NE10 40th Anniversary Home Page
The first commissioner in the history of the conference, Al Shields, helped establish it as a dominant force within Division II athletics. He shepherded the Northeast-7 from its inception until January of 1990. In addition to his role with the conference, he also guided Bentley as its Director of Athletics over that span.
During his tenure, he helped the Northeast-7 expand from seven to ten schools and rename itself the Northeast-10, as the conference added Saint Anselm, (1981), Merrimack (1984), Quinnipiac (1987) and Saint Michael's (1987), while founding member Hartford departed for Division I in 1984. Shields also helped increased the championship opportunities from two in 1980-81, to seven a year later. At the time of his retirement in 1990, the NE10 had 12 championships opportunities as six men's sports and six women's sports hosted NE10 Championships with additional NCAA Championship opportunities.
Current Bentley baseball coach and former Athletic Director Bob DeFelice offered some additional insight into Shields' importance. "There would not be a Northeast-10 if not for Al Shields. It was his vision and foresight that brought together a number of compatible institutions for what was primarily a basketball league at the start and now features 24 championship sports."
In addition to his work with the NE10, Shields also served as the first Bentley Director of Athletics and was at the helm in Waltham from 1963-91. He oversaw the first athletic facilities on campus in 1970 and later the construction of the Dana Center in 1973. He also hired some of the winningest coaches in conference history, including Barbara Stevens, Bob DeFelice and Jay Lawson. A graduate of Northeastern University and a longtime resident of Burlington, Shields was inducted into the Bentley Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984, the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Northeast-10 Hall of Fame in 2006. Shields passed away in January of 2017 at the age of 80 due to complications from Alzheimer's.
ABOUT THE NE10
Beginning its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
