Somerset, NJ — It’s been a decade in the making.
The Northeast Conference and ESPN have hit a major milestone in their partnership. For the 10th consecutive season, the NEC and ESPN3 will team up on an exclusive football streaming package.
The nine-game slate, which spotlights each of the league’s eight teams at least once at home and on the road, is the biggest in NEC history.
In addition to eight scheduled matchups, the NEC will spotlight a “wildcard game” during the final weeks of the regular season, on either November 12 or November 19. The league office will select the matchup with the most relevance in the race for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
Select NEC games will be delivered through ESPN streaming services on the web and via the ESPN App across smartphones, tablets and connected devices. The games will be available to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
“Entering the 10th year of our football partnership with ESPN, we are excited to announce the 2022 NEC football television package,” said NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris. “The branding and exposure we receive through these ESPN broadcasts helps elevate our league and provides much deserved exposure for the NEC football student-athletes.”
The schedule kicks off with a bang, as two-time reigning NEC champion
Sacred Heart visits in-state rival
Central Connecticut on September 10. The two Nutmeg State foes have combined to win at least a share of each of the past five NEC Championships.
Once October hits, the schedule resumes with weekly contests throughout the entire month. That five-weekend stretch kicks off on the first of the month inside W.B. Mason Stadium, when
Stonehill, the newest member of the league, makes its ESPN3 debut with the program’s first-ever NEC contest against perennial contender and 2021 runner-up
Duquesne.
Duquesne will make a second straight appearance in the spotlight when it hosts
Merrimack on October 8, one week prior to the Warriors welcoming
Wagner to Duane Stadium for the first time since joining the NEC in 2019.
The following weekend features a rare double dose of NEC football on ESPN3. The lights of Hameline Field will be on in full force for a primetime showdown on October 21, when
Wagner hosts
LIU for a Friday night matchup at 7 pm. The following afternoon, the show heads to the Keystone State when
Saint Francis U hosts
Stonehill on October 22.
Saint Francis U and
Sacred Heart wrap up the second month of the season with a date in Fairfield on October 29. The Pioneers escaped Loretto last November with a narrow 14-13 victory to propel Sacred Heart to the top of the NEC standings and ignite a three-game winning streak.
Central Connecticut visits
LIU on November 5 to put a bow on the eight scheduled ESPN3 contests.
Long-time play-by-play announcer Paul Dottino returns to the booth. He will be joined by color analyst Kevin Gilbride, a two-time Super Bowl champion coach.
