Stonehill College Accepts Invitation to Play in Northeast Conference

SOMERSET, NJ- Stonehill College has accepted a membership invitation from the Northeast Conference (NEC) Council of Presidents to join the conference on July 1, 2022, it was announced today by NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris and Stonehill President Fr. John Denning, C.S.C.
 
Stonehill, located in Easton, Massachusetts, will begin competition in the NEC in the fall of 2022 and become a full member of the conference in 2026-27 upon completion of its four-year NCAA Division I reclassification period.
 
The NEC is expanding for the first time since 2018 when Merrimack College was added to the membership. Fairleigh Dickinson University, Long Island University, St. Francis College, Saint Francis University and Wagner College are charter NEC members. Mount St. Mary's University was admitted in 1989, Central Connecticut State University in 1997 and Sacred Heart University in 1999.
 
"On behalf of the NEC membership, I am thrilled to welcome President Fr. John Denning, Athletic Director Dean O'Keefe and the Stonehill College community to the NEC family," said Morris. "As we progressed through the membership evaluation process, it became abundantly clear that Stonehill will be a tremendous fit for the NEC from an academic, athletic and mission perspective. The Skyhawks have a strong history of success in all three realms, and they are well positioned to elevate to the Division I ranks and strengthen the NEC. We are extremely excited to kickoff the NEC and Stonehill College partnership this fall!"
 
Stonehill, a charter member of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10), will offer 23 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs upon joining the NEC next season. The Skyhawks will field nine men's and 14 women's athletic programs. Sports sponsorship at Stonehill includes baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, equestrian, field hockey, football, women's golf, men's and women's ice hockey, women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball.
 
Stonehill will sponsor 20 of the NEC's 25 championship sports in 2022-23, the only exceptions being men's golf, men's lacrosse, men's swimming and diving, men's volleyball and women's bowling.
 
Stonehill will be incorporated into NEC athletic schedules beginning with the 2022-23 season. During its reclassification Stonehill will be able to participate in NEC championships in NCAA non-automatic qualifier sports (cross country, swimming and diving, and indoor and outdoor track and field) only.
 
"I am deeply appreciative to the Northeast Conference for inviting us," said Denning. "As the College approaches its 75th anniversary, this move to the Northeast Conference and NCAA Division I athletics signals that Stonehill is prepared to achieve its fullest potential - both athletically and academically in the years to come. I also want to express my profound gratitude to the Northeast-10 Conference which has been Stonehill's athletic home for decades."
 
Stonehill Director of Athletics, Dean O'Keefe, expressed his enthusiasm about the college's elevation to DI and its affiliation with the NEC.
 
"Stonehill's move to Division I and membership in the Northeast Conference is a transformational moment in our history, and we are thrilled our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete at the highest level of collegiate athletics," said O'Keefe. "Our students, alumni, coaches, faculty, staff and the entire Stonehill community have together created a special tradition of athletic and academic excellence, and we are eager to build upon that strong foundation as Stonehill begins a bold new chapter of its exciting story."
 
Stonehill has won the NE10 Conference Presidents' Cup six times, finishing in the top three in the final standings 15 of the last 16 years. Stonehill is one of just ten institutions nationwide to receive the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement - which recognizes athletic departments with an Academic Success rating of 90 percent or better - in each of the first ten years of the program's existence. The College is ranked No. 98 in the category of National Liberal Arts Schools and No. 94 for the Best Value category by U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, Stonehill has seen 30 student-athletes named Academic All-Americans by the College Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA), including 22 within the last ten years, out of 147 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections.
 
Stonehill teams have earned 118 NCAA Tournament bids over its history, also regularly sending student-athletes to compete at the NCAA Championships in men's and women's track & field. Women's basketball leads with 26 NCAA Tournament appearances, followed by women's cross country with 21 appearances, 18 by men's cross country and 15 each by men's basketball and women's tennis.
 
The Skyhawks have won 129 NE10 Championships over the Conference's 41-year history and 189 student-athletes have earned All-America honors. Over the last ten years, 51 teams have qualified for the NCAA Tournament, with men's basketball capturing two East Region Championships with trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, and a National Semifinals appearance in 2012. The women's basketball program won its third regional title in 2018 to advance to the Elite Eight for the third time in program history. Women's lacrosse won national championships in 2003 and 2005, and Corey Thomas won the indoor high jump national title at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
A campus celebration will he hosted by Stonehill at Merkert Gymnasium with a live stream of the event available via NEC Front Row on Wednesday, April 6, at 3:00 pm.
 
For media inquiries, please contact Doug Monson (Assistant Director of Athletics, Communications) at dmonson@stonehill.edu or Ron Ratner (NEC Senior Associate Commissioner) at rratner@northeastconference.org.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 41st season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout seven states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9), Baltimore (#26), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53). 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 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions in 2022-23 will include Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary's, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, 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.
 
About Stonehill College
Stonehill College, a Catholic institution of higher learning, was founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1948. Located on the beautiful 384-acre campus and former estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames in North Easton, Massachusetts, it is a community of scholarship and faith, anchored by a belief in the inherent dignity of each person.
 
Through more than 100 academic programs in the liberal arts, sciences, business and pre-professional field, Stonehill College provides an education of the highest caliber that fosters critical thinking, free inquiry and the interchange of ideas for over 2,500 students.
 
Stonehill College educates the whole person so that each Stonehill graduate thinks, acts and leads with courage toward the creation of a more just and compassionate world.