By Keon Edington / The Jambar
Established in 1981, the Northeast Conference has continued to expand its brand by leveraging media partners and digital brands to boost its profile.
Stationed in Somerset, New Jersey, the conference competes at the Division I level and consists of 10 institutions.
Full-time members of the NEC include Central Connecticut State University, Chicago State University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Le Moyne College, Long Island University, Mercyhurst University, University of New Haven, St. Francis University, Stonehill College and Wagner College.
The conference also hosts 21 associate members throughout various sports, such as Duquesne University for football, Cleveland State University for men’s lacrosse and Howard University for seven sports.
Mercyhurst, who joined the conference in fall 2024, went up against Youngstown State University for its home opener Aug 28.
Ron Ratner, senior associate commissioner of the NEC, said Mercyhurst’s addition to the conference was the right choice for both the conference and the university.
“Mercyhurst had long been a proven winner at the Division II level with multiple national-caliber sports, and they were ready for the next step,” Ratner said. “They were eager to challenge themselves at the DI level, and share the mission and values that define our conference. It was an ideal fit.”
The conference also plans to branch out into mainstream media, promoting athletes and games on social media.
“X, [formerly known as Twitter], has been our bread and butter over the years,” Ratner said. “The spot where we get the most engagement is Instagram.”
Ratner also said the NEC is trying to gain outreach on TikTok as well. In terms of social media promotion, he said the conference tries to balance the schools and highlight players, while listening to each university’s plan.
“We have 10 schools and have to answer to all of them,” Ratner said. “We are always going to highlight our best schools — the lion’s share of our promotion — because those are the teams that have earned it.”
While the conference isn’t as prominent as many others, the NEC does have a deal in place with ESPN to stream live games.
“We have to be a little more creative to get our name and our brand out there,” Ratner said. “We have a streaming package with ESPN, but more than 90% of our games we own, and now almost all those will go on NEC Front Row, our digital network. But this also gives us the flexibility to make deals with regional TV networks.”
The conference announced a new package for one football game of the week on RYZ Sports Network and select games streaming through the Creator Sports Network. The package opens new doors for fans to follow the conference.
As this year’s football season ramps up, Ratner said expectations are high and the conference knows winning brings in more viewers.
“It’s always important — you always want to win,” Ratner said. “You have resource-challenged schools—but we all understand that — but that doesn’t mean you can’t compete with the big boys.”
In the future, the conference plans to further evolve with more staff while keeping the core schools together. Ratner said the conference, while limited on resources and exposure compared to others, prioritizes hard work to gain more attention.
“We look at ourselves as ‘The Little Engine That Could,” Ratner said. “We have to outwork you to beat you because your league may have some advantages that our league does not, but that doesn’t mean that we still can’t make it happen, and you have to work hard.”
