Merrimack Warriors


The Merrimack Warriors are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Merrimack College, located in North Andover, Massachusetts, United States, in National Collegiate Athletic Association sporting competitions. All of the Warrior athletic teams compete at the Division I level. Men's and women's ice hockey compete in the Hockey East conference, and football competes as an NCAA [Division I FCS independent schools|FCS Independent], while the remaining teams are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
The college's combination of academic and athletic success has garnered Merrimack the #4 ranking in the country among NCAA Division II schools in the Top 100 Collegiate Power Rankings that are published by the National College Scouting Association. Merrimack finished 96th in the overall NCSA Power Rankings across all three NCAA divisions.
During the 2019–20 season Merrimack began their four-year transition from Division II to Division I and became a full Division I member in the 2023–24 season, making Merrimack eligible for all NCAA tournaments.
In 2024, the school announced it would join the MAAC, and the football team would become an FCS independent.

History

Highlights of Merrimack athletic history include four national championships: the 1978 men's hockey team won the Division II [men's ice hockey">NCAA Division II">Division II [men's ice hockey tournament|Division II men's ice hockey championship]; the 1994 women's softball team won the Division II Women's College World Series; and men's lacrosse won the 2018 and 2019 National Title. In 2006, Merrimack football became Northeast-10 co-champions and received their first NCAA Division II playoff bid to go on to win their first NCAA playoff game. In 2012, Merrimack men's tennis became Northeast-10 champions, led by senior captains Max Eppley and Sean Pahler, and first-year head coach Sean Tully. This was Merrimack's first-ever men's tennis championship. In 2019 the college announced they would move up to Division I and join the NEC. The men's basketball team won the NEC regular season in just their first year along with the Men’s soccer team. Many of the other programs also had success in their first couple of seasons, showing the school could compete at the DI level. In 2024, the women's bowling team became the first non-hockey team to make the Division I tournament. Later that year it was announced the school would leave the NEC to join the MAAC.

Varsity teams

Merrimack College participates in 25 varsity sports at the Division I level. The men's hockey team had been competing at the DI level since the mid-80s. In 2019, it was announced that the school would move all their programs to the Division I level and join the Northeast Conference. In 2023, the school added two new programs: men's volleyball and women's bowling. In 2024, the school announced they would join the MAAC. However, the field hockey program would stay in the NEC and the football team would become independent, due to the MAAC not sponsoring football.

Football

Merrimack has made one appearance in the NCAA Division II football playoffs; their record is 1–1.

Conferences

Basketball

The Merrimack college men’s basketball team has had a fair amount of success at the Division II level, making the NCAA tournament 11 times. They made an even bigger splash in 2019–20 [Northeast Conference men's basketball season|2019-2020], in their first Division I season. They went 14-4 in conference and 20-11 overall, to win the NEC regular season. This was the first time that a transitioning team had won a regular season title in their first year. The Warriors also won the NEC tournament in 2023, but could not go to the NCAA tournament because of the NCAA transition period.

Hockey

The Merrimack college men's ice hockey program was one of the first sports to be recognized as a varsity program, in 1954. They were very successful at the D2 level, winning numerous ECAC 2 championships in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, they became the first team in school history to win a national championship, beating Lake Forest 12-2. In 1985, they became the first Merrimack program to move to DI. From 1987 to 1989, they won three straight ECAC East titles. They got an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in 1988 after a 32-win campaign. They were the first team in school history to make a D1 NCAA tournament. During the 1989-90 season, they officially joined Hockey East, where they remain.

Soccer

Merrimack College men's soccer team made school history in 2012, with the program's first-ever NCAA Division II national tournament berth. After finishing in first place in the Northeast-10 regular season, the team won the first round of the tournament against rivals Franklin Pierce University, but were knocked out the following round by Northeast-10 rivals Southern [New Hampshire University]. The 2012 men's soccer team was led by head coach Anthony Martone and assistant coaches Derek Valego, Michael Allen, Eric Ernst and Sam Nunes. The team was led on the field by captains Alejandro Fuchs of Caracas, Venezuela and Nelson da Graca of Gothenburg, Sweden. In their first year at the DI level, the team went 11-3-2 overall, and had a perfect 9-0 in NEC play.

Lacrosse

The Merrimack men's lacrosse team saw much success in the late 2010s, making five straight D2 tournament appearances from 2015 to 2019. They made the final four in 2015 and 2016, and were national runners up in 2017. In 2018, they beat Saint Leo 23-6 to win their first national championship. They then went back-to-back, beating Limestone 16-8 in 2019, closing out their time at the D2 level on top.

Softball

Merrimack college softball has had incredible success at the Division II level, especially in the 1990s, when they won six conference tournament titles and seven regular season titles. They went 45-4 and won the national championship. They had 15 total appearances in the NCAA tournament at the D2 level, including five regional championships.

NCAA championships

National championships

  • Men's ice hockey: 1978
  • Softball: 1994
  • Men's lacrosse: 2018, 2019

Individual national championships

  • 2015-16
  • 2016
  • 2016-17
  • 2017

National championship runner up

  • Men's ice hockey: 1984
  • Men's lacrosse: 2017

Regional championships

  • Women's basketball: 2004, 2005
  • Softball: 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000
  • Women's soccer: 1996

Appearances

  • Baseball : 1990, 1995, 1996, 2018
  • Men's basketball : 1977, 1978, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2019
  • Sweet 16 appearances : 1976, 1977
  • Women's basketball : 2003, 2004, 2005
  • Sweet 16 appearances : 2004, 2005
  • Elite 8 appearances : 2004, 2005
  • Final four appearances : 2004, 2005
  • Football : 2006
  • Men's ice hockey :
  • *Division II: 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984
  • *Division II runner up: 1984
  • *Division II frozen four: 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984
  • *Division I: 1988, 2011, 2023
  • Men's lacrosse : 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
  • Runner up: 2017
  • Final four 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
  • Women's soccer : 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
  • Softball : 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2011, 2017, 2018
  • World Series appearances: 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000
  • Men's tennis : 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
  • Women's tennis : 2009, 2014
  • Field hockey : 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018
  • Women's volleyball : 2007, 2008
  • Men's soccer : 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
  • Women's cross country : 2018
  • Women's bowling : 2024

Conference championships

Northeast

  • Men's basketball regular season : 2020,2023,2024
  • Men's basketball tournament champions : 2023
  • Men's soccer regular season : 2019
  • Women's soccer regular season : 2023
  • Women's bowling tournament : 2024
Other
  • NEC Men's Commissioners Cup: 2023, 2024

Northeast-10

  • Baseball tournament : 1990, 1995, 1996, 2018
  • Baseball regular season : 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999
  • Football : 2006, 2009
  • Men's basketball tournament : 1992, 2000, 2019
  • Men's basketball regular season : 2000
  • Women's basketball tournament : 2004
  • Women's basketball regular season : 2004, 2005
  • Women's cross country : 1997, 1998, 1999
  • Men's lacrosse tournament : 2000, 2010, 2018
  • Men's lacrosse regular season : 2013, 2019
  • Men's soccer tournament : 1995, 1996, 1997, 2017
  • Men's soccer regular season : 1994, 1996, 1997, 2012
  • Women's soccer tournament : 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999
  • Women's soccer regular season : 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999
  • Softball tournament : 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002
  • Softball regular season : 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2017
  • Men's tennis tournament : 2012, 2013, 2015
  • Men's tennis regular season : 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
  • Women's tennis regular season : 2014
  • Field hockey regular season : 2011, 2012
  • Women's volleyball regular season : 1999
  • Women's golf : 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
Other
  • NE10 Presidents Cup: 2000, 2018

ECAC

  • Mens ice hockey tournament: ECAC 2 : 1967, 1968, 1977, 1980, ECAC east : 1987, 1988, 1989
  • Mens ice hockey regular season: ECAC 2 : 1968, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1977, ECAC east : 1987, 1988, 1989
  • Men's soccer : 1997
  • Women's soccer : 1988, 2000
  • Men's lacrosse : 1999, 2000
  • Men's basketball : 1989, 1998, 1999
  • Baseball : 1988, 1989, 1995

Spirit squads

The switch from Division II to Division I meant a corresponding expansion and support of Merrimack's spirit squads.

Dance Team

Merrimack's dance team placed third at the NDA College Nationals in 2022, and came in second in 2023. The team was elevated to varsity level status in spring 2023.

Mack the Warrior mascot

The warrior mascot first appeared as a Native American chief on the jerseys of the basketball team. In 1972, the warrior mascot became official.
In 2003, "Mack the Warrior" was introduced as a new mascot for the school. Mack's look was redesigned in October 2023. He is depicted as a costumed knight figure in the school's yellow and blue colors, with sword, shield, cape, and helmet.

Marching band

Although Merrimack had a pep band, the school's first full marching band wasn't formed until 2021, as a result of the school's move to Division I athletics. In November 2021, shortly after forming, the band appeared in a cameo in a scene in the Whitney Houston biopic "Whitney Houston: [I Wanna Dance with Somebody|I Wanna Dance with Somebody]," which was filmed at Gillette Stadium in nearby Foxborough.
In 2024 the band traveled to Ireland to support the 2024–25 [Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey season|men’s hockey team] at the Friendship Four tournament in Belfast.