2004 NEC Football 8-13 Albany 32-37 Sacred Heart Great Danes out for a three-peat in 2004 Expect some offensive fireworks under head coach Paul Gorham 14-19 Central Connecticut State 38-43 St. Francis (PA) Head Coach Tom Masella brings a new look to New Britain A more experience Red Flash sqaud could surprise 20-25 Monmouth 44-49 Stony Brook Hawks look to build on one of best seasons in school history The league’s top scoring team is poised for more excitement 26-31 Robert Morris 50-55 Wagner Once the NEC’s dominant team, the Colonials should be in the hunt Youth is a key factor to the Seahawks’ success in 2004 Table Of Contents 2 About The NEC/NEC Sports 3 NEC Members/Contact Info 4-5 NEC Presidents/Office Staff 6-7 2004 Football Preview 8-55 Team-By-Team Reports 56-65 NEC Seasons In Review 66-71 NEC Football Recordbook 72 Driving Directions Northeast Conference 200 Cottontail Lane Vantage Court North Somerset, NJ 08873 (732) 469-0440 Fax: (732) 469-0744 Credits Editor, Design and Layout: Ron Ratner, Bob Balut Editorial Assistance: Andrew Alia Photos: Dave Saffran, Greg Vedder, Bob Ewell, Steve Slade, George Kien, J. Gregory Raymond, Jason Cohn, J.D. Cavrich, Paul Bereswill, Bob O’Rourk and Steve Smith Special Thanks: All the NEC SIDs NEC On Metro-TV Behind powerful Sacred Heart at Central Conn. St. • September 4 at 1:00 pm Monmouth at Wagner • October 9 at 1:00 pm offensive lineman Geir Gudmundsen, Albany is the preseason NEC Webstore favorite to recapture NEC gear can be purchased securely online at the NEC crown. www.necstore.org. www.northeastconference.org Visit the official league website for standings, stats, notes, releases and the latest in the world of NEC football. 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 NEC History 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212NEC Football 3 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 Embarking upon its 24th season in 2004-05, the Northeast Conference and its member institutions have estab- 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 lished a proud heritage in Division I athletics. With the league’s silver anniversary approaching, the NEC re- 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 mains committed to enhancing the experience of its student-athletes, while strengthening its competitive 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212About The NEC 3 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 position both regionally and nationally. With that in mind, the NEC’s traditional focus on athletic achievement, 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 academic integrity and development, community outreach, and a renewed emphasis on sportsmanship, has 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 never been stronger. The NEC can trace its roots back to 1981, when the league was founded as the men’s basketball only ECAC-Metro 2004-05 NEC Championship Dates Conference. Over the course of the last 23 years, the NEC’s evolution from a single sport entity to a burgeoning 11- member, 21-sport conference in the year 2004 is a remarkable success story. The league began sponsoring addi- Championship Date Site (Host) tional sports in 1985 and changed its name to the Northeast Conference in 1988. With membership and sport Field Hockey Oct. 29 & 31 High Seed sponsorship continuing to grow over the next decade, the NEC now has access to NCAA automatic bids in 11 sports (baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, M/W Cross Country Oct. 30 Quinnipiac (Hamden, CT) men’s and women’s tennis, women’s volleyball). Women’s Soccer Nov. 5 & 7 High Seed Men’s Soccer Nov. 12 & 14 High Seed Though the NEC has featured various incarnations since its inception, charter members Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Robert Morris, St. Francis (NY), St. Francis (PA) and Wagner remain part of the current 11-school alignment. Volleyball Nov. 20 & 21 High Seed They are joined by Monmouth (admitted in 1985), Mount St. Mary’s (1989), Central Connecticut State (1997), M/W Indoor Track Feb. 12 & 13 P.G. County Sports Complex (Landover, MD) Quinnipiac (1998) and Sacred Heart (1999). NEC expansion, which culminated in 1999 with the addition of M/W Swimming Feb. 17 & 19 P.G. County Sports Complex (Landover, MD) Sacred Heart, has