New England Football League
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| No. of teams | 30 |
| Country | United States |
| Official website | [1] |
The New England Football League (NEFL) is a semi-professional American football league based in Salisbury, Massachusetts and owned by Thomas Torrisi.[1] It is the largest semi-professional league in New England.[2] The NEFL was founded in 1994 and was also known as the Greater Lawrence Men's Football League.[3] In 2019, it comprises 30 teams, up from 25 in 2018 but down from a recent high of 32, with about 2,000 players and at least two teams in each of the six New England states.
Since 2002, the NEFL has had single-A, AA, and AAA Conferences, with annual promotion and relegation among Conferences based on game results, so that the best teams work their way toward the AAA level.
The league provides competitive football for adult players. It is a "working man's league", as most players have regular jobs during the week.[4][5] Teams practice on weeknights and play virtually all games on weekends.[2] Players are not paid for their participation, but they often pay $200 to be on the team's roster.[2][5] The league runs from July through September, followed by single-elimination championship tournaments within each Conference. Each team can dress up to 55 players.[6]
League history[]
The New England Football League was founded in 1994 by League President and Director of Marketing, Tom Torrisi, Chairman Matt Brien, Commissioner Bob Oreal, Vice-President and Treasurer John Motta and Secretary Christine Torrisi.[2] It started its 1994 season with four teams. By 1997, the number of teams tripled to twelve; in 2002, the league had at least one team in each New England state, and started its three-conference alignment with three different skill levels, one for each conference. The 2006 was the first season with at least 30 teams, making the NEFL one of the largest semi-pro football leagues in the country.
The league is unrelated to the original NEFL, which operated from 1964 to 1969.[7]
Game rules[]
The NEFL describes its rule set as "modified NCAA rules". Most rules are adopted from the NCAA rulebook, but there are also a few NFL rules and NEFL-specific rules. Games use a free-running clock until five minutes left in either half or overtime, at which time the clock stops according to NFL rules. Game time is usually kept by an official on the field, but for some games is kept on the scoreboard by a paid, uniformed official operating it.
Current teams[]
Colonial Conference (AAA) (2019)[]
| Team | Stadium | City/Area |
|---|---|---|
| Bay State Buccaneers | Marciano Stadium | Brockton, Massachusetts |
| Boston Bandits | West Roxbury High School | West Roxbury, Massachusetts |
| Connecticut Panthers | Falcon Field | Meriden, Connecticut |
| Marlboro Shamrocks | Kelleher Field | Marlboro, Massachusetts |
| Middleboro Cobras | Battis Field | Middleboro, Massachusetts |
| Mill City Eagles | Simonian Stadium | North Chelmsford, Massachusetts |
| New Hampshire Nor'easter | Chabot McDonough Field at Manchester Memorial High School | Manchester, New Hampshire |
| North Shore Generals | Manning Field | Lynn, Massachusetts |
| Southern Maine Raging Bulls | Memorial Stadium at Deering High School | Portland, Maine |
| Southern New England Admirals | Mansfield High School | Mansfield, Massachusetts |
| Taunton Gladiators | Taunton High School | Taunton, Massachusetts |
| Troy City Titans | Durfee High School | Fall River, Massachusetts |
North Atlantic Conference (AA) (2019)[]
| Team | Stadium | City/Area |
|---|---|---|
| Brunswick Bearcats | La Salle Institute | Troy, New York |
| Green Valley Blackhawks | Old Killingly High School Field | Danielson, Connecticut |
| Haverhill Hitmen | Trinity Stadium | Haverhill, Massachusetts |
| Mass Warriors | Sabourin Field | Bedford, Massachusetts |
| Mystic River Tigers | Hormel Stadium | Medford, Massachusetts |
| Seacoast Warhawks | Commissioners’ Field, Strafford County Farm | Dover, New Hampshire |
| Southern Vermont Storm | Storm Stadium at Lower Willow Park | Bennington, Vermont |
| Worcester Wildcats | Commerce Bank Field at Foley Stadium | Worcester, Massachusetts |
Maritime Conference (A) (2019)[]
| Team | Stadium | City/Area |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Brawlers | Clem Lemire Field | Newington, Connecticut |
| Connecticut Gamblers | Tolland High School Field | Tolland, Connecticut |
| Hartford Colts | Cal Ripken Athletic Field at Annie Fisher Montessori School | Hartford, Connecticut |
| Monadnock Marauders | Alumni Field at Keene High School | Keene, New Hampshire |
| Naugatuck Valley Riverdawgs | Cheshire High School | Cheshire, Connecticut |
| New England Crusaders | Bristol Eastern High School | Bristol, Connecticut |
| New Haven Venom | Achievement First Amistad High School | New Haven, Connecticut |
| Rhode Island Riptide | Stebbins Field at Cranston Stadium | Cranston, Rhode Island |
| Vermont Ravens | South Burlington High School | South Burlington, Vermont |
League champions[]
| Year | Team | A | AA | AAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Lawrence Lightning | |||
| 1995 | North Shore Rage | |||
| 1996 | Massachusetts Havoc | |||
| 1997 | Massachusetts Havoc | |||
| 1998 | Lowell Nor'easter | |||
| 1999 | Lowell Nor'easter | |||
| 2000 | Seacoast Hawks | Lowell Nor'easter | ||
| 2001 | Southern Maine Raging Bulls | Boston Bandits | ||
| 2002 | Connecticut Thunder | Vermont Ice Storm | Lowell Nor'easter | |
| 2003 | Seacoast Hawks | New England Stars | Boston Bandits | |
| 2004 | Hampton Hurricanes | Connecticut Thunder | Lowell Nor'easter | |
| 2005 | Rhode Island Raptors | Seacoast Hawks | Boston Bandits | |
| 2006 | Notre Dame Cobras | North Attleboro Renegades | Boston Bandits | |
| 2007 | Leominster Razorbacks | Whaling City Clippers[8] | Middleboro Cobras | |
| 2008 | Tri City Charge | Whaling City Clippers | Middleboro Cobras | |
| 2009 | Connecticut Spartans | New Hampshire Wolfpack | Tri City Charge | Lowell Nor'easter |
| 2010 | Seacoast Hawks | Connecticut Panthers | Western Mass Warriors | Lowell Nor'easter |
| 2011 | Rhode Island Riptide | New Hampshire Wolfpack | Connecticut Bearcats | |
| 2012 | Connecticut Bearcats | Cape Cod Seadogs | South Shore Outlaws[9] | Western Mass Warriors |
| 2013 | Central Mass Sabercats | Pioneer Valley Knights | Connecticut Panthers | |
| 2014 | Brass City Brawlers | Rhode Island Wardogs | Connecticut Panthers | |
| 2015 | Port City Vipers | Somerville Rampage | Boston Bandits | |
| 2016 | Mass State Wolverines | South Coast Outlaws | Western Connecticut Militia | |
| 2017 | Southern Vermont Storm | Mass State Wolverines | Connecticut Panthers | |
| 2018 | Seacoast Warhawks | Worcester Wildcats | Boston Bandits | |
| 2019 | Connecticut Brawlers | Worcester Wildcats | Marlboro Shamrocks |
External links[]
References[]
- ^ "Experian Commercial Risk Database". Proquest. 2015-11-20. ProQuest 1567242915. Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - ^ a b c d "Love of the game drives semipro football players - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
- ^ a b "New England Football League - Champions". www.semiprofootball.org. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
- ^ Gasper, Christopher L. (2004-08-29). "Blue-collar bruisers". Boston.com. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
- ^ a b "Semipro football players in it for love of the game - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
- ^ COLLINS, ED. "Foundation set for South Coast Outlaws semi-pro football team". southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
- ^ William J. Ryczek. Connecticut Gridiron: Football Minor Leaguers of the 1960s and 1970s, McFarland & Company, 2014. ISBN 0786478330
- ^ THOMAS, BUDDY. "McCann has Clippers 'D' primed for title game". southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
- ^ Correspondent, Rob Duca. "SOUTH COAST OUTLAWS: The boys are back in town". Wicked Local Wareham. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
- Semi-professional American football
- American football in Massachusetts
- Professional sports leagues in the United States