Northeast-10 Conference
The Northeast 10 Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. It is the only Division II collegiate ice hockey conference in the United States.
History
The original 1980 conference was called the "Northeast 7" as the colleges were American International College, Assumption College, Bentley College, Bryant College, the University of Hartford, Springfield College, and Stonehill College. In 1981, Saint Anselm College was the eighth team to join and the resulting "NE-8" stayed this way until 1984 when the University of Hartford left and Merrimack College joined.The “Northeast 10” name came about in 1987 when Saint Michael's College and Quinnipiac College joined the league. The conference remained stable until 1995 when Springfield College left for Division III. The league stayed at ten members as Le Moyne College joined the league in 1996 from the New England Collegiate Conference and briefly expanded to eleven when Pace University joined in 1997 from the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference. Quinnipiac moved to the Division I Northeast Conference to again return the membership to ten.
The last major expansion took place prior to 2000, when five new schools joined the fold. Franklin Pierce College, Southern New Hampshire University, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Southern Connecticut State University and the College of Saint Rose giving the NE10 15 members.
Since the addition of those five institutions, the league has added football, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field as championship sports. The expansion continued in 2003–04 as the conference added another three championships – men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving, and men's ice hockey. However, because the NE10 is the sole Division II men's ice hockey league, its postseason champion cannot compete for the NCAA national hockey championship.
David Brunk, the first full-time commissioner in league history, announced in April he was resigning July 1, 2007 to take over the Peach Belt Conference. Brunk had been commissioner since 1998. Julie Ruppert became the next full-time commissioner in June 2008, becoming the first female Division II commissioner in the country.
In 2008, Bryant University announced it would begin the five-year process that would make them a full Division I member by 2012; at the same time the NE10 announced that it had given a bid to University of New Haven and they had accepted. In December 2007, Adelphi University announced it had joined the league and began playing in 2009–10. To start the 2008–09 academic year, the NE10 still had 15 members and expanded to 16 in 2009–10.
On July 1, 2013, UMass Lowell left the NE10 to join the Division I America East Conference. With the departure of UMass Lowell, the Northeast-10 Conference had 15 remaining members.
Two other changes to the conference membership, both taking effect with the 2019–20 school year, were announced in 2018. First, Merrimack announced that it would begin a transition to Division I and join the Northeast Conference. Then, Long Island University announced that it would unify its two athletic programs – the Division I LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and the Division II LIU Post Pioneers, the latter of which was a NE10 affiliate member in field hockey and football at the time of announcement into a single D-I athletic program under the LIU name. As such, the LIU Post field hockey team was merged with LIU Brooklyn's previously existing team in that sport, and the LIU Post football team became the new LIU football team, competing as a Division I FCS team in the Northeast Conference. Thus, the NE10 was at a total of 14 member schools. In 2022, the number was reduced to 13 with Stonehill College's announcement of its departure for Division I's Northeast Conference.
The next change in conference membership took place on July 1, 2023 when Le Moyne left for the NEC, dropping the NE10 to 12 members for the 2023–24 season.
In 2023, St. Rose announced it was ceasing operations after the 2023–24 academic year, dropping the NE10 to 11 members, effective for the 2024–25 school year.
On May 6, 2025, New Haven announced it had accepted an invitation to join the Northeast Conference and begin its reclassification from Division II, starting on July 1, 2025; thus leaving the NE10 to 10 members, effective for the 2025–26 school year.
Chronological timeline
- 1980 – The Northeast-10 Conference was founded. Charter members included American International College, Assumption College, Bentley College, Bryant College, the University of Hartford, Springfield College and Stonehill College, beginning the 1980–81 academic year.
- 1981 – Saint Anselm College joined the NE10 in the 1981–82 academic year.
- 1984
- * Hartford left the NE10 to join the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the ECAC North Atlantic Conference after the 1983–84 academic year.
- * Merrimack College joined the NE10 in the 1984–85 academic year.
- 1987 – Quinnipiac College and Saint Michael's College joined the NE10 in the 1987–88 academic year.
