What is #NECPride
#NECPride is about having pride in your team, your school and the will to succeed both on and off the field.
#NECPride is about achievement, ambition, perseverance, community, passion, respect, determination, unity and teamwork.
Northeast Conference History
The 2019-20 academic year marks the 39th for the Northeast Conference (NEC) in its journey as an NCAA Division I athletic entity. In that time, the NEC mission has remained remarkably consistent: to provide opportunities for student-athletes to achieve their fullest potential in the classroom, in athletic competition and in the community.
Focusing on the areas of student-athlete achievement, academic excellence, integrity, sportsmanship, equity and diversity, innovation, community partnership and national engagement, the NEC continues to make great strides under the leadership of Commissioner Noreen Morris, now in the 11th year of her tenure. And with the unveiling of the NEC's new five-year Strategic Plan providing a blueprint for the future, there is no shortage of excitement headed into the 2019-20 season as the NEC looks to stand out among its peers, while fostering a sense of #NECPride amongst its student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.
When the Northeast Conference (NEC) was first established as the ECAC-Metro Conference back in 1981, the league’s founders had one goal in mind: to create a competitive NCAA Division I men’s basketball conference for unaffiliated schools on the Eastern seaboard. A single-sport entity at its inception, the NEC has grown far beyond expectations over the past three plus decades, having transformed itself into a 11-member, 23-sport conference.
The remarkable success story of the Conference began to unfold in 1985, when the league began sponsoring additional sports. Three years later, a change of name was in order and the Northeast Conference as we know it today was born. With membership and sport sponsorship continuing to grow over the years, the NEC now enjoys qualification or play-in access to 16 different NCAA Championships (baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women's bowling, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, men's and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis and women’s volleyball).
Though the NEC has featured various incarnations since its inception, charter members Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Robert Morris, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner remain part of the current 10-school alignment. They are joined by Mount St. Mary’s (admitted in 1989), Central Connecticut (1997), Sacred Heart (1999), Bryant (2012) and the league's newest member, Merrimack. The Warriors, who will become a full member of the conference in 2023-24 upon completion of its four-year NCAA Division I reclassification period, increase the NEC's geographic footprint to seven states, including access to such major media markets as New York City, Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Hartford and Providence.
NEC member institutions now compete in 23 championship sports: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s bowling, men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball.
An Innovative Leader
The Northeast Conference emphasizes the overarching idea that being a NEC student-athlete is about more than wins and losses; it is about educating and developing the whole person in five key areas:
• Classroom Achievement
• Community Involvement
• Campus Life
• Career Aspirations
• Conference Camaraderie
To spread its message, the NEC has fully embraced social media to reach its growing fan base. The Conference has built a loyal following on its Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and SnapChat, and the NEC Overtime! blog remains a popular destination spot for fans of the league.
One of the landmark moments in Northeast Conference history came back in August, 2012 with the launch of NEC Front Row.
Now celebrating its seven-year anniversary, the NEC’s popular digital platform continued to be a unifying thread among conference members and a one-stop portal for the league’s fans.
The NEC’s state-of-the-art digital network debuted to rave reviews and has since attracted a loyal following for its rich set of content, which includes live regular season and NEC Championship events, on-demand video, highlight packages, coaches shows, features, original programming and access to league’s extensive digital library, all free of charge to users. The network gives fans inside access to the NEC and its student-athletes on the field, in the classroom, across campus, and in the community.
By the end of year seven, approximately 5,200 live events had been broadcast on Front Row with nearly 2.4 million viewers tuning in to the network.
The NEC hosted the fourth NEC Football “Social” Media Day from Giants Stadium last July followed by the seventh annual NEC Basketball “Social” Media Day at the state-of-the-art Barclays Center in October. The two events ceremoniously kicked off and tipped off their respective seasons. Fans were able to watch the festivities live on NEC Front Row and ESPN3. The broadcasts were interactive ones during which fans were encouraged to tweet comments and questions with the best making it on air.