given the league a five-state geographic footprint with access to such major media markets as New York City, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Hartford. Men’s Basketball Mar. 3, 6 & 9 High Seed Women’s Basketball Mar. 5, 8 & 12 High Seed With the addition of four sports over the last six years, NEC member institutions now compete in 21 championship Women’s Golf Apr. 18 & 19 TBA sports: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s outdoor M/W Tennis Apr. 22 & 23 TBA track and field, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s Women’s Lacrosse Apr. 29 & May 1 High Seed volleyball. Men’s Golf May 2 & 3 TBA M/W Outdoor Track May 7 & 8 Mount St. Mary’s (Emmitsburg, MD) As only the second full-time commissioner in NEC history, the hiring of John Iamarino on April 7, 1997 signaled the dawn of a new era in the conference. During his tenure, Iamarino has orchestrated the transition from nine league Softball May 13 & 14 High Seed schools to 11; and sports sponsorship from 17 to 21. He unveiled a new NEC logo to wide acclaim in June, 1997, Baseball May 20-22 FirstEnergy Park (Lakewood, NJ) spearheaded the move of NEC Championships to top-notch venues such as FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, NJ (baseball), Mercer County Park (tennis) and the P.G. County Sports Complex in Landover, MD (indoor track and swimming), initiated a new football financial aid policy, strengthened scheduling requirements and aggressively stepped up the league’s marketing and merchandising efforts. Under Iamarino’s guidance, the NEC reached an agreement with Maingate, Inc. in 2004 to become the official merchandiser of the conference and host the NEC Commissioner’s Cup league’s first ever webstore (www.necstore.org). 2003-04 Commissioner’s Cup NEC Commissioner’s Cup Iamarino has also succeeded in widening the NEC’s exposure on a national basis through a number of initiatives. Overall Standings Past Champions The league’s official website - one of the most comprehensive in the nation - was relaunched in 2004 with additional content and features, as well as a state-of-the-art design. To supplement one of the fastest growing 1. Monmouth 198.51 2003-04 Monmouth basketball television packages in the country, the league televised its first football games last season on Metro-TV. 2. Sacred Heart 177.39 2002-03 UMBC In 2003-04, the NEC televised 30 basketball games, a record number for the conference, while the league’s 3. St. Francis (PA) 175.13 2001-02 UMBC 2000-01 UMBC 4. Quinnipiac 172.02 coverage area exceeded 20 million homes. Along with flagship station MSG Network, other regional television 1999-00 UMBC outlets included Fox Sports-New York, Fox Sports-Pittsburgh, Fox Sports-New England, Comcast SportsNet and 5. Long Island 168.77 1998-99 UMBC Metro-TV. As part of the package, the NEC also aired eight men-women basketball doubleheaders. ESPN broad- 6. Robert Morris 145.77 1997-98 Monmouth cast the men’s championship game for the 17th straight year while MSG televised the women’s title contest for 7. Central Connecticut State 144.92 1996-97 Mount St. Mary’s the seventh season in a row. 8. Wagner 144.70 1995-96 Mount St. Mary's 9. Mount St. Mary’s 133.86 1994-95 Mount St. Mary's In 2003-04, the NEC received national attention through the awarding of NCAA bids to the conference in 12 team 10. Fairleigh Dickinson 131.69 1993-94 Fairleigh Dickinson 1992-93 Fairleigh Dickinson sports. The Central Connecticut State women’s soccer team started the ball rolling last fall by defeating Boston 11. St. Francis (NY) 68.44 1991-92 Fairleigh Dickinson College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before dropping a 3-2 decision in double overtime to Connecti- 1990-91 Monmouth cut, the eventual national champion. Men’s soccer has been arguably the league’s most competitive sport on a 1989-90 Fairleigh Dickinson regional and national basis in recent years, with nationally ranked Fairleigh Dickinson capturing a record four The Commissioner's Cup is awarded annually to the school that fares best in the 1988-89 Fairleigh Dickinson straight NEC championships while winning four NCAA Tournament matches over the past three years. Individually, league's championship sports. 1987-88 Fairleigh Dickinson St. Francis (PA)’s Ryan Sheehan collected