- 1995 – Springfield left the NE10 to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Constitution Athletic Conference after the 1994–95 academic year.
- 1996 – Le Moyne College joined the NE10 in the 1996–97 academic year.
- 1997 – Pace University joined the NE10 in the 1997–98 academic year.
- 1998 – Quinnipiac left the NE10 to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the Northeast Conference after the 1997–98 academic year.
- 2000 – Franklin Pierce College, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, New Hampshire College, the College of Saint Rose and Southern Connecticut State University joined the NE10 in the 2000–01 academic year.
- 2001 – Long Island University–Post joined the NE10 as an associate member for football in the 2001 fall season.
- 2008
- * Bryant left the NE10 to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the NEC after the 2007–08 academic year.
- * LIU Post left the NE10 as an associate member for football after the 2007 fall season.
- * The University of New Haven joined the NE10 in the 2008–09 academic year.
- 2009 – Adelphi University joined the NE10 in the 2009–10 academic year.
- 2013
- * UMass Lowell left the NE10 to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the America East Conference after the 2012–13 academic year.
- * LIU Post rejoined the NE10 as an associate member for football in the 2013 fall season.
- 2019
- * Merrimack left the NE10 to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the NEC after the 2018–19 academic year.
- * LIU Post left the NE10 as an associate member for football and field hockey after the 2018 fall season, as the school announced that it would merge with Long Island University–Brooklyn to unify its athletic programs after the 2018 fall season.
- * Four institutions joined the NE10 as associate members, all effective in the 2019–20 academic year:
- ** Mercy College, Molloy College and St. Thomas Aquinas College for field hockey
- ** and Post University for men's ice hockey
- 2022 – Stonehill left the NE10 to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the NEC after the 2021–22 academic year.
- 2023
- * Le Moyne left the NE10 to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the NEC after the 2022–23 academic year.
- * The College of Staten Island joined the NE10 as an associate member in both men's and women's swimming and diving in the 2023–24 academic year.
- 2024
- * Saint Rose left the NE10 as the school announced that it ceased operations after the 2023–24 academic year.
- * Post added football to its NE10 associate membership in the 2024 season.
- 2025
- * The American International men's ice hockey team rejoined the NE10 after moving down from Division I to Division II, beginning the 2025–26 academic year.
- * New Haven left the NE10 to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the NEC, beginning the 2025–26 academic year.
- * The University of Bridgeport and Felician University joined the NE10 as associate members in both men's and women's swimming and diving, beginning the 2025–26 academic year.
- 2026 – Mercy, Molloy, and St. Thomas Aquinas will leave the NE10 as associate members for field hockey to move their programs to their full-time conference home of the ECC once it begins play in the 2026 season.
Member schools
Current members
The NE10 currently has 10 full members; all but one are private schools.| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Colors |
| Adelphi University | Garden City, New York | 1896 | Nonsectarian | 7,603 | Panthers | 2009 | |
| American International College | Springfield, Massachusetts | 1885 | Nonsectarian | 2,010 | Yellow Jackets | 1980 | |
| Assumption University | Worcester, Massachusetts | 1904 | Catholic | 2,044 | Greyhounds | 1980 | |
| Bentley University | Waltham, Massachusetts | 1917 | Nonsectarian | 4,526 | Falcons | 1980 | |
| Franklin Pierce University | Rindge, New Hampshire | 1962 | Nonsectarian | 1,172 | Ravens | 2000 | |
| Pace University | Pleasantville, New York | 1906 | Nonsectarian | 14,092 | Setters | 1997 | |
| Saint Anselm College | Goffstown, New Hampshire | 1889 | Catholic | 2,111 | Hawks | 1981 | |
| Saint Michael's College | Colchester, Vermont | 1904 | Catholic | 1,370 | Purple Knights | 1987 | |
| Southern Connecticut State University | New Haven, Connecticut | 1893 | Public | 9,377 | Owls | 2000 | |
| Southern New Hampshire University | Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire | 1932 | Nonsectarian | 2,769 | Penmen | 2000 |
;Notes: