Merrimack College Athletics History
Merrimack College, located in North Andover, Massachusetts, boasts a rich athletic history marked by success at both the Division II and Division I levels of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Merrimack Warriors represent the college in 25 varsity sports. The college's combination of academic and athletic success has garnered Merrimack the #4 ranking in the country among NCAA Division II schools in the Top 100 Collegiate Power Rankings that are published by the National College Scouting Association.
Early Years and Division II Dominance
Merrimack's athletic programs established a strong foundation in Division II, achieving significant milestones and earning national recognition.
National Championships
Highlights of Merrimack athletic history include four national championships:
- Men's Ice Hockey (1978): The men's hockey team secured the Division II men's ice hockey championship, marking the first national title in school history, beating Lake Forest 12-2.
- Women's Softball (1994): The women's softball team clinched the Division II Women's College World Series, going 45-4 and winning the national championship.
- Men's Lacrosse (2018 & 2019): Men's lacrosse won the 2018 and 2019 National Title, beating Saint Leo 23-6 to win their first national championship in 2018 and then went back-to-back, beating Limestone 16-8 in 2019, closing out their time at the D2 level on top.
Football
In 2006, Merrimack football became Northeast-10 co-champions and received their first NCAA Division II playoff bid to go on to win their first NCAA playoff game.
Men's Tennis
In 2012, Merrimack men's tennis became Northeast-10 champions, led by senior captains Max Eppley and Sean Pahler, and first-year head coach Sean Tully. This was Merrimack's first-ever men's tennis championship.
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Men's Basketball
The Merrimack college men’s basketball team has had a fair amount of success at the Division II level, making the NCAA tournament 11 times. The Merrimack basketball program started in 1949 they would play as a D2 independent. Paul Lanni was hired as their first ever head coach and led them to a 7-2 record in their first season. Lanni would leave after just one season. From 1950 to 1958 the Warriors would go through 3 coaching changes. In 1958 they would hire William S. LaRochelle who would lead the team for the next decade in his 12 seasons LaRochelle would lead the warriors to 9 winning seasons. With his best season coming in 1966-67 when he led the warriors to a 17-6 record. Roger Damphousse would be the first player in program history to be named an all American in 1961. After LaRochelle left in 1970 then at the time Merrimack Athletic director Frank T. Monahan would take over as head coach. Monahan's first five seasons would be very up and down going 55-71 during this time. Steve McMahon would be the first ever warrior to be drafted to the NBA in 1972. During the 1975-76 season Monahan and the warriors took a big step forward as he led them to their first 20 win season in program history. They would keep this momentum going into next season. As he led the warriors to a 19-9 record this resulted in their first ever NCAA Division II tournament birth in program history. The warriors would make it to the sweet sixteen that year beating Bridgeport in the first round 107-83. They would eventually fall to Sacred Heart 110-104 in the sweet 16. After leading the warriors to one of the best seasons in program history. Monahan would one up this the following season in 1977-78 by leading the warriors to a program high 22-6 record and getting them back into the NCAA Division II tournament. The warriors would also be ranked as high as #2 in the nation during this season. On top of this star player Ed Murphy led NCAA in scoring this year and Coach Monahan would be named the New England coach of the year. Once again the warriors would win their first round match up dominating Bryant Bulldogs 116-91. But for the second year in a row the warriors would meet Sacred heart in the sweet sixteen and would once again lose 84-83. These two seasons would be the furthest Merrimack ever made it in the D2 tournament. Monahan would coach another two seasons before eventually resigning in 1980. Frank Monahan's assistant Bert Hammel took over the head coaching position after he left in 1980, and Hammel was here for the long haul as he would stay as Merrimack head coach from 1980 all the way till 2016. Hammel led the warriors to a some success in his first 4 years. But big changes came in 1984 when for the first time in program history the warriors joined a conference that being the Northeast 10. In just their second year in the conference during the 1985-86 season. The warriors would go 19-9 overall and 9-5 in their conference, finishing in 2nd place. They would then beat Assumption in the quarterfinals 83-78. They would then meet AIC in the semifinals, beating them 107-92. Punching their ticket to their first appearance in the NE10 Championship game. They would eventually fall to Springfield 70-65. Even with the loss it was still a great year for the program showing they could hold their own in their new conference. During the 1988-89 season, the warriors compiled a 22-9 record and were invited to the ECAC metro tournament. The warriors would go on to beat New York tech in the semifinals 102-78 and would beat Long Island-C.W. Post 98-85 to win their first championship in program history. Hammel would lead the warriors to their 3rd NCAA tournament appearance in 