SOMERSET, NJ—Merrimack College athletics will be eligible for postseason championships as of the 2022-23 season as announced by the Northeast Conference on Tuesday.
Given the rule changes adopted by peer leagues in the past year and the increased focus on the student-athlete experience, the NEC Council of Presidents voted to allow reclassifying institutions to participate in the NEC postseason championships in years three and four of the four-year reclassification process. With the new policy in place, Merrimack becomes postseason eligible in 2022-23 and Stonehill in 2024-25.
"Merrimack is proud of the competitive success we have enjoyed through our first three years of reclassifying as a Division I institution," Director of Athletics
Jeremy Gibson said. "Thank you to the Northeast Conference and all of its members for providing the very meaningful opportunity of access to conference championships to all of Merrimack's teams and student-athletes."
The Warriors accepted the invitation to the Northeast Conference in September 2018 and had two teams clinch regular season titles since the College began its transition, with the men's soccer team going undefeated in league play for the title in 2019, men's basketball's 2019-20 regular season championship.
If a reclassifying institution wins the NEC Tournament championship, the tournament runner-up will advance to the NCAA Tournament as the NEC's automatic qualifier.
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.
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