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Little East Conference

Association	NCAA
Founded	1986
Commissioner	Pamela S. Samuelson, PhD (since June 7, 2019)
Sports fielded	19 men's: 8 women's: 11
Division	Division III
No. of teams	9
Headquarters	North Providence, Rhode Island
Region	New England
Official website	www.littleeast.com
Locations

The Little East Conference (LEC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The member institutions are located in all six states of New England.

History

Chronological timeline

• 1986 - On April 28, 1986, the Little East Conference (LEC) was founded. Charter members included Eastern Connecticut State University, the University of Massachusetts Boston, Southeastern Massachusetts University (now the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth), Plymouth State College (now Plymouth State University), Rhode Island College and the University of Southern Maine; beginning the 1986–87 academic year.
• 1993 - Western Connecticut State University joined the Little East in the 1993–94 academic year.
• 1997 - Keene State College joined the Little East in the 1997–98 academic year.
• 2000 - Seven institutions joined the Little East as associate members: Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, Salem State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University for field hockey as the MASCAC division in fall, and Salem State for men's lacrosse in spring, all effective in the 2000–01 academic year.
• 2003 - Salem State added men's tennis into its Little East associate membership in the 2004 spring season (2003-04 academic year).
• 2004 - Two institutions added certain sports into their Little East associate memberships: Bridgewater State with men's and women's tennis, and Salem State with women's tennis, both effective the 2005 spring season (2004-05 academic year).
• 2009 - Three institutions added certain sports into their Little East associate memberships: Worcester State with women's tennis, and Bridgewater State and Westfield State with women's swimming & diving, all effective in the 2009–10 academic year.
• 2015 - Bridgewater State left the Little East as an associate member for women's swimming & diving after the 2014–15 academic year.
• 2018 - Castleton University (later Vermont State University–Castleton) joined the Little East in the 2018–19 academic year.
• 2019 - Two institutions joined the Little East as associate members: Western New England University for women's swimming & diving, and Massachusetts Maritime Academy for men's lacrosse, both effective in the 2019–20 academic year.
• 2022 -
  • The University of New England joined the Little East as an associate member for women's swimming & diving in the 2022–23 academic year.
  • The MASCAC field hockey division of the Little East (Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State, Framingham State, Salem State, Westfield State and Worcester State) will leave the Little East and be its own separate conference (as in, the MASCAC to have it as a sponsored sport) beginning in the 2023 fall season (2023–24 academic year).

Member schools

Current members

The Little East currently has nine full members, all are public schools:

Notes

1. ^ Part of the Connecticut State University System.
2. ^ Part of the University System of New Hampshire.
3. Actual amount in endowment is $13,996,219.
4. Part of the Rhode Island Board of Education.
5. ^ Part of the University of Massachusetts System.
6. The University of Southern Maine's main campus is located at Gorham; with other campuses at Lewiston and Portland.
7. Part of the University of Maine System.
8. Part of the Vermont State Colleges System.

Associate members

The Little East currently has six associate members, all but two are public schools:

Notes

1. ^ Part of the Massachusetts State Universities System.
2. Actual amount in endowment is $13,051,554.

Future associate members

Former associate members

The Little East had six former associate members, all of which were also public schools:

Notes

1. ^ Part of the Massachusetts State Universities System.
2. Actual amount in endowment is $35,385,907.

Membership timeline

Sports

The LEC sponsors intercollegiate athletic competition in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and women's volleyball.

In 2023, the Little East announced the addition of men's and women's ice hockey to begin play in 2025.

Men's sports

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Ice Hockey	Lacrosse	Soccer	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Total
Castleton	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	10
Eastern Connecticut	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	9
Keene State	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	9
Plymouth State	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	9
Rhode Island College	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	9
Southern Maine	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	10
UMass–Boston	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	9
UMass–Dartmouth	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	N	N	Y	Y	7
Western Connecticut	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	7
Totals	9	9	9	4	6+3	8+2	9	4+1	5+2	8	8	79+8
Associate Members
Babson					Y							1
Bridgewater State								Y	Y			2
Massachusetts Maritime						Y						1
New England College					Y							1
Norwich					Y							1
Salem State						Y			Y			2

Women's sports

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Field Hockey	Ice Hockey	Lacrosse	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Total
Castleton	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Eastern Connecticut	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	10
Keene State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	11
Plymouth State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Rhode Island College	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Southern Maine	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
UMass–Boston	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
UMass–Dartmouth	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Western Connecticut	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	9
Totals	9	9	7	5+2	8	9	9	6+3	7+2	8	9	8	94+7
Associate Members
Bridgewater State									Y				1
New England College				Y									1
U. of New England								Y					1
Norwich				Y									1
Salem State									Y				1
Western New England								Y					1
Westfield State								Y					1

Notes

1. ^ Little East will start to sponsor men's and women's ice hockey in 2025–26.
2. ^ Western Connecticut will start to sponsor men's ice hockey in 2025–26 and women's ice hockey in 2026–27.

References

1. "University of New England Women's Swimming to Join LEC as Affiliate Member in 2022-23" (Press release). Little East Conference. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
2. "Little East Field Hockey Preseason Poll Released". 2022-08-24.
3. "Affiliate Members". littleeast.com. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
4. "LEC Announces Men's Ice Hockey as Conference's 22nd Championship Sport". Little East Conference. July 24, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2024.

External links

• Official website

• Little East Conference
• Sports organizations established in 1986
• 1986 establishments in the United States