1991 with a 21-9 record. Hammel would be named NE10 coach of the year and Paul Neal would be named NE10 MVP. But the warriors would lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Franklin Pierce 82-79. The warriors would have a historic season the following year in 1992 going 22-9 and beating Saint Anslem 92-77 to win their first NE10 championship in program history and making it to back-to-back NCAA tournaments. In the 1992 NCAA tournament the warriors would lose in the first round to Bridgeport 91-84. After a couple of mediocre seasons, the warriors would hit a nice stretch in the late 90s going into the 2000s. As they would win back to back ECAC metro championships in 1998 and 1999 beating St Michaels 80-75 for the title in 1998 and beating NJIT 96-82 for the title 1999. The following year they would go 22-9 and win both the NE10 regular season and tournament championships, beating AIC 84-78. Punching their 5 ticket to the 2000 NCAA tournament the warriors would beat Saint rose 92-64 in the first round before losing in the round of 32 to Adelphi 90-64. After some unsuccessful seasons, 2 warriors players would win NE10 rookies of the year: Darren Duncan 2007 and Darin Mency in 2008. Hammel would lead the warriors to 3 straight NCAA tournament appearances in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2008, they would lose in the first round to Bentley 81-61. In 2009, they would beat Umass Lowell in the first round 86-84 before getting eliminated by Bentley again in the round of 32 79-76. Hammel's final run in the tournament in 2010 would look awfully similar to the year prior, as they would beat Umass Lowell 81-62 in the first round before getting eliminated by Bentley for the third year in a row, losing 83-79. In 2016, Gallo was hired as head coach at his alma mater, replacing Bert Hammel. Gallo led the program to immediate success. In his first 3 seasons he led the warriors to the NCAA division II tournament 3 years in a row in 2017 2018 and 2019. The warriors would make it to the round of 32 in 2017 and 2018. Gallo would also lead the program to their first NE10 title in 19 years during the 2018-19 season beating New Haven 51-46 for the title. 2019 would be the warriors last ever appearance in the NCAA D2 tournament and they would lose to Dominican (NY) 64-50 in the first round. They would finish with 11 total appearances. Since the program's inception in 1949. The Warriors have played their home games at Hammel Court located in the Merrimack athletic complex. The gym is named after former head coach Bert Hammel.
Men's Ice Hockey
The Merrimack college men's ice hockey program was one of the first sports to be recognized as a varsity program, in 1954. They were very successful at the D2 level, winning numerous ECAC 2 championships in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, they became the first team in school history to win a national championship, beating Lake Forest 12-2.
Men's Soccer
Merrimack College men's soccer team made school history in 2012, with the program's first-ever NCAA Division II national tournament berth. After finishing in first place in the Northeast-10 regular season, the team won the first round of the tournament against rivals Franklin Pierce University, but were knocked out the following round by Northeast-10 rivals Southern New Hampshire University. The 2012 men's soccer team was led by head coach Anthony Martone and assistant coaches Derek Valego, Michael Allen, Eric Ernst and Sam Nunes. The team was led on the field by captains Alejandro Fuchs of Caracas, Venezuela and Nelson da Graca of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Men's Lacrosse
The Merrimack men's lacrosse team saw much success in the late 2010s, making five straight D2 tournament appearances from 2015 to 2019. They made the final four in 2015 and 2016, and were national runners up in 2017. In 2018, they beat Saint Leo 23-6 to win their first national championship. They then went back-to-back, beating Limestone 16-8 in 2019, closing out their time at the D2 level on top.
Softball
Merrimack college softball has had incredible success at the Division II level, especially in the 1990s, when they won six conference tournament titles and seven regular season titles. They went 45-4 and won the national championship. They had 15 total appearances in the NCAA tournament at the D2 level, including five regional championships.
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Transition to Division I
In 2019, Merrimack College announced a significant step forward for its athletic programs: a move up to Division I and membership in the Northeast Conference (NEC). This transition marked a new chapter in the college's athletic history, presenting both challenges and opportunities.
Joining the Northeast Conference
In 2019, it was announced that the school would move all their programs to the Division I level and join the Northeast Conference. In 2023, the school added two new programs: men's volleyball and women's bowling. In 2024, the school announced they would join the MAAC.
Immediate Success in Division I
Despite the challenges of transitioning to a higher level of competition, several Merrimack teams experienced immediate success in Division I. The men's basketball team won the NEC regular season in just their first year along with the Men’s soccer team. Many of the other programs also had success in their first couple of seasons, showing the school could compete at the DI level. In 2024, the women's bowling team became the first non-hockey team to make the Division I tournament.
