Dickenman Named to 2017-18 Northeast Conference Hall of Fame Class

Former Central Connecticut men's basketball head coach Howie Dickenman was named to the Northeast Conference Hall of Fame it was announced by the conference office on Wednesday. Dickenman is part of a three-member class that becomes the eighth to be named to the NEC Hall of Fame since it was established in 2010.

CCSU will honor Dickenman at halftime of the home men's basketball game on Feb. 10 against Sacred Heart.

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Dickenman guided the Blue Devils for 20 seasons before retiring at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season. He is the only coach in Central history to lead the program to the NCAA Division I Tournament having guided the Blue Devils to three Northeast Conference Tournament Championships. He ranks second on the school's all-time wins list with 282, trailing only his former head coach Bill Detrick. He also ranks second all-time among NEC coaches with 187 regular-season wins in the league.

He established Central as a perennial contender in the Northeast Conference, guiding his alma mater to 16 consecutive NEC Tournaments from 1999-2014 and leading them to NEC Tournament titles in 2000, 2002 and 2007. The three tournament crowns is tied for second-most among NEC coaches. His 2000 squad took No. 2 seed Iowa State, a squad with three future NBA players, to the limit before succumbing. He led the 2001-02 Blue Devils to a school-record 27-5 mark and a league-record 19 straight wins. His 2007 championship squad was the first in conference annals to feature three All-NEC First Team selections. 

The only four-time Jim Phelan Coach of the Year in conference history, Dickenman's squads produced five NEC Players of the Year, three NEC Defensive Players of the Year and a pair of NEC Rookies of the Year. Over 20 of his players earned all-conference honors and 13 members of CCSU's 1,000 point club played under him, including Corsley Edwards, who is also in the NEC Hall of Fame.

The NEC Hall of Fame honor is the latest in a long list of honors for Dickenman. An alumnus of CCSU, Dickenman was inducted into the CCSU Alumni Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980 after earning All-America mention and becoming the first player to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds during his career. He has also been named to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame, New Britain Sports Hall of Fame, the Cheshire Academy Hall of Fame, the East Hartford Explorers Tap-Off Club Hall of Fame and the Norwich Sports Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Connecticut High School Coaches Hall of Fame and along with his late father, Howard B. Dickenman, Sr., they are the only father-son combination in the Hall.  

Central Connecticut will honor Dickenman at halftime of the home men's basketball game on Feb. 10 against Sacred Heart. Tickets for CCSU home games can be purchased at CCSUTickets.com or at the box office upon entry to Kaiser Hall and Detrick Gymnasium. Admission for all CCSU students, faculty and staff is free of charge with a valid Blue Chip card. 

The NEC Hall of Fame was established as a means to recognize, honor and perpetuate the memory of those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to NEC athletics and have helped to bring recognition, honor, distinction and excellence to both the Conference and its Division I athletic programs. 

Nominations for the Hall of Fame are made by current and former member institutions, along with the Conference office. Enshrinees are then selected in a vote by administrators from each current member institution and the Conference.

Student-athletes who have competed in an NEC-sponsored sport for at least two full seasons and completed their playing career at a member institution become eligible for induction beginning five years after exhausting their collegiate eligibility. Coaches, administrators and any other persons who have made outstanding contributions or offered extraordinary service to NEC athletics are eligible after three full years of service. 
A maximum of five inductees may be selected annually, including at least one male student-athlete, one female student-athlete, and one coach or administrator.

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 37th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league's official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.