Breaking: Stonehill will join The Metro for 2027-28

Stonehill, Merrimack’s former conference partner in the Northeast-10 and the NEC, will follow the Warriors to The Metro starting in 2027-28, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

The Skyhawks’ athletic director is Dean O’Keefe, a former Merrimack associate AD. That gives The Metro two former Merrimack associate ADs, along with the Warriors themselves. Brad Davis, a former Merrimack associate AD, now runs the athletic department at Mount St. Mary’s.

Stonehill is in the middle of a $65 million arena project that will build twin arenas for basketball and hockey on campus, similar to Quinnipiac’s setup. Construction is scheduled to begin in May and finish in time for the 2028-29 season.

Stonehill’s men’s hockey team is still an independent.

This will bring The Metro up to 14 full members. Le Moyne, which also followed the same blueprint as the Warriors, joined this past season. Of the 14 members, 11 are Catholic schools, including Merrimack and Stonehill.

Stonehill does have a football program, but this will only make four football schools in the conference, along with Merrimack, Marist, and Sacred Heart. Six teams are required for an automatic bid.

I’ll have more on the move and what it might mean for the Warriors in a future Daily Update, probably next week, given all the game coverage this weekend.

Below are some renderings of the arena project: