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Yan Klukowski (soccer, third team) were also honored for their the 2009 Draft. Former Wagner pitching great Andrew Bailey, a
academic and athletic performance. Evenden was a nominee for 2006 draft pick, broke into the big leagues in a big way during 2009.
the prestigious Rhodes Scholar Award, while Wagner swimmer A non-roster Spring Training invitee, Bailey won a place in Oakland’s
Alexandra Tomlinson was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate bullpen before earning a spot in the MLB All-Star Game three months
Scholarship. On a conference-wide level, there were over 2,000 later. Hoping to someday follow Bailey’s rise up the professional
student-athletes who qualified for the NEC Academic Honor Roll, ranks, five of the NEC’s finest were taken in the 2009 MLB Draft –
nearly a 25 percent increase from the previous year. Saint Francis Long Island’s James Jones (Mariners), Monmouth’s Ryan Buch
(PA) posted the highest GPA in the conference to claim the NEC (White Sox) and Brett Brach (Indians), Quinnipiac’s Chris Gloor
Institutional Academic Award for the first time ever. (Giants), and Wagner’s Kyle Morrison (Nationals).
Athletic Success
For the second straight year, Sacred Heart captured the Northeast
Reinforcing its presence on a national stage, the Northeast
Conference Commissioner’s Cup, recently renamed in honor of
Conference sent representatives to NCAA Championship events
NEC Commissioner Brenda Weare, who passed away in June.
in 14 different team sports while NEC student-athletes individually
The Pioneers claimed the women’s cup for the third year in a row
qualified to compete for an NCAA title in men’s outdoor track &
while earning the men’s cup for the first time ever to complete a
field and women’s swimming. In its longstanding effort to increase
clean sweep. The Pioneers established new Cup records for over-
student-athlete opportunities, the Conference began sponsoring
all and women’s points in the process.
women’s bowling as a championship sport and immediately grabbed
national headlines for its successful inaugural season. Five of the
In The Community
league’s seven bowling members occupied a spot in the final regular- The NEC, its member institutions and student-athletes have made
season edition of the NTCA Top-20 Poll with No. 2 Fairleigh community involvement an important piece of its mission. In 2008-09,
Dickinson defeating top-seeded Nebraska to advance all the way the NEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee made its annual
to the semifinal round of the NCAA Women’s Bowling Championship. visit to the Cancer Recovery Foundation in Hershey, PA in February.
Lock Haven found itself ranked amongst the nation’s Top-25 as it That same month, conference members participated in “Think
marched toward its third consecutive NEC field hockey title. Pink” Day, a global effort organized by the Women’s Basketball
Coaches Association to assist in raising breast cancer awareness
In football, Albany became the first NEC team in nearly a decade on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The
to post back-to-back undefeated seasons within league play. In a NEC made efficient use of the $75,000 it received from the NCAA
game televised nationally on the YES Network, the Great Danes Division I Women's Basketball Grant Program last season. Expand -
blanked Pioneer Football League champion Jacksonville, 28-0, to ing its base deeper into local communities, the Conference saw its
win the third annual Gridiron Classic. Robert Morris men’s basketball, women’s basketball attendance increase by 20 percent from to
which has won 50 games and two NEC regular-season crowns in establish a new league record.
two years under head coach Mike Rice, captured its league-best
sixth NEC title with a 48-46 last-second victory over Mount St. Mary’s
Evolving and Expanding
before a nationwide ESPN2 television audience and a school-
record crowd at the Charles L. Sewall Center. On the heels of its
The past half decade has seen the Northeast Conference take
perfect (18-0) run through the NEC women’s basketball schedule
aim at upgrading the caliber of the league’s championship sports
and second NEC Tournament title in four years, Sacred Heart gave
and enhancing the opportunities and experiences for the more
third-seeded Ohio State all it could handle in NCAA first round play
than 4,000 student-athletes that compete in the conference. Set
.
to become the NEC’s 12th full-time member, Bryant has begun
Individually, 13 NEC student-athletes received All-America honors
competition within the conference as it moves through the NCAA
in their respective sports. Lock Haven’s Blair Wynne, the only
reclassification process. The Conference has also secured auto-
three-time Player of the Year in NEC field hockey history, was
matic access to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs
named to the Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-America Second Team
beginning in 2010, making football the 14th team sport in which
for the second consecutive season. NEC men’s soccer has its
NEC student-athletes are guaranteed a chance to compete for the
most successful year since 1987 with three players acknowledged
NCAA crown. New sport sponsorship in women’s bowling and
at year
men’s lacrosse (2010-11) will create further opportunities for NEC
’s end for their play. Quinnipiac’s Graciano Brito earned his
second straight NSCAA/adidas All-America honor, and was joined
student-athletes. Set to embark on a number of branding, sports-
by FDU junior forward Samson Malijani on the third team. Brito
manship and community initiatives as part of the league’s Strategic
and Monmouth’s Angelo Amato were third team College Soccer
Plan, the NEC and its member institutions are committed to the
News honorees. In addition to five football All-Americans, Monmouth’s
future growth of the Conference.
John Nalbone became the latest NEC player to reach the NFL
when he was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of
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