Bridgewater, NJ -- Le Moyne College has accepted a membership invitation from the Northeast Conference (NEC) Council of Presidents to join the conference effective July 1, 2023, it was announced today by NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris and Le Moyne President Dr. Linda LeMura.
Le Moyne, located in Syracuse, New York, will begin competition in the NEC in the fall of 2023 and become a full member of the conference in 2027-28 upon completion of its four-year NCAA Division I reclassification period.
"On behalf of the Northeast Conference Council of Presidents, we are thrilled to welcome Le Moyne College to the NEC family," said Morris. "During our membership evaluation process, it became abundantly clear there was tremendous mission alignment between the NEC and Le Moyne from an academic, athletic and community perspective. I would like to thank President Linda LeMura, Board Chair Pete DiLaura and Athletic Director Bob Beretta for their leadership through this process. Due to their significant planning and preparation, it's evident the Dolphins are poised to make the jump to Division I. We look forward to kicking off our relationship this fall."
Le Moyne becomes the third full-time addition to the NEC in the last five years and will keep conference membership at nine for the 2023-24 academic year. Merrimack College and Stonehill College were admitted in 2018 and 2022, respectively. Fairleigh Dickinson University, Long Island University, Saint Francis University and Wagner College are charter NEC members. Central Connecticut State University was admitted in 1997 and Sacred Heart University in 1999.
Le Moyne, a member of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) since 1996, will offer 21 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs upon joining the NEC next season. The Dolphins will field 10 men's and 11 women's teams. Sports sponsorship at Le Moyne includes baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball.
Le Moyne will sponsor 20 of the NEC's 24 championship sports in 2023-24, the only exceptions being field hockey, football, men's volleyball and women's bowling.
Le Moyne will be incorporated into NEC athletic schedules beginning with the 2023-24 season. During its reclassification Le Moyne will immediately 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). Beginning in 2025-26, all Le Moyne athletic programs will be eligible to compete in the NEC postseason, but will remain ineligible for NCAA competition until the 2027-28 academic year. The four-year NCAA DI reclassification period allows new DI members sufficient time to strengthen their program support of each team.
"The move to Division I and the Northeast Conference is a milestone event for Le Moyne College," said President LeMura. "Since the College's founding in 1946, athletics has been a vital component of our Jesuit ideal of cura personalis - care for the mind, body and soul. By making this move, we are building on a strong foundation of excellence that has been a hallmark of our student-athletes and our programs."
Le Moyne Director of Athletics, Bob Beretta, expressed his enthusiasm about the college's elevation to DI and its new affiliation with the NEC.
"Reclassifying our intercollegiate athletics program to Division I and accepting membership in the Northeast Conference is a transformational moment in the history of Le Moyne College," said Beretta. "We are thrilled that our student-athletes will receive the opportunity to compete at the highest level of collegiate athletics and have a chance to showcase their talents on the greatest stage. Our student-athletes have authored a rich history on 'the Heights' filled with academic and athletic excellence. We are looking forward to building on that incredible legacy as we enter an exciting and bold new chapter in our athletics history."
Le Moyne has won 44 conference championships in nine sports, and captured eight national championships (six in men's lacrosse, one in women's lacrosse and an individual championship in swimming and diving). Le Moyne teams have also earned 135 NCAA Tournament bids, including 26 over the last five years.
For 39 consecutive semesters, Le Moyne student-athletes have maintained an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
To mark this historic moment, there will be a campus-wide celebration led by NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris and Le Moyne President Linda LeMura on Thursday, May 11 at 1 p.m. in Grewen Auditorium on the Le Moyne campus. For those unable to attend, the event will be streamed on NEC Front Row.
For media inquiries, please contact Joe Della Posta (Le Moyne Director of Communications & Public Affairs) at dellapjb@lemoyne.edu or Ron Ratner (NEC Senior Associate Commissioner) at rratner@northeastconference.org.
About the Northeast Conference
Now in its 42nd season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9) and Hartford/New Haven (#33). 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 15 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, 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 Le Moyne College
One of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States, Le Moyne College is a private, four-year institution enrolling approximately 2,500 full-time undergraduate students in programs of liberal arts, science, business and pre-professional studies, and 800 full- and part-time students in graduate programs in nursing, education, business administration, information systems, physician assistant studies, occupational therapy and arts administration. Since its founding in 1946, xthe College has modeled and strengthened the nearly 500-year-old Jesuit educational tradition. Visit www.lemoyne.edu for more information.