Men's Ice Hockey at Division I
The men's hockey team had been competing at the DI level since the mid-80s. In 1985, they became the first Merrimack program to move to DI. From 1987 to 1989, they won three straight ECAC East titles. They got an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in 1988 after a 32-win campaign. They were the first team in school history to make a D1 NCAA tournament.
Men's Basketball in Division I
From here In just their first season in Division I Gallo would go on to lead Merrimack to a 20-11 overall record and a 14-4 conference record and a Northeast Conference regular season title in 2020, Gallo was named conference coach of the year along with getting a plethora of other coaching awards. Juvaris Hayes was named the Lefty Driesell Award winner and would be the first player in team history to be named a D1 all American. Capping off a historic season. During the 2022-23 season the warriors would start out 2-13 overall. But they would only lose 3 more games after that finishing the regular season 15-16 overall and 12-4 in conference winning another regular season titles in 2023. For the first time the warriors were allowed to compete in the NEC tournament. As the 1 seed the warriors would beat LIU and Sacred heart to advance to the championship game. The Warriors would play FDU in the title game and win a nail biter 67-66 to win their first and only NEC tournament. But the warriors could not go to the NCAA division I tournament due to NCAA transitional rule. Jordan Minor would be named NEC player of the year and the warriors would end the that season on an 11 game win streak which was longest by any team in the country that season. The warriors would go 21-12 and 13-3 in conference the next season in 2023-24 and win their third NEC regular season title in just 5 years. The warriors would also sweep the NEC awards this year as Adam Clark won NEC rookie of the year, Brian Etumnu would be named most improved player and Jordan Derkack would be named defensive of the year and conference MVP. Gallo and the warriors would also get back to the NEC championship game in 2024 now eligible for the tournament but would fall to Wagner 54-47. This would be the warriors last season in NEC. The warriors would end their time in the NEC with an overall record of 82-64 and a dominant conference record 58-28 they never had a losing record in NEC conference play. In just their second game at the DI level the warriors would shock the world by beating big ten opponent Northwestern 72-62 for their first ever D1 victory.
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Men's Basketball Coaching History
Paul Lanni was hired as their first ever head coach and led them to a 7-2 record in their first season. Lanni would leave after just one season. From 1950 to 1958 the Warriors would go through 3 coaching changes. In 1958 they would hire William S. LaRochelle who would lead the team for the next decade in his 12 seasons LaRochelle would lead the warriors to 9 winning seasons. After LaRochelle left in 1970 then at the time Merrimack Athletic director Frank T. Monahan would take over as head coach. Frank Monahan's assistant Bert Hammel took over the head coaching position after he left in 1980, and Hammel was here for the long haul as he would stay as Merrimack head coach from 1980 all the way till 2016. In 2016, Gallo was hired as head coach at his alma mater, replacing Bert Hammel.
Departure from the NEC and Joining the MAAC
The Warriors would end their time in the NEC with an overall record of 82-64 and a dominant conference record 58-28 they never had a losing record in NEC conference play. In 2024, the school announced they would join the MAAC.
Facilities
The Warriors have played their home games at Hammel Court located in the Merrimack athletic complex. The gym is named after former head coach Bert Hammel.
Leadership
Merrimack recently announced it will opt in to the landmark NCAA vs. House agreement once it is approved. Merrimack is wrapping up a successful first year as a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference member. “When we began the search for our next director of athletics, we sought an individual who embraced our vision for athletic prominence and possessed the expertise to help us achieve that vision,” Merrimack College President Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D., said at a welcome event for Foley and his family. Hopey announced Foley as the new director of athletics on April 7, following a nationwide search that began earlier this year. “I am honored and grateful to stand before you as your next athletic director,” Foley said during the welcome event. During his visit to Merrimack, Foley went on a campus tour, met with Merrimack coaches, student-athletes and staff and sat down with local and Merrimack student media. Foley, a Worcester, Mass. As TCU Athletics’ chief development officer, Foley oversaw all aspects of major giving, annual giving, stewardship, alumni relations and marketing programs through the Frog Club, the department’s principal fundraising office. “Throughout my career, one of my professional strengths has been generating revenue to support student success,” said Foley. “Our athletic department will seek to prepare students to thrive in a competitive world.
Marching Band
Merrimack Dance, Cheer and Band to Compete in First Nationals as Division I Team. Merrimack College Names Dance Team Newest Varsity Intercollegiate Program. Merrimack Marching Band Featured in Whitney Houston Biopic. Merrimack College Marching Marching Band's Fall 2024 Exciting Events. Merrimack College Marching Band Makes Its International Debut.
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