About the NE-10
Celebrating its silver anniversary, there is little surprise why the Northeast-10 Conference has continued to grow stronger year by year since it?s inception and now stands as a model conference of NCAA Division II.
The
conference was built from the ground up with strong cornerstones and a
vision
of becoming the premier Division II NCAA athletic conference in the
nation. A
quick look around the league today will tell even the casual observer
that the
NE-10 has done so. Entering it?s 24th year overall, the conference is a
powerful union of strong academic and athletic colleges and
universities that
incorporates 15 institutions from New York and New England. In 2003-04,
the
NE-10 will sponsor 23 championship sports - the most of any Division II
conference in the nation.
The
Northeast-10 can look to a long history of successes ? the growth from
seven
original schools to more than double its size 20 years later ? the
contention
for and winning of national championships ? the change in league
structure from
on-campus administration to a central governing location ?
the anticipation of, coping with and
addition of modern technology - the recognition of student-athlete
performances
in the classroom where the real competitions are played out ?
all of
them have been built thanks to the hard work and dedication through the
years
of thousands of people who have, at one time or another, called the
Northeast-10 home for their athletics program or their livelihood.
The NE-10 history began with
the vision of a few good men and women. It was back in 1979 that a
handful of
athletics directors realized that the world of college athletics was
changing
and that they, and their programs, would have to change as well. Before
that
time, there were not the same black and white classifications that
divide
college sports into neat packages, organized and classified division by
division and league by league as seen today. It was not uncommon to
watch
Northeastern play Bentley in baseball, Holy Cross to play Saint
Michael?s in
soccer or Assumption to face Providence on the basketball court.
In the late
1970?s and early 1980?s the NCAA began to emphasize the importance of
conferences in organizing competition and determining bids to NCAA
national
tournaments. The NCAA required six teams to be recognized as a
conference in
order to award championships, and the creation of national tournaments
with
automatic qualifiers to league champions became a new goal towards
which teams
could strive.
The
founding fathers of the NE-10 were only happy to
comply. Thus, a handful of athletic directors at smaller schools,
classified
Division II and of similar scope, academic makeup and athletic
abilities
hatched the idea of a new athletics conference in New England. The
visionaries
included Al Shields at Bentley, Tom Folliard of Stonehill, Leon Drury
of
Bryant, and Andy Laska of Assumption. After rolling around some ideas,
they
soon convinced Springfield Athletic Director Ed Steitz, Gordie
McCullough of
Hartford and Milt Piepul of American International to join them in this
new
venture. Therefore, on October 9, 1979, a simple press release
announced that a
new unnamed Division II conference was being formed. Eight months
later, at the
Pleasant Valley Country Club in Springfield, Mass., the league was
publicly
announced.
The Northeast-7 Conference
established instant credibility in its membership and that credibility
led to a
slow but continued expansion through the years. The admittance of Saint
Anselm
in 1981 created the Northeast-8. In 1984, Hartford joined the ECAC
Division I
North Atlantic Conference but was immediately replaced by Merrimack.
The ?Northeast-10? name came
about when Saint Michael?s and Quinnipiac joined the league in 1987 and
the
conference remained stable until 1995 when Springfield left for
Division III.
The league stayed at 10 members as Le Moyne joined the league in 1996
from the
New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) and briefly expanded to 11
when Pace
joined in 1998 from the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference
(NYCAC).
Quinnipiac elevated to the Division I Northeast Conference (NEC) to
again
return the foundation of 10 until the last major expansion took place
prior to
2001 when five new schools joined the fold. Franklin Pierce, Southern
New Hampshire
University (formerly New Hampshire College), the University of
Massachusetts
Lowell and Southern Connecticut State University were joined by the
College of
Saint Rose and gives the NE-10 the 15 members it has today.
With that major expansion,
the NE-10 now stands as the second largest NCAA Division II conference
in the
nation. Further, the strength in numbers was the guiding force in the
addition
and strengthening of a number of championship sports the league now
offers.
