The History of the Northeast-10 Conference
October 1, 1979
– Seven New England colleges and universities form a new
athletic conference (to be named later) to encompass several
sports. The institutions include American International,
Assumption, Bentley, Bryant, Hartford, Springfield and Stonehill.
The new conference will initially encompass men’s and
women’s basketball, baseball, men’s soccer, softball
and women’s tennis. The colleges selected for the conference
are based on several criteria, including proximity to each other,
sports offered, compatibility of athletic programs as well as the
educational philosophies of the institutions. Al Shields, the
Director of Athletics at Bentley, is also named the first
conference commissioner. The 'founding fathers' of the Northeast-10
began with Shields, Tom Folliard of Stonehill, Leon Drury of Bryant
and Andy Laska of Assumption. The four later convinced Ed Steitz of
Springfield, Gordie McCullough of Hartford and Milt Piepul of
American International to join them.
June 10, 1980 – After a year of planning,
New England’s newest athletic conference, the Northeast-7, is
officially announced and recognized by the NCAA as an allied
member. The conference would apply for automatic qualifying status
to NCAA tournament play following a two-year probationary
period.
September 16, 1980 – The first Northeast-7
Conference contest takes place when American
International visits Assumption in men’s soccer.
December 11, 1980 – The first Northeast-7
basketball game takes place as host Bryant defeats Hartford,
76-69.
March 1981 – The first baseball games in
conference history take place. In a doubleheader, Assumption tops
Stonehill, 6-4, before Stonehill takes game two the twinbill,
16-6.
June 16, 1981 – The Northeast-8 is born as
the conference announces the addition of Saint Anselm College.
Saint Anselm’s acceptance is immediate, but the Hawks do not
begin conference competition until 1983-84.
December 7, 1981 – Springfield defeats
American International in the first Northeast-8 women’s
basketball conference game.
April 1982 – Bryant wins the inaugural
Northeast-8 golf championship.
April 3, 1983 – Stonehill and Assumption
split in a doubleheader in the first ever Northeast-8 softball
games.
October 8, 1983 – The first women’s
cross country championship race is run, with Springfield besting
the five team field with a low of 31 points.
June 12, 1984 – Merrimack College accepts
an invitation to join the Northeast-8. Merrimack replaces Hartford,
which leaves the conference to join the Division I ranks.
September, 1984 – Springfield captures the
first Northeast-8 women’s tennis championship with 28
points.
March 1985 – American International, led by
future NBA standout Mario Elie, becomes the first Northeast-10
men’s basketball program to reach the quarterfinals of the
NCAA Division II national championship tournament. Elie would go on
to become a two-time NBA Finals champion throughout an 11-year
career.
September 12, 1985 - The sport of women’s
soccer debuts as Stonehill shuts out host Saint Anselm, 2-0.
July 1, 1987 – Quinnipiac and Saint Michael’s
join the conference. The two additions lead to the changing of the
organization's name to the Northeast-10.
January 1989 - Bob Burke, Director of Athletics
at American International, is selected to serve as conference
commissioner.
March 21, 1994 – The sport of men’s
lacrosse debuts as a Northeast-10 sport. Bentley tops Assumption,
15-5.
May 1994 - Merrimack becomes the first
Northeast-10 Conference school to win a national championship, as
the Lady Warriors softball team downs Humboldt State, 6-2, for the
NCAA Division II title.
June 1995 – The Northeast-10 shrinks to
nine members when Springfield changes its NCAA status to Division
III.
May 2, 1995 - F. Paul Bogan is selected as the
first full-time commissioner of the conference. He is the third
individual to assume the duties of commissioner at the
Northeast-10.
June 1996 – Le Moyne College is accepted to
the conference.
September 7, 1996 - The sport of field hockey
debuts as Saint Michael’s downs host Assumption, 2-0.
October 14, 1996 – Quinnipiac announces it
will shift its programs to NCAA Division I status as a member of
the Northeast Conference (NEC).
January 1997 – Pace University is accepted
into the Northeast-10 for the 1997-98 academic year, bringing the
conference member total to 11.
July 1998 - David R. Brunk is selected as the
fourth commissioner in the history of the Northeast-10.
March 25, 1999 - The sport of women’s
lacrosse debuts with Bentley downing American International, 13-8,
and Saint Michael’s topping Assumption, 16-7.
September 22, 1999 – The Northeast-10
announces it will expand by five institutions beginning with the
2000-01 academic year as Franklin Pierce College, New Hampshire
College (now known as Southern New Hampshire University), The
University of Massachusetts Lowell, The College of Saint
Rose, and Southern Connecticut State University are
all accepted as conference members. The expansion makes the
Northeast-10 the second largest Division II conference in the
nation at the time.
November 5, 1999 - The Northeast-10 website
debuts at www.northeast10.org.
September 21, 2000 - The Northeast-10 announces
it will offer four more championship sports with the additions of
men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field
for the 2001-02 academic year. The additions bring the total number
of Northeast-10 championships to 19.
January 2001 - The Northeast-10
Conference creates its own football conference beginning
with the 2001 season to create its 20th sport.
August 31, 2001 – The first Northeast-10 football
game takes place as host Bentley edges Saint Anselm, 27-24.
November 4, 2001 – Bentley becomes the
second conference school to win a national title as the Falcons
defeat East Stroudsburg, 4-2, in the NCAA Division II field hockey
championship game.
May 25, 2002 -
Southern Connecticut’s Kateema Riettie wins the individual
national championship in javelin at the NCAA Track & Field
Championships.
