Somerset, NJ -- The ESPN app is a necessary download for Northeast Conference football fans this fall.

An agreement between the NEC and ESPN has made ESPN3 the exclusive carrier of eight featured gridiron matchups this season.

All seven NEC members will appear at least once during the eight-game schedule, which will be carried on ESPN's live multi-screen sports network.

The schedule, which contains three natural rivalry games amongst its first four dates, closes with back-to-back “Wildcard” weekends. The open “Wildcard” slots will allow the conference and ESPN to feature the most consequential matchups in regards to the race for the NEC’s automatic bid to the Division I FCS playoffs.

The defending NEC champion Saint Francis U Red Flash will lift the lid off the package when they host the Wagner Seahawks in their conference opener on September 9. Wagner was responsible for spoiling SFU’s perfect NEC record during the 2016 regular season finale.

Following a two-week hiatus with no league games on the schedule, the Sacred Heart Pioneers and Central Connecticut State Blue Devils will kick off a string of contests that feature natural rivals. Sacred Heart will welcome its Nutmeg State rival to Campus Field for a 5:00 pm ET start on September 30. SHU will look to avenge a 37-35 loss to CCSU last November in New Britain.

The package continues on October 14 with the annual Steel City Showdown. This year’s edition will unfold under the lights as the Robert Morris Colonials will welcome the Duquesne Dukes to Joe Walton Stadium for a 6:00 pm ET start. Neither team has led by more than seven points during the fourth quarter in each of the past two meetings.

ESPN3 will return to the Steel City on October 21 for a Keystone State Clash between the host Duquesne Dukes and the SFU Red Flash at Rooney Field. Each of the past two years, the winner of the Duquesne-Saint Francis contest has obtained the conference’s automatic FCS postseason bid.

From Pittsburgh, the NEC crew will head to the Big Apple for an October 28 bout between the Bryant Bulldogs and Wagner Seahawks on Hameline Field in Staten Island.

Featured on the package for the second week in a row, Bryant and first-year head coach James Perry will host Sacred Heart in Smithfield on November 4.

The NEC will select the final two matchups on the slate at a later date, planning to deliver the most-meaningful games in terms of the race for the first place at that time.

On November 11, the conference will choose from the following three scheduled contests – Sacred Heart at Saint Francis; Central Connecticut at Duquesne; and Bryant at Robert Morris. The 2017 finale, which is slated for November 18, will feature either Robert Morris at Central Connecticut or Duquesne at Bryant or Wagner at Sacred Heart.

Paul Dottino, a member of the New York Giants Radio Network, will serve as the lead play-by-play voice for the 15th consecutive season. Former NFL head coach and two-time Super Bowl champion Kevin Gilbride returns to the booth for the third straight season to handle the color commentary. John Schmeelk will provide sideline coverage.

2017 NEC Football TV Schedule on ESPN3
Sept. 9 - Wagner at Saint Francis U - 12 pm
Sept. 30 - CCSU at Sacred Heart - 5 pm
Oct. 14 - Duquesne at Robert Morris - 6 pm
Oct. 21 - Saint Francis U at Duquesne - 12 pm
Oct. 28 - Bryant at Wagner - 12 pm
Nov. 4 - Sacred Heart at Bryant - 12 pm
Nov. 11 - Wildcard - 12 pm
Nov. 18 - Wildcard - 12 pm

About ESPN3
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually.  It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and streaming devices through the ESPN app. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to those who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider.  It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.

About The Northeast Conference
Now entering its 37th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 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 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.