The New England Football League (NEFL) is a semi-professional American football league based in Salisbury, Massachusetts, and is a Non-profit Corporation founded by Thomas Torrisi.[1] It is the largest semi-professional league in New England, and has been one of the biggest leagues in the United States.[2][3] The NEFL was founded in 1994 and was also known as the Greater Lawrence Men's Football League.[4] In 2025, the league added a number of new teams expanding back to its historic 3 level format.
From 2013-2019, the NEFL has had single-A, AA Conferences, and AAA Conferences, with annual promotion and relegation among Conferences based on game results, so that the best teams work their way toward the higher levels. From 2021-2023 the league featured A and AA. In 2025 the league returned to its multi-level format with the addition of a number of new teams, featuring A, AA, and AAA conferences. In 2026 the league expects to add several more teams to the existing conferences, as well as adding a spring conference, which would play a shorter schedule prior to the traditional NEFL season kickoff.
The league provides competitive football for adult players. It is a "working man's league", as most players have regular jobs during the week.[5][6] Teams practice on weeknights and play virtually all games on weekends.[2] Players are not paid for their participation, but they often pay up to $200 to be on the team's roster.[2][6] The league runs from July through September, followed by single-elimination championship tournaments within each Conference. Each team can dress up to 65 players.[7]
The league is unrelated to the original NEFL, which operated from 1964 to 1969.[8]
The 2025 NEFL season finished with three league champions in AAA, AA and A; the Rhode Island Riptide won the Maritime (A) Conference by defeating the New London Silverbacks 28-0, their third NEFL Championship (2011, 2023). The Windsor (CT) Flyers won the North Atlantic Conference (AA), their first in program history in the NEFL, by beating the Haverhill Hitmen 28-14. The top level Colonial Conference (AAA) championship was won by the New England Bombers by defeating the Boston Bandits 26-16.
League history
The New England Football League was founded in 1994 by League President and Director of Marketing, Tom Torrisi, Chairman Matt Brien, Commissioner Bob Oreal, Vice-President and Treasurer John Motta and Secretary Christine Torrisi.[2] It started its 1994 season with four teams. By 1997, the number of teams tripled to twelve; in 2002, the league had at least one team in each New England state, and started its three-conference alignment with three different skill levels, one for each conference. The 2006 was the first season with at least 30 teams, making the NEFL one of the largest semi-pro football leagues in the country. Following the 2020 covid-era the league contracted to as few as 7 teams, but has since grown back to 22 teams for the summer 2026 season across all three conferences. In 2026, the league also hosted its inaugural spring season with 7 teams.
The League is distinguishable from numerous other semi-pro leagues by features like its annual All-Star Game, Independent Board of Directors, and its 30+ years of continuous operation. A by-product of the league's lengthy history is the New England Football League Hall of Fame which honors noteworthy participants in NEFL history.
Game rules
The NEFL describes its rule set as "modified NCAA rules". Most rules are adopted from the NCAA rulebook, but there are also a few NFL rules and NEFL-specific rules. Games use a free-running clock until five minutes left in either half or overtime, at which time the clock stops according to NFL rules. Game time is usually kept by an official on the field, but for some games is kept on the scoreboard by a paid, uniformed official operating it.
Current teams
Colonial Conference (AAA) (2026)
North Atlantic Conference (AA) (2026)
Maritime Conference (A) (2026)
| Team |
Stadium |
City/Area |
|---|
| Vermont Ravens |
Burlington High School |
Burlington, Vermont |
| Cumberland Coyotes |
Tucker Field |
Cumberland, Rhode Island |
| Metro West Golden Badgers |
Foley Stadium |
Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Mass Tsunami |
Holyoke High School |
Springfield, Massachusetts |
| Hartford Blue Devils |
Colt Park |
Hartford, Connecticut |
| Connecticut Bruins |
Osgood Park |
New Britain, Connecticut |
| Granite State Destroyers |
St. Anselm College |
Manchester, New Hampshire |
| Connecticut Wolves |
Old Killingly High School Field |
Danielson, Connecticut |
| New Hampshire Phoenix |
Welch Baseball Fields |
Raymond, New Hampshire |
| Middlesex County Longhorns |
Manning Field |
Lynn, Massachusetts |
2025 Teams
Colonial Conference (AAA) (2025)
North Atlantic Conference (AA) (2025)
Maritime Conference (A) (2025)
2023 Teams
North Atlantic Conference (AA) (2023)
Maritime Conference (A) (2023)
League champions
Annual League Champions Based on Conference[4]
| Year |
Team |
A |
AA |
AAA |
|---|
| 1994 |
Lawrence Lightning |
|
|
|
| 1995 |
North Shore Rage |
|
|
|
| 1996 |
Massachusetts Havoc |
|
|
|
| 1997 |
Massachusetts Havoc |
|
|
|
| 1998 |
Lowell Nor'easter |
|
|
|
| 1999 |
Lowell Nor'easter |
|
|
|
| 2000 |
|
Seacoast Hawks |
Lowell Nor'easter |
|
| 2001 |
|
Southern Maine Raging Bulls |
Boston Bandits |
|
| 2002 |
|
Connecticut Thunder |
Vermont Ice Storm |
Lowell Nor'easter |
| 2003 |
|
Seacoast Hawks |
New England Stars |
Boston Bandits |
| 2004 |
|
Hampton Hurricanes |
Connecticut Thunder |
Lowell Nor'easter |
| 2005 |
|
Rhode Island Raptors |
Seacoast Hawks |
Boston Bandits |
| 2006 |
|
Notre Dame Cobras |
North Attleboro Renegades |
Boston Bandits |
| 2007 |
|
Leominster Razorbacks |
Whaling City Clippers[9] |
Middleboro Cobras |
| 2008 |
|
Tri City Charge |
Whaling City Clippers |
Middleboro Cobras |
| 2009 |
Connecticut Spartans |
New Hampshire Wolfpack |
Tri City Charge |
Lowell Nor'easter |
| 2010 |
Seacoast Hawks |
Connecticut Panthers |
Western Mass Warriors |
Lowell Nor'easter |
| 2011 |
|
Rhode Island Riptide |
New Hampshire Wolfpack |
Connecticut Bearcats |
| 2012 |
Connecticut Bearcats |
Cape Cod Seadogs |
South Shore Outlaws[10] |
Western Mass Warriors |
| 2013 |
|
Central Mass Sabercats |
Pioneer Valley Knights |
Connecticut Panthers |
| 2014 |
|
Brass City Brawlers |
Rhode Island Wardogs |
Connecticut Panthers |
| 2015 |
|
Port City Vipers |
Somerville Rampage |
Boston Bandits |
| 2016 |
|
Mass State Wolverines |
South Coast Outlaws |
Western Connecticut Militia |
| 2017 |
|
Southern Vermont Storm |
Mass State Wolverines |
Connecticut Panthers |
| 2018 |
|
Seacoast Warhawks |
Worcester Wildcats |
Boston Bandits |
| 2019 |
|
Connecticut Brawlers |
Worcester Wildcats |
Marlboro Shamrocks |
| 2020 |
|
Green Valley Blackhawks |
Boston Bandits |
|
| 2021 |
|
Hartford Colts |
Western Mass Blitzin Bears |
|
| 2022 |
|
Mass Warriors |
Western Mass Blitzin Bears |
|
| 2023 |
|
Rhode Island Riptide |
Glens Falls Greenjackets |
|
| 2024 |
|
|
Middleboro Cobras |
|
| 2025 |
|
Rhode Island Riptide |
Windsor Flyers |
New England Bombers |