May 11, 2003 - Stonehill becomes the third Northeast-10
member to be crowned national champion as the Skyhawks defeat
Longwood (Va.), 9-8, in the women’s lacrosse national title
game.
June 3, 2003 - The Northeast-10 announces it will sponsor
men’s and women’s swimming and diving as its 21st and
22nd championship sports for the 2003-04 season.
June 9, 2003 - The Northeast-10 announces it will
sponsor men’s ice hockey as its 23rd championship sport
beginning in 2003-04. The sport gives the conference 23
championship sports, which is the most of any NCAA Division II
conference in the nation.
November 12, 2003 - The first men’s ice
hockey game takes place under the Northeast-10 banner as Southern
New Hampshire downs Franklin Pierce, 6-2.
May 30, 2004 - Le Moyne wins the men’s
lacrosse national championship, 11-10, in overtime over Limestone.
It is the first men’s national championship for the
Northeast-10 and fourth team title overall.
March 26, 2005 - The Bryant men’s
basketball team becomes the first conference school to appear in
the national championship game, falling to Virginia Union,
63-58.
May 15, 2005 - Stonehill wins its second national
championship in women’s lacrosse, topping West Chester,
16-10, in the title game.
November 13, 2005 - UMass Lowell claims the national
championship in field hockey with a 2-1 win over Bloomsburg.
May 2, 2006 - Le Moyne wins its second national
championship in men's lacrosse, defeating Dowling, 12-5.
June 5, 2006 - The Northeast-10 celebrates its 25th
anniversary and announces its inaugural Hall of Fame class. The
inaugural class includes 25 inductees.
March 15, 2007 - Saint Rose's Brandon Birchak
wins the national championship in three meter diving.
March 24, 2007 - Southern Connecticut wins its
first NCAA Championship in women's basketball, defeating Florida
Gulf Coast, 61-45.
May 25, 2007 - UMass Lowell's Nicole Plante wins
the national championship in the 10,000-meters with a time of
35:23.49.
May 27, 2007 - In men's lacrosse, Le Moyne wins
its second straight NCAA Championship and third in four years by
defeating Mercyhurst, 6-5.
October 19, 2007 - Bryant University announces it
will leave the conference at the conclusion of the 2007-08 academic
year to join the Division I ranks as a member of the Northeast
Conference (NEC).
December 2, 2007 - The Franklin Pierce men's
soccer team claims the national championship with a 1-0 victory
over Lincoln Memorial University. It marks the first
men's soccer national championship in the history of the
Northeast-10.
March 15, 2008 - Le Moyne's Alison Lesher and Southern
Connecticut's Kristen Frost become the first student-athletes in
Northeast-10 history to capture individual national championships
in the sport of swimming. Lesher wins the 200-yard butterfly, while
Frost claims four national championships in the 1650, 1000, 500,
and 200-yard freestyle events.
May 1, 2008 - Julie Ruppert is named the fifth full-time
commissioner in the history of the Northeast-10 Conference.
Ruppert's hiring makes her the first female commissioner in NCAA
Division II history.
July 2008 - The University of New Haven joins the
Northeast-10 Conference, giving it 15 members.
July 2009 - Adelphi University joins the Northeast-10 Conference, bringing the league's total to 16 member institutions.
May 23, 2010 - The Adelphi women's lacrosse team defeats West Chester to claim their second consecutive national title in the sport.
May 30, 2010 - UMass Lowell's Jacqui Barrett wins the national title in the shot put with a toss of 50' 8.25".
December 4, 2010 - UMass Lowell's field hockey team wins the national championship with a 1-0 victory over Shippensburg to cap a perfect 24-0 season at the NCAA Division II Fall Festival in Louisville, Kentucky.
March 9, 2011 - Southern Connecticut sophomore Amanda Thomas wins the national championship in San Antonio, Texas in the 200-yard individual medley.
March 11, 2011 - Stonehill's Corey Thomas wins the national championship in the high jump in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
March 12, 2011 - New Haven's Shannon Gagne wins three national championships at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Gagne wins the 200 meter, 400 meter, and the long jump, and becomes just the second student-athlete in the history of the Indoor Track and Field Championships to win three national titles.
May 22, 2011 - Adelphi's women's lacrosse team wins its third consecutive national championship, defeating Limestone, 17-4, in Garden City, N.Y.
November 26, 2011 - New Haven defeats Kutztown 44-37 in a second-round matchup of the NCAA Football Championship to advance to the National Quarterfinals, matching the furthest an NE-10 team had ever advanced.
December 3, 2011 - The Saint Rose women's soccer team wins the national championship with a 2-1 victory over Grand Valley State in Pensacola, Florida.
March 11, 2012 - American International's Dominic Smith and Southern Connecticut's Nick Lebron win national championships at the at the 2012 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Minnesota. Smith prevaied in the 400-meter dash, while Lebron claimed the heptathlon crown.
March 14, 2012 - Southern Connecticut junior Amanda Thomas wins the national title in the 200-yard individual medley in Mansfield, Texas.
March 15, 2012 - Thomas claims her second national championship in as many nights, this time winning the 400-yard individual medley at the NCAA Championships. She was named the 2012 NCAA Division II Women’s Swimmer of the Year for her efforts.
October 5, 2012 - The Northeast-10 announces a formal partnership with Team IMPACT, a non-profit organization that helps match children with life-threatening illnesses with collegiate athletic programs.
December 17, 2012 - The conference office announces the addition of LIU Post as an associate member in the sports of football and field hockey.
