The Little East Conference will celebrate its 40th Anniversary during the 2026-27 academic year with its “LEC 40 for 40 Series,” which will see a total of 40 installments released each Wednesday highlighting some of the people, programs and moments that have contributed to the Little East’s storied history and success. That success includes 52 national champions, 26 National Player of the Year awards, and hundreds of All-Americans.
In the first installment of the LEC 40 for 40 Series, we will briefly touch on the proud and storied history of the Little East, from its founding as a men’s and women’s basketball conference to becoming one of the premier multi-sport conferences in NCAA Division III. The LEC now sponsors 24 championships and includes a total of nine primary members institutions and 13 affiliate member institutions, making the LEC one of the largest DIII conferences in the nation.
CONCEPTION TO ESTABLISHMENT
Following decades of varied association, discussions began on forming a regional conference in order to secure automatic qualification into the NCAA Division III national championship tournament in the fall of 1984 among a combination of public and private institutions in New England. In September of 1985, following a series of conversations and formal meetings, Eastern Connecticut State University, University of Massachusetts Boston, Southeastern Massachusetts University, Plymouth State College, Rhode Island College and University of Southern Maine commit to the establishment of Little East Conference as a men's and women's basketball league that will begin play for the 1986-87 academic year.
The LEC’s founding athletic directors, five of whom are members of the LEC Hall of Fame, were:
The LEC’s first officers were also elected in September of 1985, with Richard Costello appointed Commissioner and William Baird appointed Secretary-Treasurer. It was determined the Commissioner's institution will provide the publicist, resulting in then USM sports information director Albert D. Bean, Jr. being selected to serve as the LEC's first publicist. 40 years later, Bean serves as the Commissioner of the Little East Conference.
LEC MEMBERSHIP EXPANSION
The LEC has seen three primary membership additions in its history, the first being the addition of Western Connecticut State University for the 1993-94 academic year. Keene State College would follow for the 1997-98 academic year, and Vermont State University Castleton would join in 2018-19.
As the LEC’s sport expansion began, a number of sports would come to include various affiliate members that consist of both public and private institutions. The LEC’s current 13 affiliate members field a total of 24 teams across eight sports - men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, and men’s and women’s tennis. The growth in affiliate membership will continue with the recently announced addition of
Saint Anselm College.
LEC SPORT EXPANSION
It took only two years for the LEC’s sport expansion to begin with the addition of men’s and women’s cross country championships for the 1988-89 academic year. The decade-plus that followed would see steady growth as the league grew to 19 championship sport offerings with the addition of women’s lacrosse in 2001-02.
The latest round of sport expansion began with the addition of men’s golf in 2020-21, which was quickly followed by men’s swimming & diving in 2021-22. Women’s golf and men’s and women’s ice hockey were brought into the LEC for the recently completed 2025-26 academic year.
The LEC immediately rose to national prominence in a number of sports as they were brought in, most notably in baseball as Southern Maine (1997) and Eastern Connecticut (1998) won the NCAA Division III national championship in each of the league's first two seasons of baseball sponsorship. Additional examples of the LEC’s immediate success on the national stage include:
- USM advanced to the Final Four in women’s basketball (1987-88) and men’s basketball (1988-89) within the first three years of the LEC’s founding.
- Following the addition of women’s soccer in 1990, Plymouth State advanced to the 1991 women’s soccer Final Four and the 1993 national title game, while UMass Dartmouth played in the 1992 DIII women’s soccer championship final.
- Track & Field was first sponsored by the LEC in 1998, and saw UMass Boston’s Robert Grieco win the indoor national title in the shot put, the first of 52 individual national titles won by a LEC student-athlete.
- Men’s Golf became a LEC sport for 2020-21, and two years later saw Eastern Connecticut’s Ashton Lewis make the cut and earn All-American honors at the DIII national championship.
- Men’s and women’s ice hockey were first sponsored by the LEC this past season, which saw Norwich University advance to the women’s Frozen Four and the Cadets’ men’s team advance to the national quarterfinals.
SOME OF THE BEST FROM 2025-26
We close out this edition of the LEC 40 for 40 series with a few notable accomplishments from the recently completed 2025-26 academic year:
- UMass Boston’s Aryianna Garceau set the all-time NCAA Division III records on her way to winning the national championship in the indoor 60-meter hurdles and outdoor 100-meter hurdles.
- Led by First Team All-American Jaycie Christopher, the Southern Maine women’s basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 17th time in program history after winning its LEC-record 21st conference title.
- UMass Dartmouth won its first ever NCAA Division III Softball Regional championship.
- LEC student-athletes earned 23 All-America honors across 12 different sports.
- Norwich’s Alex Leslie was named the DIII Women’s Ice Hockey Elite Scholar-Athlete Award winner.