The NEC unveiled its All In, Ball Out basketball marketing campaign last season to positive reviews. In addition to a host of social media content meant to engage NEC fans throughout the year, the initiative included three new basketball theme nights to help drive interest and attendance at league venues. To tipoff the start of league play in January, league teams hosted Happy NEC New Year’s themed events at their venues to help celebrate the first steps on the road leading to March Madness. Later in January, NEC teams hosted DHs on Martin Luther King Day, with a focus on community outreach and celebrating a theme of “Unity” throughout the league as the NEC provided co-branded shooting shirts to all of its basketball student-athletes. The final theme night focused on “Love and Basketball” as teams ran a number of special promotions around games that were played over the Valentine’s Day weekend this year. The NEC provided customized schedule magnets to each institution featuring both a men’s and women’s player as part of this theme night.
NEC Front Row was there when the basketball season tipped off at NEC “Social” Media Day, and returned for the climax as well via NEC Front Row Live! The online digital network was on the scene at the men’s and women’s title games, providing live pre- and post-game coverage wrapped around the ESPN broadcasts.
The NEC completed year four of a partnership with SnappyTV. Part of Twitter, SnappyTV enables the NEC and its members to rapidly create and distribute in-game highlights from NEC Front Row broadcasts via social media platforms. SnappyTV clips were picked up by national outlets such as ESPN, CBS, Bleacher Report and SB Nation.
The NEC produced a slate of original content in 2018-19, most notably The Whole Nine Yards (football) and NEC on the Run (men’s and women’s basketball) weekly shows that aired exclusively on NEC Front Row. The comprehensive programs aired highlights of recent events, previewed upcoming games, showcased spotlight performers, broke down key plays and tackled the latest in social media.
NEC Front Row brought fans the league’s own version of the SportsCenter Top-10 throughout the 2018-19 season, including the NEC Super 7 (football plays of the week) and NEC9 (top hoops plays).
The conference placed a strong emphasis on visual based communication, producing high quality artwork to celebrate the NEC’s athletic, academic and community service achievements, as well as the league’s commitment to good sportsmanship. Likewise, all year-end major award winners in every sport were honored with their own cutting-edge graphics.
Having provided an alternate take on the world of NEC sports since 2011, the NEC Overtime! Blog continued to be a favorite destination for fans of the Conference and its members. Spearheaded by Ralph Ventre (@NECRalph), the blog showcased important happenings from around the NEC and served as a home for social media roundups, fan polls and #NECinthePros updates during the 2018-19 academic calendar. The NEC also welcomed Ryan Peters (MBB) and Craig D’Amico (WBB) as Overtime! feature writers in 2018-19.
With continued support through the basketball enhancement fund, the NEC once again maintained a comprehensive radio advertising campaign this winter. The NEC had a season-long radio presence in every market it serves, including New York (WFAN Sports Radio 66 & 101.9 FM), Pittsburgh (93.7 FM “The Fan”), Baltimore (105.7 FM “The Fan”), Hartford (ESPN Radio), Altoona (ESPN Radio) and Providence (WPRO).
Each of the 26 games in the 2018-19 NEC hoops package was distributed nationally in some form. All games aired on either an ESPN platform or CBS Sports Network (CBSSN). Likewise, the eight-game NEC football package aired exclusively on ESPN3.
Success in the Classroom
It was another memorable year in the classroom for the Northeast Conference (NEC) student-athletes.
Overall, the NEC’s 4,500+ student-athletes posted a combined 3.265 GPA for the 2018-19 academic year, the second-best showing in league history. The high-water mark was set in 2017-19 with a 3.281 combined GPA.
In claiming its third NEC Institutional Academic Award and first since 2013-14, Robert Morris set a new single-year conference record with a combined 3.432 grade point average across 13 sports. The Colonials just barely edged out LIU Brooklyn, which finished with a 3.427 GPA. Both schools broke the previous record of 3.423 established by Saint Francis U in 2017-18.
Nine of the NEC’s ten institutions compiled a program-wide GPA of at least 3.0 and 79.0 percent of NEC teams registered a 3.0 or better GPA.
There were 2,427 student-athletes were named to NEC Academic Honor Rolls in 2018-19. Likewise, 761 student-athletes were tabbed to the Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll with GPAs of 3.75 or higher, a 5.7 percent jump from 2017-18.
