Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup announcement
2021 Northeast-10 Conference Awards Ceremony

MANSFIELD, Mass. (June 7, 2021) -- For the first time in its history, the Franklin Pierce University Department of Athletics has laid claim to the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents’ Cup. The Ravens were announced as champions of the spring 2021 edition of the competition among member institutions as part of the NE10’s end-of-year virtual awards ceremony Monday night.

Per the NE10: “The Presidents' Cup is presented annually to signify overall athletic excellence in the NE10. After the cancellation of the fall and winter seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, the Conference followed similar protocol that it instituted for 2019-20 – honoring a seasonal champion in each completed season, which this year included spring exclusively.”

Franklin Pierce piled up 85.5 points across 10 sports to claim the trophy by 5.5 points over second-place Adelphi (80 points). Le Moyne (77.5), Southern New Hampshire (62.5) and Bentley (59) rounded out the top five.

“This award is the result of countless hours of hard work from our talented and dedicated student-athletes, coaches and support staff,” said Rachel Burleson, Director of Athletics, while accepting the accolade on behalf of the University. “For Franklin Pierce’s first-ever Presidents’ Cup to come at the end of a year which saw our teams face such unique circumstances is a testament to the high-character individuals we have who make up the Raven Nation family.”

For Burleson's full comments at the NE10's virtual awards ceremony, click here.

Franklin Pierce’s spring was headlined by a regular-season title for the women’s tennis team, as well as a second straight NE10 Championship crown for the women’s golf program, which accounted for 11 and six Presidents’ Cup points, respectively. First-place points in each sport are equal to the number of NE10 institutions which sponsor said sport.

“During a year unlike any other, our coaches and athletics staff committed to engaging with and mentoring our student-athletes to keep them focused on and prepared for competition, even when we couldn’t be sure those games would ever happen,” said Dr. Kim Mooney ’83, Franklin Pierce University President and chair of the NE10 Council of Presidents. “Our teams competed with incredible passion and pride and I am so proud of their collective accomplishment. The entire Franklin Pierce community is honored to receive this hard-earned and well-deserved recognition.”

Franklin Pierce’s run to the Presidents’ Cup was also buoyed by strong finishes in baseball, softball and women’s lacrosse, which are each sports sponsored by all 14 NE10 member institutions. As such, baseball and softball collected 12 points apiece for their respective second-place finishes in the Northeast Division, while women’s lacrosse chalked up 11 points after a tied-second divisional finish. Men’s track & field added nine points with a fourth-place finish at the NE10 Championships.

Not only did the championship mark Franklin Pierce’s first-ever Presidents’ Cup title, but it was the institution’s first-ever top-three finish in the competition as well. The previous highest finish for the Ravens was fourth, in the fall 2019 edition, as the 2019-20 Presidents’ Cup was also altered due to the pandemic. Franklin Pierce’s highest finish in a full, year-long edition of the President’s Cup was fifth, in 2014-15.