC to join the

(NE10) after the 1986–87 academic year. * 1988 –

Franklin Pierce College Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded as Franklin Pierce College in 1962, combining a liberal arts foundation with coursework for professional preparation. The school gained un ...

(now Franklin Pierce University) joined the NECC in the 1988–89 academic year. * 1992 –

Le Moyne College Le Moyne College is a private Jesuit college mostly in DeWitt, New York. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946, and named after Jesuit missionary Simon Le Moyne. Le Moyne was the first co-educational Jesuit college in the United Sta ...

joined the NECC in the 1992–93 academic year. * 1995 – The

State University of New York at Albany The State University of New York at Albany (University at Albany, UAlbany, or SUNY Albany) is a public research university in Albany, New York, United States. Founded in 1844, it is one of four "university centers" of the State University of N ...

and the

State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

joined the NECC in the 1995–96 academic year. * 1996 – Le Moyne left the NECC to join the NE10 after the 1995–96 academic year. * 1997 – Keene State left the NECC to join the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

ranks and the

Little East Conference The Little East Conference (LEC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The member institutions are located in all six states of New England. History Chro ...

after the 1996–97 academic year. * 1998 – The

State University of New York at Binghamton The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public research university in Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four university centers in the State University of New Y ...

joined the NECC in the 1998–99 academic year. * 1999 – Three institutions left the NECC to join their respective new home primary conferences, all effective after the 1998–99 academic year: ** Sacred Heart to join the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

ranks and the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

(NEC) ** and SUNY Albany and SUNY Stony Brook to become NCAA D-I Independents (which would later join the

America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...

mEast beginning the 2001–02 school year) * 1999 –

Felician College Felician University is a private Catholic university with two campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey, one in Lodi and one in Rutherford. In 2016–17 enrollment was 1,996, with undergraduates comprising around 1,626 students; 21 percent ...

(now Felician University) and Teikyo Post University joined the NECC in the 1999–2000 academic year. * 2000 – The NECC ceased operations as an athletic conference after the 1999–2000 academic year; as many schools left to join their respective new home primary conferences, beginning the 2000–01 academic year: ** Bridgeport to the

(NYCAC; now known as the East Coast Conference) ** New Haven to become an NCAA D-II Independent (which would later join the NYCAC, beginning the 2002–03 school year) ** Franklin Pierce, Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell), Southern Connecticut State and Southern New Hampshire to the NE10 ** SUNY Binghamton to become an NCAA D-I Independents (which would later join the AmEast, beginning the 2001–02 school year) ** and Felician and Teikyo Post to join the

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (or CACC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its twelve member institutions are located in the northeastern U ...

(CACC)

Member schools

Final members

;Notes:

Other members

;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1981 till:2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5 Colors = id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1981 till:2000 text:

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

(1981–2000) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:2022 text: ECC bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: CACC bar:2 color:FullxF from:1981 till:2000 text: UMass-Lowell (1981–2000) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:2013 text: NE-10 bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:

America East The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979, t ...

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1981 till:2000 text:

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

(1981–2000) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:2002 text: D-II Ind. bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2002 till:2008 text: ECC bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2008 till:2025 text: NE-10 bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2025 till:end text:

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1981 till:1987 text:

Quinnipiac The Quinnipiac were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They lived in present-day New Haven County, Connecticut, along the Quinnipiac River. Their primary village, also called Quinnipiac, was where New Haven, Connect ...

(1981–1987) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1987 till:1998 text: NE-10 bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:2013 text:

bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text: MAAC bar:5 color:FullxF from:1981 till:1999 text:

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

(1981–1999) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2024 text:

bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2024 till:end text: MAAC bar:6 color:FullxF from:1981 till:2000 text: Southern Connecticut State (1981–2000) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:end text: NE-10 bar:7 color:FullxF from:1981 till:2000 text: Southern New Hampshire (1981–2000) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:end text: NE-10 bar:8 shift:(-50) color:FullxF from:1983 till:1985 text: CCSU (1983–1985) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1985 till:1986 text: D-II Ind. bar:8 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:1986 till:1990 text: D-I Ind. bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:1992 text: ECC bar:8 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:1992 till:1993 text: D-I Ind. bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:1994 text: ECC bar:8 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:1994 till:1997 text:

Mid-Con The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:end text:

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1986 till:1997 text: Keene State (1986–1997) bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:end text: Little East bar:10 color:FullxF from:1988 till:2000 text:

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

(1988–2000) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:end text: NE-10 bar:11 color:FullxF from:1992 till:1996 text: Le Moyne (1992–1996) bar:11 shift:(30) color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2023 text: NE-10 bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text:

bar:12 shift:(-50) color:FullxF from:1995 till:1999 text:

SUNY Albany The State University of New York at Albany (University at Albany, UAlbany, or SUNY Albany) is a public research university in Albany, New York, United States. Founded in 1844, it is one of four "university centers" of the State University of N ...

(1995–1999) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2001 text: D-I Ind. bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:13 shift:(-75) color:FullxF from:1995 till:1999 text:

SUNY Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State Univ ...

(1995–1999) bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2001 text: D-I Ind. bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:2022 text:

bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: CAA bar:14 shift:(-130) color:FullxF from:1998 till:2000 text:

SUNY Binghamton The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public research university in Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four university centers in the State University of New Y ...

(1998–2000) bar:14 shift:(-15) color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:2001 text: D-I Ind. bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:15 shift:(-85) color:FullxF from:1999 till:2000 text: Felician (1999–2000) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:end text: CACC bar:16 shift:(-100) color:FullxF from:1999 till:2000 text: Teikyo Post (1999–2000) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:end text: CACC bar:N color:red from:1981 till:1982 text:NECBL bar:N shift:(30) color:blue from:1982 till:2000 text:New England Collegiate Conference bar:N color:red from:2000 till:end text:Post-NECC ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1982 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,20) tabs:(400-center) text:^"New England Collegiate Conference membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

Notable alumni

Bill Bayno Bill Bayno (born May 18, 1962) is an American basketball coach, who currently serves as assistant coach for the APR of the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL). He was the men's basketball head coach at Loyola Marymount University from 2008 to 2009, ...

, Sacred Heart, Former

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

head men's basketball coach *

Manute Bol Manute Bol ( ; June 19, 2010) was a Sudanese-American professional basketball player and political activist. Listed at or tall, Bol was one of the two tallest players in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After he p ...

, Bridgeport,

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

center with

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, and

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

Joe Nathan Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detro ...

, Stony Brook,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher with

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

, and Texas Rangers *

Mike Petke Mike Petke (born January 30, 1976) is an American former soccer player and coach who was most recently head coach of Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. Prior to his tenure with Real Salt Lake, he was head coach of the New York Red Bulls, ...

, Southern Connecticut,

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

soccer player with

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

New York/New Jersey Metrostars New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

and D.C. United

References

External links

* {{Official website