FCS CONFERENCE · 2025 SEASON

NEC

#24 overall#13 in FCSRR50 +8.2Upper strength +10.29 teamsTop 25 teams 0

THE LONG WAIT · 2025

One Bid, One Game

The Northeast Conference is the smallest automatic-qualifier in FCS — eight programs from New Jersey to Maine, competing in markets where football is not the dominant sport. Sacred Heart, Stonehill (which joined in 2022 from Division II), Merrimack, and Wagner have all won or contended for NEC titles in recent years. The conference sends one automatic bid to the FCS bracket, which means the title game is effectively a winner-take-all single elimination into the national field. That structure creates legitimate high-stakes football at the regional level.

Sacred Heart has been the Northeast's most consistent program and made the FCS bracket in back-to-back years. Does Stonehill — a DII-to-FCS program still establishing its FCS footing — challenge for the conference title in 2026, or does Sacred Heart hold the automatic bid for a third consecutive season?

FCS9 teamsRace: FCS Playoff

NEC · 2026 Season Preview

Three Things to Watch

The StandardSacred Heart: Building Something Real in Fairfield

Sacred Heart is a private Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut that has made the FCS bracket two consecutive seasons — rare for a Northeast Conference program. Ed Swider's staff develops players who routinely outperform their high school rankings, and their offensive system has produced passing statistics that rank in the top 20 nationally in FCS. They enter 2026 as the NEC's most complete program by every measurable metric.

The NewcomerStonehill: DII Champion to FCS Contender

Stonehill won DII national championships and moved to FCS in 2022, joining the Northeast Conference. Their transition has been measured — losing some games they would have won at DII while building the roster depth that FCS requires. Entering their fourth FCS season in 2026, they have the foundation to contend for the automatic bid and the program culture to make it stick.

Wild Card

One Bid, One Game, Winner Take All

The NEC sends one program to the FCS bracket via an automatic bid. That means the conference title game — or even the regular-season standings — is effectively a single-elimination competition for national relevance. Every NEC game in November carries stakes that larger conferences distribute across four or five bracket spots. The NEC format makes every late-season game appointment viewing for fans of these programs.

Conference Standings · NEC · 2025

Standings

#	Team	Conf	Overall	Pwr
1	Central Connecticut	6–1	8–5	+10.5
2	Duquesne	6–2	7–5	+10.3
3	Long Island University	5–3	6–6	+10.4
4	Mercyhurst	5–3	5–7	+7.5
5	Wagner	4–3	5–7	+7.5
6	Stonehill	3–4	4–8	+6.8
7	Robert Morris	2–5	3–9	+7.2
8	New Haven	0–3	5–5	+5.1
9	St. Francis (PA)	0–7	0–11	+6.1

Conference record determines standing. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average. Last 5 = most recent game results.

Projected Standings · NEC · 2025

Win Projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. AVG = expected wins; W–L = most-likely record.

#	Team	W–L	PWR	AVG	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Central Connecticut	4–3	+2.5	4.0	2	11	34	64	87	97	✓
2	Long Island University	4–3	+2.4	3.9	2	10	32	62	86	97	✓
Challengers
3	Duquesne	4–3	+2.3	4.0	2	12	35	65	87	97	✓
4	Wagner	3–4	-0.4	3.4	1	5	21	47	76	93	99
The Field
5	Mercyhurst	4–3	-0.4	3.7	1	8	26	55	81	95	99
6	Robert Morris	3–4	-0.7	3.2		4	17	42	71	91	99
7	Stonehill	3–4	-1.2	3.2		3	15	40	69	90	99
Rebuilding
8	St. Francis (PA)	3–4	-1.8	3.2		3	15	39	69	90	99
9	New Haven	1–2	-2.8	1.0					4	28	72

Conference Power · FCS

Where We Stand

#	Conference	Avg Power	vs Focal	Top Team
1	MVFC	+10.2	0–3	North Dakota State
2	Big Sky	+9.6	0–2	Montana State
3	MEAC	+9.4	1–1	South Carolina State
4	UAC	+9.3	—	Tarleton State
5	SWAC	+9.1	—	Alabama State
6	Southland	+9.1	—	Stephen F. Austin
7	CAA	+8.9	2–2	Villanova
8	Patriot	+8.7	0–4	Lehigh
9	Big South-OVC	+8.6	—	Tennessee Tech
10	Pioneer	+8.5	0–3	Presbyterian
11	Southern	+8.4	—	Mercer
12	NECYou are here	+8.2	—	Central Connecticut
13	Ivy	+7.7	0–3	Yale

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = NEC's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

NEC reads like a weekly gauntlet. The middle of the league is strong enough that contenders do not get many breathers.

Conference Snapshot

RR50+8.2

Upper Strength+10.2

Median Power+8.0

Resume Pulse38.8

Avg ATS49.6%

Wins vs Market-0.20

Top-to-Middle Gap2.9

Combined Record43-63

League Drivers

Power leader Central Connecticut #152 overall | +10.5 pts vs avg Resume leader Central Connecticut #152 overall | 72 / 100 resume ATS leader Mercyhurst 66.7% cover rate Beat expectation Wagner +1.43 wins vs market

NEC Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank	Team	Record	Power	Resume	ATS	Wins vs Market	Recent Form
#152	Central Connecticut	8-5	+10.5	72	6-5	+0.24	2-2 over the last 4 (W11 L12 W13 L14)
#155	Long Island University	6-6	+10.4	55	5-7	+0.14	3-1 over the last 4 (L10 W11 W12 W13)
#158	Duquesne	7-5	+10.3	53	5-6	-0.47	2-2 over the last 4 (L9 L11 W12 W13)
#217	Wagner	5-7	+7.5	37	7-4	+1.43	3-1 over the last 4 (W10 W11 W12 L13)
#218	Mercyhurst	5-7	+7.5	40	8-4	+0.06	2-2 over the last 4 (L9 W11 W12 L13)
#222	Robert Morris	3-9	+7.2	23	4-7	-1.48	1-3 over the last 4 (W10 L11 L12 L13)
#231	Stonehill	4-8	+6.8	28	6-6	+0.22	1-3 over the last 4 (L10 L11 L12 W13)
#238	St. Francis (PA)	0-11	+6.1	9	5-6	-2.27	0-4 over the last 4 (L10 L11 L12 L13)
#254	New Haven	5-5	+5.1	32	3-4	+0.37	2-2 over the last 4 (W7 L9 L10 W11)