Bridgewater, NJ -- A familiar name is set to return to the Northeast Conference (NEC) gridiron scene.

Commissioner Noreen Morris announced today that Robert Morris University (RMU) has accepted an invitation from the NEC Council of Presidents to rejoin the conference as a football associate member in 2024. 

RMU will be immediately eligible to secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs.

Just last month, Morris announced RMU's return to the NEC as a men's lacrosse affiliate ahead of the sport's reinstatement for the 2024-25 academic year. 

"We're pleased to welcome Robert Morris back to the NEC football community," said Morris. "Their return not only strengthens our football profile, but also will reignite longtime rivalries and create new ones. Given RMU's rich football tradition within the NEC, we anticipate more exciting moments to come."

NEC football sponsorship will include seven competing programs next season, as core members Central Connecticut, LIU, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner will be joined by affiliates Duquesne and Robert Morris.

Robert Morris enjoyed a rich history within the NEC, having served as one of its founding members in 1981. The Colonials remained a full-time member for nearly four decades until concluding their affiliation at the end of the 2019-20 season.

Having helped launch NEC football in 1996, RMU claimed the first five conference crowns and secured its sixth NEC title in 2010.

RMU's football legacy under NEC Hall of Fame coach Joe Walton is noteworthy, marked by a near perfect 26-2 conference record over the first five years of conference competition. The Colonials went on to post a dozen top-three finishes during their time in the NEC.

RMU also enjoyed postseason success, winning the ECAC Football Classic in 1996 and 1997, beating Duquesne and Georgetown, respectively.

The Colonials represented the NEC in the FCS Playoffs in 2010, taking on North Dakota State.

Over 24 years as an NEC football member, RMU sported three NEC Offensive Player of the Year winners, four NEC Defensive Player of the Year honorees and Walton was a four-time NEC Coach of the Year. Hank Fraley, a center who competed for the Colonials from 1996-99, enjoyed an 11-year NFL career and was inducted into the NEC Hall of Fame as part ot its 2010 inaugural class.

After spending the 2023 season in the Big South-OVC Football Association and the previous three years (2020-22) as a Big South Conference associate football member, RMU football begins a new chapter within the NEC.

“We want to thank Commissioners Sherika Montgomery and Beth DeBauche, and former Commissioner Kyle Kallander, for providing RMU football an opportunity for membership and their support over the previous three years,” said RMU Vice President and Director of Athletics Chris King. "The move to rejoin the NEC as an associate member in football restores longtime local rivalries with Duquesne and Saint Francis U as well as the NEC football playing members within our geographic footprint, which will have a positive impact on our scheduling and travel. For our long-term growth, the NEC is certainly the right move for our football program. We are excited about this next chapter and continuing the forward momentum of RMU football.”  

Bernard Clark, Jr., who will enter his seventh season at the Colonials’ helm, was voted the 2019 NEC Co-Coach of the Year and was also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award after leading RMU to a 6-1 NEC record and a second-place finish. 

“The RMU football program would like to thank the Big South Conference and the Big South-OVC Football Association for the opportunity they gave us against outstanding competition,” said RMU head coach Bernard Clark. “We certainly look forward to renewing old NEC rivalries and competing against familiar opponents as well as embracing the familiarity of the league.”

The NEC will proudly showcase associate members across 13 sports for the 2024-25 season. These sports include baseball (Coppin State, Delaware State, UMES and Norfolk State), women’s bowling (Duquesne and Niagara), field hockey (Fairfield and Rider), football (Duquesne and Robert Morris), men's golf (Binghamton, Howard, UMES and North Carolina Central), women's golf (Delaware State, Howard, UMES and North Carolina Central), men's lacrosse (Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, Robert Morris and VMI), women's lacrosse (Delaware State and Howard), men's soccer (Howard), women's soccer (Delaware State and Howard), men's swimming and diving (Howard), women's swimming and diving (Howard), men's and women's tennis (Binghamton) and men’s volleyball (Daemen and D’Youville). 

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 43rd season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout five states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#34) and Syracuse (#85). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 15 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.