d3photography.com file photo by Larry Radloff

From a podium on the Don Melander Turf Field June 15, New England College president Wayne Lesperance, Jr. announced to an enthusiastic crowd that NEC is adding football to its athletics offerings, beginning in the 2024–2025 academic year. Lesperance was joined by NEC Trustees Lex Scourby '75; TJ Whitelaw '75; Tom Farmen '74 and former NEC quarterback; and athletic director Dave DeCew.

"We are eager to bring football back to NEC after a long hiatus, as the sport is part of NEC's storied past," DeCew said. "Football will stand beside our current roster of outstanding athletic programs that raise our spirits and bring our community together. It becomes our 21st varsity athletic program."

The school has 1,163 full-time undergraduates as of its most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Education, through the 2021-22 academic year.

Football was last played as a varsity sport at New England College in 1973. The sport is being touted as "a strategic investment, that we have high confidence will pay dividends in enrollment, in enhancing campus culture, and in expanding the college's football in New Hampshire and beyond," said Scourby.

NEC will begin its search for a head coach immediately. A conference affiliation was not announced: New England College joins the Great Northeast Athletic Conference this fall, a group which does not sponsor football, although NEC would be the fourth core member of the conference to have the sport.

"Football, like so many other sports, can change lives. And that's the business of higher education. These student athletes will join 20 other teams at NEC committed to success in the classroom and on the field, pitch, court, mat, and rink," explained Lesperance. "I am thankful that our board shares in my commitment to our athletes as we welcome football back to New England College."