Bridgewater, NJ -- The NEC announced its 2026 Spring Team Sportsmanship Award honorees this afternoon, spotlighting programs that consistently represented their schools in a positive way.
Mercyhurst, Saint Francis U and Stonehill each claimed a pair of sportsmanship awards this spring.
Saint Francis showed that winning and sportsmanship are not mutually exclusive, pairing NEC championships in men’s volleyball and women’s tennis with sportsmanship accolades. The Red Flash have now earned both sportsmanship awards in each of the last three seasons.
Stonehill swept the Simon Hodnett outdoor track and field awards.
Mercyhurst softball, FDU men's tennis and Stonehill women's outdoor track and field all repeated as sportsmanship award recipients.
Le Moyne was recognied in baseball, North Carolina Central in men's golf, Chicago State in women's golf, LIU in women's lacrosse and Mercyhurst in men's lacrosse.
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2026 NEC Team Sportsmanship
Award Winners
Spring
Baseball: Le Moyne
Men's Golf: North Carolina Central
Women's Golf: Chicago State
Men's Lacrosse: Mercyhurst
Women's Lacrosse: LIU
Softball: Mercyhurst
Men's Volleyball: Saint Francis
Men's Tennis: FDU
Women's Tennis: Saint Francis
Simon Hodnett Men's Outdoor Track & Field: Stonehill
Simon Hodnett Women's Outdoor Track & Field: Stonehill
2025-26 NEC
Final Tally - Team Sportsmanship Awards
Institution No. of Awards
Stonehil 6
Saint Francis U 5
Le Moyne 4
Mercyhurst 3
Wagner 2
Chicago State 1
FDU 1
LIU 1
New Haven 1
NC Central 1
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By years end, ten different schools captured at least one award.
Stonehill wrapped the academic year with a league-high six sportsmanship accolades, bringing its total to 19 in just its first four years as an NEC member. Saint Francis finished second with five awards, followed by Le Moyne with four and Mercyhurst with three.
Instituted by league Presidents in 2008, the awards are designed to acknowledge the team in each conference sport that, in the opinion of its peers, most closely demonstrates good sportsmanship based on the NEC Principles of Sportsmanship and Standards of Conduct. Voting is conducted at the conclusion of each season by each team and head coach, who rank teams within the conference based on a set of criteria.
The men's and women's outdoor track and field awards were renamed in 2024 in honor of the late Simon Hodnett, who led LIU to ten Northeast Conference championships during his career as head coach. A 10-time NEC Coach of the Year, Hodnett coached six All-Americans, three Olympians and nearly 500 All-NEC honorees during his 15 years in Brooklyn.
Since the NEC Team Sportsmanship program was instituted in 2008-09, Saint Francis U has won a conference-best 58 awards, followed by Wagner (37), CCSU (35), and LIU (32).
“Often, it’s the moments that don’t make the box score that say the most about our student-athletes,” said NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris. “These teams showed, day after day, that true success comes from competing with respect, integrity and a genuine commitment to fair play. We’re proud to celebrate the example they set for our conference.”
About The NEC
Now in its 45th season, the NEC is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of ten institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, New Haven, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.necsports.com) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECSports.