U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Springfield College joined the league in 1998 to form NEWMAC. Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard Academy via Flickr.
By Emily Tarinelli ’25
Sports Editor
The New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference began its 25th anniversary celebrations at the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year. The festivities will continue throughout the year.
According to the conference’s website, the NEWMAC originated from the New England Women’s 6 Conference. The NEW 6 began competing from 1985 to 1986 and included members from Babson College, Brandeis University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Smith College, Wellesley College and Wheaton College. When Mount Holyoke College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute joined the league in 1988, the NEW 6 was renamed to the NEW 8 Conference. After the 1994-1995 academic year, Clark University replaced Brandeis University in the NEW 8, when Brandeis switched to a different conference.
In 1998, the NEW 8 voted to introduce competitive opportunities for men’s athletic programs in the conference, according to the NEWMAC. With this development, the NEW 8 became the NEWMAC and annexed two additional institutions: Springfield College and the United States Coast Guard Academy. On July 1, 2013, Emerson College joined the league as well.
“This process was built on tenants of diversity, equity and inclusion and expanded its opportunities in sports programs through the years. We tried to focus on the success of our student-athletes, both academically and athletically,” Patrick B. Summers, the executive director of the NEWMAC, said of the conference’s evolution over the past few decades, in a video posted to the NEWMAC Instagram page on Oct. 6, 2022.
Currently, the NEWMAC’s competitive field is spread throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut. On July 1, 2023, Salve Regina University will join the conference and the NEWMAC’s territory will expand to Rhode Island. Salve Regina’s annexation will also conclude the NEWMAC’s anniversary celebrations.
That same video posted to Instagram also highlighted the NEWMAC’s core values in honor of its 25-year anniversary: excellence, integrity and respect.
“As a conference, we embody excellence in the fact that every institution has a commitment to providing a high level, competitive experience for its student-athletes,” Dr. G. Anthony Grant, the director of athletics at MIT, said in the video. “We [have] had [athletes compete at] national championships, … elite eights, final fours [and we have had] numerous academic and [College Sports Information Directors of America] All-Americans. We push one another to be better in order to realize our ultimate goal of being the preeminent conference in Division III.”
The director of athletics & recreation at Smith College, Kristin Hughes, also commented on the integrity of the conference.
“I’m a very proud member of the NEWMAC conference, and so when I think about the word integrity, [I] think about how that word really was a founding principal for the new wave [of the conference] and how that has continued on as we welcomed men into the conference [and] expanded the NEWMAC,” Hughes said in the NEWMAC video. “It’s really, again, something that drives this conference and drives most of the decisions that we make. … All decisions are based on what is best for a student-athlete, whether that’s about the competitive experience or supporting their academic endeavors.”
Dr. Mary Beth A. Cooper, the president of Springfield College, spoke about respect.
“The word respect means a number of things to me, especially as it is demonstrated in the NEWMAC league. We have a great respect for our students, a great respect for our colleagues, and it’s demonstrated in all of our not only preseason play, [but also our] season play and post-season play,” Cooper said in the video. “To have that respect for each other, on the field, on the ice, wherever they may be playing, for me, is paramount.”
Dana L. Harmon, the director of physical education, recreation & athletics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, concluded the video by emphasizing the importance of teamwork within and beyond the NEWMAC.
“It’s really not about the individual institution and what they need and how they reach their accomplishments,” Harmon said in the video. “It’s really about all of us collectively making each other better, [and coming] together as a group to really do an excellent job for our student-athletes, our coaches, our families and our institutions.”