The expansion continues in 2003-04 as the conference adds another three championships to its diverse menu - men?s swimming and diving, women?s swimming and diving, and men?s ice hockey - the only Division II ice hockey conference in the nation.
The
conference also continues to expand in the classroom. In 2002-03 the
NE-10
honored a record number of scholar athletes to the Commissioner?s Honor
Roll.
The creation of the Northeast-10 Academic Achievement Award also
continues to
grow in recognition and prestige.
October
1, 1979 ?
Seven New England colleges and universities form a new athletic
conference (as
yet unnamed), to encompass several sports. The Colleges are American
International, Assumption, Bentley, Bryant, the University of 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, Athletic Director at Bentley , is also named the first
conference
commissioner. (The ?founding fathers? of the NE-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 as a reality. The unveiling of the
conference takes place at the Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton,
Mass. by
Al Shields. The conference is recognized by the NCAA as an allied
member and
will apply for automatic qualifying status to NCAA tournament as soon
as the two-year
probationary period ends. Dick Lipe, SID at Bentley, is named Assistant
Commissioner and Director of Publicity for the conference.
September
16, 1980 ?
The first Northeast-7 Conference contest takes place when AIC visits
Assumption
in men?s soccer. Assumption wins the match, 2-1.
September
22, 1980 ?
Senior men?s soccer forward John Szymko of Springfield College is named
the
first ever Conference Player of the Week having scored four goals in a
6-0
shutout of Stonehill earlier that week.
November
10, 1980 ?
Hartford wins the inaugural Northeast-7 men?s soccer regular season
title with
a 6-0-0 record, part of a 15-0-2 mark
overall. There is no post-season tournament.
December
11, 1980 ?
The first Northeast-7 basketball game takes place as host Bryant
defeats
Hartford, 76-69.
February
28, 1981 ?
Stonehill?s men?s basketball team tops Springfield 74-68 in the first
conference tournament championship game.
March
1981 ? The
first baseball games takes place under the NE-7 banner. In a
doubleheader, Assumption
tops Stonehill 6-4, while Stonehill wins the second game, 16-6.
May
11, 1981 ?
Springfield wins the NE-7 regular season baseball championship. There
is no
post-season tournament.
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 as schedules are set.
October
1981 ?
Springfield wins the first men?s cross country championship.
October
27, 1981 ?
The Northeast-8 is one of the four conferences awarded an automatic
qualifier
to the NCAA Division II women?s basketball championship, upon the
completion of
its season in 1981-82. The NE-8 joins the California Collegiate
Athletic
Association, Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association and the
Southern
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in receiving ?AQ? status.
December
7, 1981 ?
Springfield defeats AIC in the first NE-8 women?s basketball conference
game.
February
21, 1981 ?
Bentley defeats Springfield 80-65 for the first women?s basketball
tournament
championship.
April
1982 ?
Bryant wins the inaugural NE-8 golf championship at the Woonsocket (RI)
Country
Club, edging runner-up Bentley by 24 strokes.
Summer,
1982 ? The
NE-8 is granted a NCAA Division II championship automatic qualifier to
its
tournament softball champion.
September
2, 1982 ?
The NE-8 is awarded an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division II
Men?s
basketball championship.
April
3, 1983 ?
Stonehill and Assumption split in a doubleheader in the first ever NE-8
softball games. Stonehill wins the opener 7-0. Assumption wins the
nightcap,
8-1.
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, edging Bryant by
five
points.
June
12, 1984 ?
Merrimack College accepts an invitation to join the NE-8. Merrimack
replaces
Hartford, which leaves the conference to join the Division I ECAC North
Atlantic.
September,
1984 ?
Springfield captures the first NE-8 women?s tennis championship with 28
points.
November
11, 1984 ?
The first NE-8 men?s soccer tournament champion is crowned as Saint
Anselm
downs Springfield, 2-1 in overtime.
