Somerset, NJ -- The Northeast Conference (NEC) Council of Presidents recently approved a five-year contract extension for Commissioner Noreen Morris through June 30, 2017. Morris is the fourth full-time Commissioner in NEC history and is entering her fourth year leading the 12-team league.
“Noreen is doing a wonderful job leading the NEC and representing our member institutions,” said Greg Dell’Omo, Robert Morris President and Chair of the NEC Council of Presidents. “Her tireless work has raised the profile of the Conference and helped ensure the growth of our student-athletes, both on and off the field. Noreen is a true professional and a real pleasure to work with. We look forward to her continued success in guiding the NEC to even greater heights in the coming years.”
During her tenure, Morris has worked extensively with the Council of Presidents and athletic administrators on a newly adopted Strategic Plan, including initiatives to enhance the NEC’s overall brand as well as strengthen the marquee sport of basketball. A significant component of those initiatives includes the recently launched NEC Front Row, a state-of-the-art, interactive webcasting/social media platform that highlights the NEC’s live event coverage, academic achievement and community service projects. Likewise, Morris developed and implemented a multi-year NEC Brand and Basketball Enhancement Fund. Morris has also overseen a change in the conference’s governance structure with the elevation of the Senior Woman Administrators into a more enhanced leadership role, and the creation of a Sports Management Committee that engages more athletic administrators from across the conference in the day-to-day business of providing the best student-athlete experience possible.
Morris is actively involved at the national level serving as the Chair of the NCAA Division I Leadership Council, and on the NCAA Women’s Basketball Officiating LLC Board of Managers and the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP).
“I would like to thank the Council of Presidents for their continued support,” said Morris. “I am both honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the Northeast Conference for the next five years. I have come to truly respect the commitment and dedication shown by the Presidents and Athletic Administrators to the development of their coaches and student-athletes, as well as the league as a whole. I’m very excited about the strategic vision adopted by the league and look forward to the next five years.”
Morris has an extensive background in intercollegiate athletics as a student-athlete, coach and administrator. Prior to her arrival at the NEC, she spent five years as a member of the Northwestern University Athletic Department executive staff, following an eight-year stint at Conference USA. She also served for five years as Compliance Coordinator and Sport Administrator at UConn.
Morris was honored by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA) as one of eight national recipients of its 2009 Administrator of the Year award.
About The Northeast Conference
Now entering its 32nd year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 12 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 23 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic or play-in access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary’s, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY), Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit www.northeastconference.org.