The NCAA honored 33 NEC teams with Public Recognition awards for exceptional academic performance. The 33 teams represented 17 sports from all 10 NEC institutions. The NEC tied for 10th among the 32 NCAA Division I conferences in four-year APR. Men’s basketball student-athletes compiled a 97 percent GSR to rank fourth nationally and 41 percent of NEC teams earned a perfect GSR.
Athletic Achievement
To have #NECPride is to live it, and NEC student-athletes did just that on the field of play during the 2018-19 season, a year that yielded 12 All-American selections, three Academic All-Americans and eight teams which earned national rankings in their respective sports.
Sacred Heart extended its own NEC record by winning the program’s eighth Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup. The Pioneers also won the Joan Martin Women’s Cup for the 11th time, padding their own NEC all-time mark. Bryant captured the Men’s Cup for the sixth straight year.
The NEC set a new record with five schools combining to win six NCAA Tournament games in 2018-19. Sacred Heart (women’s bowling over #1 Vanderbilt & Caldwell), CCSU (baseball over California), Fairleigh Dickinson (men’s basketball over Prairie View A&M), Wagner (women’s lacrosse over Fairfield) and Duquesne (football over Towson) all emerging victorious in their respective NCAA tourneys.
It was yet another strong season for NEC women’s bowling. Remarkably, six of the NEC’s seven bowling members ranked among America’s best in the final NTCA Top-25 poll. Perennial national power Fairleigh Dickinson finished the year ranked ninth. The Knights were joined by NEC champion Sacred Heart (12th), Saint Francis U (13th), Mount St. Mary’s (19th), Duquesne (20th) and LIU Brooklyn (23rd).
Jessica Kovatch wrote the final chapter of her legendary NEC career that will likely lead to a spot in the NEC Hall of Fame down the line. The sharpshooting Saint Francis U senior guard became the fourth player in conference history to win back-to-back NEC Player of the Year honors. She ended her four years with an NEC hoops record 2,874 points and left as the NCAA’s leading active scorer. Her 472 career three-pointers ranks second all-time in NCAA history. Kovatch finished her 2018-19 campaign second in the nation with 123 triples.
For the second year in a row, the NEC women’s basketball final doubled as a battle for Western Pennsylvania supremacy. Playing in front of a raucous home crowd at the North Athletic Complex and across the country on ESPNU, Robert Morris turned the tables on Saint Francis U, winning its eighth NEC crown with a 65-54 win over the Red Flash. RMU (NCAA) and Sacred Heart (WNIT) advanced to the postseason.
Possessing a unique skill set that made him an undeniable force in the conference and the unquestioned centerpiece of the regular season champs, Saint Francis U junior Keith Braxton was named the NEC Player of the Year and an AP Honorable Mention All-American. He is on pace to become the NEC’s all-time rebound leader and the first 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound player in conference annals.
Hosting its first NEC men’s basketball final since winning it all in 1991, Saint Francis U packed the Stokes Center in anticipation of a court storming, but FDU had other ideas. The Knights’ five starters scored every single point in a 85-76 win over the Flash that gave FDU its sixth NEC championship.
A record four NEC men’s basketball teams competed in the postseason. NEC champ FDU went on to knock off Prairie View A&M in the First Four before facing Gonzaga. Saint Francis U took on Indiana in the Postseason NIT. Robert Morris downed Cornell in the CIT before falling to Presbyterian in the second round. St. Francis Brooklyn squared off with Hampton in the CIT.
Competing against a loaded field, Saint Francis U senior Dashaum Jackson finished fourth in the NCAA 110m hurdles final to earn first team USTFCCCA All-American outdoor honors. He was joined at nationals by SFU javelin thrower Sara Phelan.
The Bryant men’s tennis team continued its remarkable run with a sixth straight NEC title to match the longest championship streak in league history. Senior Matt Kuhar was unanimously selected as the NEC Player of the Year for the third consecutive season. He reached as high as #77 in the ITA rankings and ascended to #38 in the doubles rankings with Wilson Dong. Kuhar and Dong became the first NEC doubles team in conference annals to earn a spot in the NCAA Doubles Championship.
