Conference

Somerset, NJ -- With bragging rights at stake, the third Northeast Conference (NEC) Rivalry Week is set to take flight with six pairs of men's and women's hoops rivals set to meet in home-and-home contests from February 8th to the 15th.

The pairings are as follows:

Battle of Brooklyn: LIU Brooklyn-St. Francis (NY)
Connecticut Collision: Central Connecticut-Quinnipiac
Garden State Rivalry Series: Fairleigh Dickinson-Monmouth
Keystone Clash: Robert Morris-Saint Francis (PA)
New England Knockout: Bryant-Sacred Heart
North-South Showdown: Mount St. Mary’s-Wagner.

The innovative concept of playing back-to-back games against a local rival the same week is the only one of its kind among the nation's 31 NCAA Division I conferences.

"NEC Rivalry Week has become a marquee event for the Conference both from a competitive and media standpoint" said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner. "This year it holds especially true on the men's side of the ball where we have a much-anticipated one-two matchup between New York City rivals LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis (NY)."

As part of Rivalry Week, there will be four NEC-TV games airing in five days from February 8-12. Rivalry Week tips off on February 8th with the Garden State Rivalry Series as Fairleigh Dickinson hosts Monmouth on FCS and ESPN3, and follows with an MSG tripleheader on February 12th. Leading off the day will be the Connecticut Collision as Quinnipiac visits Central Connecticut State at noon, followed by a Battle of Brooklyn doubleheader pitting Long Island and St. Francis (NY) at the WRAC in Brooklyn. The women tip at 2:00 pm and the men - with both teams potentially vying for first place in the NEC - at 4:30 pm. All three Sunday games will air live on Fox College Sports (FCS) Atlantic and the Quinnipiac-CCSU game will also be picked up by Cox Sports (CT/RI).

NortheastConference.TV will also take part in the Rivalry Week festivities with a pair of games on the NEC Women's Basketball Game of the Week webcast slate.  On Saturday, CCSU hosts Quinnipiac at 1:00 pm, followed by Monmouth visiting Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday.  Tipoff is at 7:00 pm.  All women's hoops webcasts are free of charge and can be viewed on iPhones, iPads and Android mobile devices.

Additionally, take a quick tour around the league in the latest rivalry-themed NEC Notebooks (men | women) spots.