March
1985 ?
American International, led by future NBA standout Mario Elie, becomes
the
first NE-10 men?s basketball program to reach the quarterfinals of the
NCAA
Division II national championship tournament. The Yellow Jackets fall
in the
Elite Eight to Kentucky Wesleyan, 76-73.
September
12, 1985 -
Women?s Soccer debuts as Stonehill shuts out host Saint Anselm, 2-0.
November
6, 1985 -
Host and regular season champion Springfield shut out Bryant 4-0 for
the first
women?s soccer tournament championship.
June
23, 1986 ?
The conference announces it will expand to 10 for the first time with
the
additions of Quinnipiac College of Hamden, Conn. (from the NECC) and
Saint
Michael?s College of Colchester, Vt (from the old MidEast Conference).
The name
of the conference will soon be changed to the Northeast-10.
November
17, 1986 ?
The Northeast-8 is given permission to experiment with the three-point
field
goal in the sport of women?s basketball. The three pointer will be used
in all
conference games during the 1986-87 season.
July
1, 1987 ?
Quinnipiac and Saint Michael?s join the conference, which is renamed
the
Northeast-10.
January
1989 - Bob
Burke, Director of Athletics at American International, is selected to
serve as
conference commissioner. Ed Markey, AD at Saint Michael?s, is appointed
assistant commissioner.
August
23, 1989 ?
Gordie McCullough dies at age 53.
May
21, 1990 ?
Edward S. Steitz dies at the age of 69. Steitz served as AD at
Springfield for
33 years, retiring in 1989. He was a key influence in helping usher in
the
three-point shot in college basketball.
March
21, 1994 ?
Men?s Lacrosse debuts as a Northeast-10 sport. Bentley tops Assumption
15-5.
April
24, 1994 ?
Bentley wins the first NE-10 men?s lacrosse championship with a perfect
6-0
regular season record.
May
1994 -
Merrimack becomes the first conference
school to win a national championship. The Lady Warriors softball team
downs
Humboldt State 6-2 for the Division II title.
June
1995 ? The
Northeast-10 shrinks to nine when Springfield College resigns and
changes its
NCAA status to Division III and joins the Constitution Athletic
Conference.
May
2, 1995 -
F. Paul Bogan is selected as the third all time and first full-time
commissioner of the conference. Bogan assumes duties July 1.
June
1996 ? Le
Moyne College of Syracuse, NY is accepted to the conference after
resigning
from the NECC.
July
1996 - The
Eastern Football Conference is formed. The 12-team league begins in
1997 and
includes five NE-10 members.
September
7, 1996 -
Field Hockey debuts as Saint Michael?s downs host Assumption, 2-0.
October
14, 1996 ?
Quinnipiac announces it will resign from the NE-10 and shift it?s
programs to
NCAA Division I status as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC).
The
Braves join the NEC July 1, 1998.
November
3, 1996 -
Bentley wins the inaugural NE-10 field hockey championship over Saint
Michael?s
1-0. The game is decided in a second round of penalty strokes which
Bentley
wins, 2-1.
July
29, 1997-
F. Paul Bogan passes away from sudden illness at the age of 62.
August 7,
1997 ?
Bob Burke, Director of Athletics at American International, is named
interim
commissioner until a permanent successor is found.
January
1997 ?
Pace University of Pleasantville, NY resigns from the NYCAC and is
accepted
into the NE-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. Brunk assumes duties October 12, 1998.
December
1, 1998 -
Julie Smalley is named the first full-time Director of Media Relations.
Smalley
replaces Dick Lipe, SID at Bentley College, who had served since the
conference?s first year of publicity in 1980-81.
March
25, 1999 -
Women?s Lacrosse debuts with Bentley downing AIC 13-8 and Saint
Michael?s
topping Assumption 16-7.
May
2, 1999 -
Visiting Saint Michael?s topples Stonehill 10-9 in the first NE-10
women?s
lacrosse championship game.
August
25,
1999 -
Jonathan C. Harper is named the second full-time
Director of Media Relations.
September
22, 1999
? The NE-10 announces it will expand by five
institutions beginning with the 2000-01 academic year. Four
institutions are
accepted from the now defunct NECC ? Franklin Pierce College, New
Hampshire
College, the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Southern
Connecticut State University.
The College of Saint Rose, from the NYCAC, is also accepted. The
expansion
makes the NE-10 the second largest Division II conference in the nation.
November
5, 1999 -
The NE-10 goes on-line at www.northeast10.org.
September
21, 2000 -
The NE-10 announces it will add another four championship sports to its
offerings with the additions of men?s and women?s indoor and outdoor
track and
field for the 2001-2002 academic year. The additions bring the total
number of
NE-10 championships to 19.
October
18, 2000 -
Stonehill College is named the inaugural recipient of the Northeast-10
Academic
Achievement Award.
January
2001 - The
Northeast-10 Conference announces it will absorb the Eastern Football
Conference beginning with the 2001 season to create its 20th sport.
August
31, 2001 ?
The First NE-10 football game takes place as host Bentley edges Saint
Anselm,
27-24.
September
28, 2001 ?
Tom Folliard passes away at 61 in his hometown of Washington, D.C.
November
17, 2001 ?
LIU/C.W. Post wins the first NE-10 football championship game over
Bentley,
43-6.
September
24, 2001 -
Jonathan Harper is named Assistant Commissioner.
November
4, 2001 ?
Bentley College becomes the second conference school to win a national
title.
The Falcons topple East Stroudsburg 4-2 in the NCAA Division II field
hockey
championship game.
February
16, 2002 - UMass
Lowell?s men?s and women?s track & field teams sweep the inaugural
indoor
championships held at Southern Connecticut.
May
5, 2002 -
Southern Connecticut sweeps the men?s and women?s inaugural outdoor
track &
field championships held at Bryant College.
May
25, 2002 -
Southern Connecticut?s Kateema Riettie wins the individual national
championship in javelin at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
August
7, 2002 -
The Northeast-10 Dick Lipe Media Award is established and announced at
the
conference?s first football media day in Waltham, Mass.
May
11, 2003 -
Stonehill College becomes the third national champion under the NE-10
banner,
winning the Women?s Lacrosse National Championship, 9-8 over Longwood
(Va.).
June
3, 2003 -
The NE-10 announces it will sponsor men?s women?s swimming and diving
as its
21st and 22nd championship sports for the 2003-2004 season. The two
sports will
initially have six members.
June
9, 2003 -
The NE-10 announces it will sponsor men?s ice hockey as its 23rd
championship
sport beginning in 2003-2004. The sport gives the conference 23
championships,
the most of any NCAA Division II conference in the nation. The sport
includes
six sponsoring schools.
September
12, 2003 -
Jonathan Harper is named Associate Commissioner, while Ken Belbin and
Erin
Guest are named Assistant Commissioners.
November
12, 2003 -
The first men?s ice hockey game takes place under the
NE-10 banner as Southern New Hampshire downs Franklin Pierce,
6-2.
December
6, 2003 -
Southern Connecticut wins both the men?s and women?s inaugural
Northeast-10
swimming and diving championships held at the Southern Connecticut
natatorium.
March
6, 2004 -
Saint Michael?s edges Saint Anselm 5-4 in the inaugural NE-10 men?s ice
hockey
championship game.
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 NE-10
and fourth
team title overall.
March
26, 2005 - Bryant
men?s basketball team becomes the first conference school to appear in
the
Elite Eight 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.
October 22, 2005 - Bentley Volleyball Coach Sandy Hoffman wins victory #600 with a three-game sweep of Saint Rose.
January 5, 2006 - Bentley Women's Basketball Coach Barbara Stevens claims 700th career victory with a 85-69 win over Bryant.
