Connecticut will soon have another NCAA Division I school.

The University of New Haven announced Tuesday that it has accepted an invitation from the Northeast Conference and will officially join the league on July 1.

New Haven will begin its transition from Division II to Division I and the NEC during the 2025-26 school year. The Chargers will gain full Division I status in 2028-29 after an NCAA-mandated reclassification period. The school won’t be eligible to compete in the NCAA Tournament in most sports until that season.

“We are thrilled to welcome the University of New Haven to the Northeast Conference family,” NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris said in a statement. “Making the move to Division I is a bold step, and we’re honored that New Haven chose to take that step with us. From the start, it was clear that they share our values – putting academics, competitive excellence and the student-athlete experience at the forefront.

“I want to thank President Jens Frederiksen and Athletic Director Devin Crosby for their thoughtful leadership throughout this process. I’m also grateful to the NEC Council of Presidents for their support and shared vision as we continue to shape the future of the conference. We’re excited to partner with the Chargers as they make their mark in Division I and help elevate the NEC.”

New Haven will become the conference’s 10th member (for now), joining Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Wagner, Stonehill, Le Moyne, Chicago State, Mercyhurst and Saint Francis. Saint Francis announced in March that the school will exit the conference and transition to Division III in 2026-27.

A member of the Division II Northeast-10 Conference since 2008, New Haven sponsors 20 varsity programs, 19 of which align with NEC-sponsored sports. The school fields teams in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track & field (indoor and outdoor) and women’s volleyball. The Chargers also sponsor women’s rugby.

The NEC sponsors FCS football (formerly known as Division I-AA), a level below the FBS, where UConn competes.

UNH has a rich athletic history in Division II, including winning the 1987 national championship in women’s basketball. Meriden’s Shannon Gagne also won five individual national titles in track and field events in 2010 and ’11. Former baseball coach Frank ‘Porky’ Vieira, who died last month at age 91, retired as the all-time Division II leader in win percentage in 2006, and his teams made 17 College World Series appearances. Former pitcher Steve Bedrosian also went on to win a National League Cy Young award as a reliever with the Phillies in 1987, beating out Rick Sutcliffe and Orel Hershiser.

Legendary UNH baseball coach Frank Vieira, who died last week at 91, was one of the winningest coaches ever across all NCAA divisions. (File Photo)

The football program has reached the Division II playoffs 10 times, and became the only Connecticut school to ever compete for a national title when it reached the final game in 1997. It was also the smallest school in history by enrollment to reach a national football title game. Running back Roger Graham is perhaps the program’s greatest all-time player, and he won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the top Division II player in the nation and played briefly with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1996.

Other notable accomplishments include a men’s soccer national title game appearance in 1976, and 14 appearances in the Elite Eight in women’s volleyball.

The move to Division I comes after the school completed a new athletic facility in 2023, featuring a new weight room and new football locker rooms. The Jeffery P. Hazell Athletics Center, where the basketball and volleyball teams compete, is also set to be renovated.

New Haven will be integrated into NEC sports schedules beginning with the 2025-26 academic year, with the exception of football, according to a release from the school. The timing of New Haven football’s addition to the conference schedule is still to be determined.

During their reclassification, the Chargers will immediately be able to participate in NEC championships in NCAA non-automatic qualifier sports: cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. New Haven will gain full NEC championship access as early as the 2026-27 academic year, but no later than 2027-28. Per conference policy, no more than two schools undergoing reclassification can have full championship access at the same time. As the third NEC member currently in transition (Le Moyne and Mercyhurst are the others), New Haven’s timeline is contingent on when the others complete their process. The Chargers will become eligible for NCAA championship competition in 2028-29, upon successful completion of their reclassification period.

“We are thrilled about this opportunity for the University of New Haven,” President Frederiksen said in a statement. “Athletics has been and continues to be a vital driver of enrollment and brand recognition for the University. This move to the Northeast Conference and Division I positions the University for an exciting future – one consistent with the overall strategic focus on academic, professional and global return on investment.”

With the move, Connecticut will now have seven Division I schools, with New Haven joining UConn, Central Connecticut State, Fairfield, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac and Yale. The University of Hartford moved from Division I to Division III in 2022.

Originally Published: May 6, 2025 at 11:11 AM EDT