| History |
|
| The first
season of Conference competition in the NEW 8 was 1987. Smith College hosted
the inaugural championship tournament, and the host school lost a 2-0 decision
to Wellesley College in the championship game. Wellesley returned to the
championship game in 1988, but WPI used its home field advantage to take
the title by an 8-0 score. The Engineers, in turn, dropped a 2-1 game to
Smith in the 1989 championship held at Wellesley. WPI regained the Conference
title at M.I.T. in 1990 with a 1-0 victory over Smith, and again defeated
Smith in 1991 avenging a regular season loss to the Pioneers. WPI gained
the "three-peat" in 1992 by defeating Smith at Babson. Smith climbed back
into the winner's circle in 1993 with a penalty stroke victory over Babson
at Wheaton. MIT captured its first field hockey championship in 1994 with
a 1-0 win over Babson. In 1995, 1996 and 1997, Wellesley had three straight
titles. They defeated conference newcomer Clark 4-0 on their home field
in '95. In 1996 they beat MIT on a penalty stroke with eighteen seconds
left in regulation at WPI in '96 and in 1997 they defeated Wheaton 6-1 at
MIT. In 1998-99, the conference began sponsoring men's sports and changed
the name to the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. Wellesley
picked up where they left off in the NEW 8 by winning their fourth straight
championship at home over Smith 2-0. Springfield won its first championship in 1999, defeating Mount Holyoke, 2-1, at Clark, before advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Pride defended its conference title at home in 2000, downing Wellesley, 6-0, on Benedum Field, and advanced to the national championship game, falling to William Smith, 1-0. In 2001, Mount Holyoke won the NEWMAC title and moved on to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Springfield, 1-0, in the conference tournament final. In 2002, Wellesley defeated Clark, 4-0, in the conference final to win the NEWMAC title. Mount Holyoke College upset top-seeded Springfield College in the 2003 NEWMAC finals to clinch the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. |
|
| Regular Season Champions | Tournament Champions |
| 2003 Springfield College | 2003 Mount Holyoke College |
| 2002 Wellesley College | 2002 Wellesley College |
| 2001 Mount Holyoke College | 2001 Mount Holyoke College |
| 2000 Springfield College | 2000 Springfield College |
| 1999 Springfield College | 1999 Springfield College |
| 1998 Springfield College | 1998 Wellesley College |
| 1997 Wellesley College | 1997 Wellesley College |
| 1996 Wellesley College | 1996 Wellesley College |
| 1995 MIT | 1995 Wellesley College |
| 1994 Wellesley College | 1994 MIT |
| 1993 Smith College | 1993 Smith College |
| 1992 WPI | 1992 WPI |
| 1991 Smith College | 1991 WPI |
| 1990 WPI | 1990 WPI |
| 1989 WPI | 1989 Smith College |
| 1988 Wellesley College | 1988 WPI |
| 1987 WPI | 1987 Wellesley College |
| 1986 Wellesley College | 1986 No Tournament |