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Somerset, NJ - The Northeast Conference’s 26th season of Division I football will feature eight teams contesting a single round-robin schedule.

Bryant, Central Connecticut, Duquesne, Long Island University, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis and Wagner will all vie for an automatic bid to the 2021 Division I FCS Playoffs.

With three September conference games to whet fans’ appetite, the NEC schedule picks up in earnest in October. Beginning October 9, there are at least three scheduled NEC contests every week through the regular season’s conclusion on November 20.

Reigning 2020-21 conference winner Sacred Heart, which defeated Duquesne in the first-ever NEC Spring Championship Game on April 11, will kick off its fall campaign with a home game against Patriot League member Bucknell (Sept. 4) before opening its NEC slate against Bryant in Week 2 (Sept. 11).

Central Connecticut and Wagner also lift the lid on NEC play in Week 2 with a September 11 clash on Grymes Hill. It will mark CCSU’s first NEC contest since November 23, 2019 when the Blue Devils completed a perfect conference season with a win over Duquesne.

After back-to-back non-league road games against FBS member Eastern Michigan and FCS semifinalist Delaware, Saint Francis welcomes Wagner to Loretto in Week 3 (Sept. 18) for the final conference game in the month of September. It’ll mark Saint Francis’ first Northeast Conference contest since November 16, 2019.  

Sacred Heart and Duquesne will meet for the first time since April’s title tilt when the two rivals clash in Connecticut on October 23 (Week 8).

Duquesne opens its conference season in Week 5 with an October 2 trip to Merrimack.  

The annual Keystone State Clash between Duquesne and Saint Francis will go down in Week 9 on Halloween Eve (Oct. 30) at Rooney Field on The Bluff.
Nutmeg State rivals Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart are slated to battle in Fairfield on October 16 (Week 7). Merrimack and LIU, the NEC’s two-newest members, will also meet in Week 7.

All eight NEC teams end the fall regular season schedule by playing three consecutive November conference games.

Merrimack (Bryant), Central Connecticut (SFU), LIU (SHU) and Wagner (DUQ) will all host NEC season finales in Week 12 (Nov. 20).

All @NECFootball games will be carried live on NEC Front Row (NEC On The Run app) unless chosen as a featured matchup exclusive to ESPN3. Game times and broadcast information will become available in the coming weeks.