It’s not about how you start, but how you finish. Look no further than Robert Morris for proof of the adage. The defending champion Colonials started the year 1-7 and then refused to lose, winning eight straight matches culminating with a 11-10 win over Hobart in the NEC final. RMU won both its NEC Tournament matches by a single goal after qualifying on the final day of the regular season with a come-from-behind 16-15 OT win over the Statesmen. Hobart itself ranked as high as 19th nationally in the Inside Lacrosse media poll and 20th in the USILA poll.
Saint Francis U softball was not ready to relinquish its NEC dominance. After winning 38 straight games against league competitors entering the season, the Red Flash fought their way to an NEC three-peat after entering the conference playoffs as the #3 seed. SFU has now won 117 games over the last three years.
Duquesne earned the NEC’s second-ever FCS playoff win with a 31-10 trouncing of Towson in the first round. The Dukes ended the year ranked 21st in the final STATS FCS Poll and 24th in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll.
NEC football produced seven All-Americans. Wagner’s Ryan Fulse and Duquesne’s AJ Hines occupied both running back slots on the STATS FCS All-America First Team. Bryant junior return specialist Jean Constant also secured first team STATS honors. Overall, STATS tabbed six All-Americans from the NEC as Central Connecticut offensive guard J’Von Brown (second team), Wagner linebacker Cameron Gill (second team) and Saint Francis U safety Hakeem Kinard (third team) joined the trio of first team honorees. Fulse (first team), Hines (second team), Gill (third team) and RMU tight end Matthew Gonzalez also earned AP All-America recognition.
Sacred Heart senior midfielder Max Tuttle was named a USILA Third Team All-American, the first in program history.
Led by senior Anna Grigoryan, LIU Brooklyn extended its NEC women’s tennis title run to three this past April. In doing so, Grigoryan became the first three-time NEC Player of the Year in conference history.
Bryant hurler Steve Theetge and Chris Wright (utility) were named CBN All-America third team selections. Bryant outfielder Ryan Ward was also tabbed to the ABCA/Rawlings All-America third team and Theetge was selected as an ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winner.
The NEC sported multiple ECAC major award winners. CCSU’s Madelyn Kaprelyn was voted ECAC Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year. Wagner’s Cameron Gill was named the ECAC Football Defensive Player of the Year, CCSU’s Ashley Cavanaugh claimed defensive honors in women’s soccer and LIU Brooklyn’s Natalia Rivera was the pick for women’s volleyball DPOY. LIU Brooklyn’s Brandy Thomas and Sam Ilin were tabbed the ECAC Women’s Basketball and Men’s Soccer Rookie of the Year, respectively. CCSU’s Mick D’Arcy was selected the ECAC Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year.
FDU’s Ahu Obhakhan dominated on the pitch and in the classroom. The senior not only repeated as an All-NEC first team selection, he also earned his second straight NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor in men’s soccer and was named to the Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-America team for the second year in a row with his selection to the second team. Similarly, Robert Morris senior linebacker Adam Wollet made it back-to-back All-NEC second team accolades, while repeating as the football scholar-athlete award winner. He too was named an Academic All-America for the second year running, this time earning first team recognition.
On Campus & In The Community
The NEC, its member institutions and student-athletes have made community involvement an important piece of its mission.
The NEC SAAC delivered its biggest dent to hunger yet in 2018-19. Accounting for a 31.5 percent increase over the previous year’s record total, the fourth annual NEC SAAC Canned Food Drive competition resulted in the collection of 14,310 non-perishable food items. Saint Francis U won the conference-wide competition, gathering an all-time high 3,849 goods that were donated to the Dorothy Day Outreach Center in Loretto. SAAC leaders at each of the league’s 10 core member institutions organized collection efforts on their respective campuses prior to the holiday season and selected local charities as the recipients of the collected items.
The SAAC “Money Wars” fund-raising initiative to support the children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation raised $13,841 in 2018-19. For the second year in a row, Saint Francis U led the charge and received the Money Wars trophy by raising $4,693. Over the course of the NEC’s ten-year partnership with the Harrisburg-headquartered charitable foundation, the league’s student-athletes have worked together to raise a grand total of $102,070. The monetary donations to the Foundation assist children under age 18 and their families who are facing the hardships of a cancer diagnosis.
