The Merrimack Warriors are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Merrimack College, located in North Andover, Massachusetts, United States, in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sporting competitions. All of the Warrior athletic teams compete at the Division I level. Men's and women's ice hockey compete in the Hockey East conference, and football competes as an FCS Independent, while the remaining teams are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
The college's combination of academic and athletic success has garnered Merrimack the #4 ranking in the country among NCAA Division II schools in the Top 100 Collegiate Power Rankings that are published by the National College Scouting Association. Merrimack finished 96th in the overall NCSA Power Rankings across all three NCAA divisions.
During the 2019–20 season Merrimack began their four-year transition from Division II to Division I and became a full Division I member in the 2023–24 season, making Merrimack eligible for all NCAA tournaments.
In 2024, the school announced it would join the MAAC, and the football team would become an FCS independent.
History Highlights of Merrimack athletic history include four national championships: the 1978 men's hockey team won the Division II men's ice hockey championship; the 1994 women's softball team won the Division II Women's College World Series; and men's lacrosse won the 2018 and 2019 National Title. In 2006, Merrimack football became Northeast-10 co-champions and received their first NCAA Division II playoff bid to go on to win their first NCAA playoff game. In 2012, Merrimack men's tennis became Northeast-10 champions, led by senior captains Max Eppley and Sean Pahler, and first-year head coach Sean Tully. This was Merrimack's first-ever men's tennis championship. In 2019 the college announced they would move up to Division I and join the NEC. The men's basketball team won the NEC regular season in just their first year along with the Men’s soccer team. Many of the other programs also had success in their first couple of seasons, showing the school could compete at the DI level. In 2024, the women's bowling team became the first non-hockey team to make the Division I tournament. Later that year it was announced the school would leave the NEC to join the MAAC.
Varsity teams Men's sports Women's sports Baseball Basketball Basketball BowlingCross countryCross countryFootballDance Golf Field hockey Ice hockey Golf Lacrosse Ice hockey Soccer Lacrosse Tennis Rowing Track & field Soccer Volleyball Softball Swimming & diving Tennis Track & field Volleyball
Merrimack College participates in 25 varsity sports at the Division I level. The men's hockey team had been competing at the DI level since the mid-80s. In 2019, it was announced that the school would move all their programs to the Division I level and join the Northeast Conference. In 2023, the school added two new programs: men's volleyball and women's bowling. In 2024, the school announced they would join the MAAC. However, the field hockey program would stay in the NEC and the football team would become independent, due to the MAAC not sponsoring football.
Football
Merrimack has made one appearance in the NCAA Division II football playoffs; their record is 1–1.
2006 First roundSecond round Southern ConnecticutShepherd W, 28–26L, 7–31 Playoff record 1–1
Conferences 1985–1995: Independent 1996: Eastern Collegiate Football Conference 1997–2000: Eastern Football Conference 2001–2018: Northeast-10 Conference 2019-2023: Northeast Conference 2024-present: FCS Independent
Men’s Basketball
The Merrimack college men’s basketball team has had a fair amount of success at the Division II level, making the NCAA tournament 11 times. They made an even bigger splash in 2019-2020, in their first Division I season. They went 14-4 in conference and 20-11 overall, to win the NEC regular season. This was the first time that a transitioning team had won a regular season title in their first year. The Warriors also won the NEC tournament in 2023, but could not go to the NCAA tournament because of the NCAA transition period.
Women’s Basketball
The Merrimack Warriors women’s basketball team had its inaugural season in 1972. They made the DII NCAA final four back to back seasons in 2004 and 2005 where they had a program best 31-4 record. In 2026 they made their first appearance in the WNIT.
Men’s Ice Hockey
The Merrimack college men's ice hockey program was one of the first sports to be recognized as a varsity program, in 1954. They were very successful at the D2 level, winning numerous ECAC 2 championships in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, they became the first team in school history to win a national championship, beating Lake Forest 12-2. In 1985, they became the first Merrimack program to move to DI. From 1987 to 1989, they won three straight ECAC East titles. They got an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in 1988 after a 32-win campaign. They were the first team in school history to make a D1 NCAA tournament. During the 1989-90 season, they officially joined Hockey East, where they remain. In 2026 the team won their first Hockey East tournament championship, becoming the first #8 seed to accomplish the milestone.
Women’s Ice Hockey
The Merrimack women’s ice hockey team played its inaugural season in 2015–16, like the men’s program they compete in Hockey East.
Soccer
Merrimack College men's soccer team made school history in 2012, with the program's first-ever NCAA Division II national tournament berth. After finishing in first place in the Northeast-10 regular season, the team won the first round of the tournament against rivals Franklin Pierce University, but were knocked out the following round by Northeast-10 rivals Southern New Hampshire University. The 2012 men's soccer team was led by head coach Anthony Martone and assistant coaches Derek Valego, Michael Allen, Eric Ernst and Sam Nunes. The team was led on the field by captains Alejandro Fuchs of Caracas, Venezuela and Nelson da Graca of Gothenburg, Sweden. In their first year at the DI level, the team went 11-3-2 overall, and had a perfect 9-0 in NEC play.
