In June 2007, nine colleges from New England announced the creation of a new athletic conference under the same NECC name.

[3] Elms College joined the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, where it had competed as a swimming and diving affiliate since 2008, in the 2021-22 academic year.

[4] In July 2021, original member Bay Path was admitted to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA),[5] implicitly leaving the conference and the NCAA.

Bard College joined the NECC for men's volleyball as an associate member beginning the spring of 2023.

[6] Lesley received and accepted an invitation to join the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), while Mitchell and New England College both accepted an invitation to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), all beginning the 2023-24 season.