New England Bowl

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Background

The New England Bowl was created in 2016 when the following conferences left the ECAC Bowl Series to form their own post-season bowl:

  • Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC).
  • Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC).
  • New England Football Conference (NEFC), which became Commonwealth Coast Football (CCC Football) in 2017, later formally became part of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (name changed in 2024 to the Conference of New England [CNE]).
  • New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), which began sponsoring football in 2017.

The break occurred due to a lack of competitive games in the ECAC Bowls and a dissatisfaction with the neutral-site format the ECAC Bowls adopted in 2015. The ECAC Bowls would return to campus sites in 2018.

Originally only a single game, in 2017 it became a series with two games and an option for a third (if felt warranted), which only happened in 2018. The games were not individually distinguished, so each game was referred to as the "New England Bowl".

In 2024 the MASCAC and CNE opted to create their own post-season game (Fusion Bowl). Combined with the dissolution of the ECFC, the MASCAC returned to participating in the ECAC Bowls and the New England Bowl died a quiet death.

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Timeline

SEASONS EVENT(S)
2016 First game played.
2017 Two games played, creating a bowl series.
2018 Only season series expanded to three games.
2020 Games canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2023 Final games played.