Stonehill College is leaving the NEC and joining the Metro Conference for the 2027-28 academic year, multiple sources told Mid-Major Madness. The Skyhawks joined Division I in 2022-23, coming up from the Division II NE-10, and will play their fifth season in the NEC this year before leaving the conference.
The story was first reported by Pete Thamel.
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The Metro Conference has been extremely aggressive in expansion since Fairfield announced its departure in June. In October, Le Moyne College announced that it would be the Metro’s new 13th member, and adding Stonehill brings the league up to 14 teams for the first time in its 47-year history.
“In terms of conference realignment, in my opinion, it’s something that will never stand still,” Metro Conference Commissioner Travis Tellitocci told Mid-Major Madness after Fairfield’s announcement in June. “I think you always have to be ready. I equate it to a coaching search as you’re in the same realm of always looking at what options are and trying to be strategic as well. So, I don’t think it’s something that will ever stop, to be honest with you. We will continue to have conversations with our membership about what the next steps look like going forward in terms of membership. Those are conversations that we have all the time. It’s not when somebody comes or goes, it’s a constant conversation.”
Stonehill has had just one winning season in NEC play over its first four years in Division I, going 10-6 in 2022-23. Since then, the Skyhawks have gone 2-14, 7-9, and 8-10 in NEC play. This season, Stonehill is 1-2 The Skyhawks completed an accelerated reclassification process before the 2025-26 season, making them eligible to compete in NCAA-sponsored postseasons, including March Madness.
The Skyhawks have won three NEC Championships: 2025 and 2026 women’s lacrosse and 2023 women’s cross country.
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Stonehill’s men’s basketball team is coached 2006 graduate Chris Kraus, who led the team to the Division II Final Four as a player. He took over as head coach in 2013 and has led the Skyhawks from Division II to the NEC, and now into the Metro. Le Moyne’s Nate Champion and Merrimack’s Joe Gallo also followed similar paths.
Stonehill College is located in Easton, Mass, a town about 25 miles southwest of Boston. The athletic department sponsors 23 sports, including a few notable ones — football, field hockey, women’s ice hockey, and men’s ice hockey — that the Metro does not sponsor.
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