For the second straight year, Saint Francis U was the recipient of the NEC Building Communities award, as presented by Insperity. The award recognizes the institution that demonstrates the highest dedication to making an impact in the community through the efforts of its student-athletes, coaches and administrators. SFU logged 9,210 hours and conference members logged a record 40,530 hours of community service over the course of the 2018-19 academic year.
For the first time, Saint Francis U was the recipient of the NEC Building Communities award, presented by Bayer. The award recognizes the institution that demonstrates the highest dedication to making an impact in the community through the efforts of its student-athletes, coaches and administrators. SFU logged 5,817 hours and conference members recorded 31,400 hours of community service over the course of the 2017-18 academic year.
FDU baseball player Evan McDonald and Wagner golfer Pascalle Tego were named the 2018-19 NEC Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year, respectively, as presented by Provident Bank. The SAAC co-chairs sit on the voting panel for the award, which recognizes individual excellence in both the academic and athletic realms as well as leadership and contributions to one’s community.
Wagner men’s tennis player Charlton Boyd and Robert Morris women’s lacrosse player Dana Davis were named the 2017-18 NEC Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year, respectively, as presented by Provident Bank. The SAAC co-chairs sit on the voting panel for the award, which recognizes individual excellence in both the academic and athletic realms as well as leadership and contributions to one’s community.
Wagner tennis player Vedika Anand and Bryant runner Brian Salit served as NEC SAAC Co-Chairs in 2018-19. The two student-athletes represented the NEC on the NCAA DI SAAC, attended the 2019 NCAA Convention on behalf of the SAAC and coordinated feedback from NEC student-athletes on “hot topic” issues.
NEC student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators had the privilege to hear a presentation from nationally recognized speaker Dr. Derek Greenfield this past season. As part of the NEC Speakers Bureau, he traveled to NEC schools and worked with individual student-athletes, coaches and teams to discuss specific topics related to conflict resolution, diversity & inclusion.
Commitment to Sportsmanship
The NEC continued its long-running participation in the NCAA’s Respect Campaign, an effort to promote an environment of respect and integrity at Conference events.
The NEC Team Sportsmanship Award program recognized those teams and student-athletes who adhere to the principles of sportsmanship and pursue victory with honor. The NEC honored 22 teams for their commitment to sportsmanship during the 2018-19 academic year. Every NEC member won at least one award and Sacred Heart finished with a league-high four sportsmanship accolades.
Since the NEC Team Sportsmanship program was instituted in 2008-09, Saint Francis U has won a conference-best 38 awards.
Enhancements & The Future
In recent years, the NEC has taken aim at elevating the brand awareness of the league, improving the caliber of its championship events and enhancing the opportunities and experiences for student-athletes that compete in the Conference.
The NEC has raised its commitment to basketball through a host of strategic initiatives, most notably via a Brand and Basketball Enhancement fund and the implementation of state-of-the-art Daktronics LED signage at all arenas. Last season marked year eight of the NEC’s longstanding basketball marketing grant program. In addition, for the first time each NEC institution was provided with a merchandise credit to purchase promotional items to primarily help support their marketing efforts. The fund was also used to help support the NEC's All In, Ball Out
branding campaign.
For the start of the 2019-20 season, the conference will unveil a slew of NEC on the Run streaming and mobile apps to make the Front Row viewing experience even more enjoyable for fans. Among the highlights:
• NEC on the Run streaming apps will be available for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV & Fire TV Stick and Chromecast.
• A revamped iOS mobile app will debut along with he launch of an Android app.
• Most events will stream in 1080p.
• The NEC Front Row website will be revamped with a larger viewer and more user-friendly navigation.
The NEC also plans to stream the majority of its championships on ESPN3 this coming year in addition to airing on NEC Front Row.
Finally, the fall of 2019 marks the return of field hockey to the NEC following a seven-year absence. Field hockey will become the NEC's 23rd championship sport.