Lacrosse
The Merrimack men's lacrosse team saw much success in the late 2010s, making five straight D2 tournament appearances from 2015 to 2019. They made the final four in 2015 and 2016, and were national runners up in 2017. In 2018, they beat Saint Leo 23-6 to win their first national championship. They then went back-to-back, beating Limestone 16-8 in 2019, closing out their time at the D2 level on top.
Softball
Merrimack college softball has had incredible success at the Division II level, especially in the 1990s, when they won six conference tournament titles and seven regular season titles. They went 45-4 and won the national championship. They had 15 total appearances in the NCAA tournament at the D2 level, including five regional championships.
NCAA championships
National championships Men's ice hockey: 1978 Softball: 1994 Men's lacrosse: 2018, 2019
Individual national championships Carly Muscaro (women's track & field)
2015-16 (400m indoors) 2016 (400m outdoors) 2016-17 (200m, 400m indoors) 2017 (200m, 400m outdoors)
National championship runner up Men's ice hockey: 1984 Men's lacrosse: 2017
Regional championships Women's basketball: 2004, 2005 Softball: 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000 Women's soccer: 1996
Appearances Baseball (4): 1990, 1995, 1996, 2018 Men's basketball (11): 1977, 1978, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2019 Sweet 16 appearances (2): 1976, 1977 Women's basketball (3): 2003, 2004, 2005 Sweet 16 appearances (2): 2004, 2005 Elite 8 appearances (2): 2004, 2005 Final four appearances (2): 2004, 2005 Football (1): 2006 Men's ice hockey (7): Division II: 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984 Division II runner up: 1984 Division II frozen four: 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984 Division I: 1988, 2011, 2023 Men's lacrosse (7): 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Runner up: 2017 Final four 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Women's soccer (11): 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 Softball (15): 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2011, 2017, 2018 World Series appearances: 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000 Men's tennis (9): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Women's tennis (2): 2009, 2014 Field hockey (5): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018 Women's volleyball (2): 2007, 2008 Men's soccer (5): 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Women's cross country (1): 2018 Women's bowling (1): 2024
Conference championships
MAAC
Men’s basketball regular season (1): 2026
Northeast Men's basketball regular season (3): 2020,2023,2024 Men's basketball tournament champions (1): 2023 Men's soccer regular season (1): 2019 Women's soccer regular season (1): 2023 Women's bowling tournament (1): 2024
Other NEC Men's Commissioners Cup: 2023, 2024
Hockey East
Men’s tournament champions (1): 2026
Northeast-10 Baseball tournament (4): 1990, 1995, 1996, 2018 Baseball regular season (5): 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 Football (2): 2006, 2009 Men's basketball tournament (3): 1992, 2000, 2019 Men's basketball regular season (1): 2000 Women's basketball tournament (1): 2004 Women's basketball regular season (2): 2004, 2005 Women's cross country (3): 1997, 1998, 1999Northeast-10 Women's Cross Country All-Time Champions Men's lacrosse tournament (3): 2000, 2010, 2018 Men's lacrosse regular season (2): 2013, 2019 Men's soccer tournament (4): 1995, 1996, 1997, 2017 Men's soccer regular season (4): 1994, 1996, 1997, 2012 Women's soccer tournament (9): 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999 Women's soccer regular season (8): 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999 Softball tournament (8): 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002 Softball regular season (12): 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2017 Men's tennis tournament (3): 2012, 2013, 2015 Men's tennis regular season (5): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Women's tennis regular season (1): 2014 Field hockey regular season (2): 2011, 2012 Women's volleyball regular season (1): 1999 Women's golf (4): 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
Other NE10 Presidents Cup: 2000, 2018
ECAC Mens ice hockey tournament: ECAC 2 (4): 1967, 1968, 1977, 1980, ECAC east (3): 1987, 1988, 1989 Mens ice hockey regular season: ECAC 2 (5): 1968, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1977, ECAC east (3): 1987, 1988, 1989 Men's soccer (1): 1997 Women's soccer (2): 1988, 2000 Men's lacrosse (2): 1999, 2000 Men's basketball (3): 1989, 1998, 1999 Baseball (3): 1988, 1989, 1995 Spirit squads
The switch from Division II to Division I (starting in the 2019-2020 season) meant a corresponding expansion and support of Merrimack's spirit squads. Dance Team Merrimack's dance team placed third at the NDA College Nationals in 2022, and came in second in 2023.https://merrimackathletics.com/news/2023/4/7/dance-warriors-claim-second-place-at-nationals.aspx The team was elevated to varsity level status in spring 2023. Mack the Warrior mascot The warrior mascot first appeared as a Native American chief on the jerseys of the basketball team. In 1972, the warrior mascot became official.
In 2003, "Mack (short for Merrimack) the Warrior" was introduced as a new mascot for the school. Mack's look was redesigned in October 2023. He is depicted as a costumed knight figure in the school's yellow and blue colors, with sword, shield, cape, and helmet.
Marching band Although Merrimack had a pep band, the school's first full marching band wasn't formed until 2021, as a result of the school's move to Division I athletics. In November 2021, shortly after forming, the band appeared in a cameo in a scene in the Whitney Houston biopic "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," which was filmed at Gillette Stadium in nearby Foxborough.