Husson College athletic director and football coach Gabby Price doesn’t want sympathy.

He simply wants his team to be in a league.

The Eagles applied for entry into the New England Football Conference, but league administrators chose Plymouth State College (N.H.) and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.) to become their 15th and 16th teams next fall.

The league was formed in 1965 with Bridgewater State (Mass.), Curry (Mass.), and Maine Maritime Academy of Castine as the founding members.

So Husson, which just concluded its third season after reinstituting the sport, will remain an NCAA Division III independent next season along with Becker (Mass.), Mount Ida (Mass.), and SUNY-Maritime (N.Y.).

“Nobody owes Husson College anything,” said Price. “It’s no one else’s fault. We have to be careful not to be frustrated. We put ourselves in this position [by not having a conference lined up before they reinstituted the program].”

He said the New England Football Conference would be a perfect fit for them.

“It’s certainly where we would like to be,” said Price, who added that if the league decides to expand again in the future, they will apply.

He also said the NEFC will be the only Division III conference they apply to.

“We’re at people’s mercy. We’re trying to do everything right. We’re trying to be a good neighbor, we’re trying to have a quality program with quality young men. Hopefully, it will be enough [to earn entry into a league some day],” said Price.

Price said there are many positives to being in a conference, including having a set schedule every season, developing rivalries within the conference, and playing for a league championship.

It would also help recruiting, he said, and would reduce travel expenses.

This fall, Husson traveled to New York twice for games, once to New Jersey, once to Massachusetts, and once to Virginia, although the game in Virginia was canceled.

Sue Lauder, commissioner of the New England Football Conference and the athletic director at Fitchburg State (Mass.), said Husson is a possibility for inclusion in the NEFC in the future.

“We were looking to bring in two established programs. We felt we should go in that direction right now,” said Lauder. “But the future is open.”

She said Husson is “still early in the process” of becoming an established program and added that even though the NEFC is the biggest Division III football conference in the country, “I’m sure we can handle more teams.”

Lauder added that the structure of leagues is constantly changing.

“You lose programs. You may have programs who want to go somewhere else,” she explained.

It would appear that Husson College’s geographic location could pose a problem for rival athletic directors trying to contain travel costs, but Lauder dismissed that theory.

“We already have Maine Maritime Academy, so the geographic issue doesn’t hold [water],” she said.

The New England Football Conference has two divisions (Boyd and Bogan) and there will be eight in each next season.

Maine Maritime Academy athletic director Jim Dyer said Husson would be a good addition to the NEFC.

“They have a good facility, a good coach, and their athletic department is a strong, competitive one,” said Dyer.

The 10-team New England Small Conference Athletic Conference, which contains in-state institutions Colby of Waterville, Bowdoin of Brunswick, and Bates of Lewiston, wouldn’t be feasible because the schools play an eight-game schedule and all of them are league games.

Then there is the Empire 8 Conference, but the travel costs would be prohibitive because six of the schools are in New York, Norwich University is in Vermont, and Springfield College is in western Massachusetts.

Price said the other options are to remain an independent; try to form a league with other independents, although seven schools are needed to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament; or possibly seek entrance into the Northeast-10, which is an NCAA Division II conference.

The Northeast-10 features Massachusetts schools Merrimack, Stonehill, Assumption, Bentley, and American International; Pace and C.W. Post (N.Y.); St. Anselm’s (N.H.); Bryant College (R.I.), and Southern Connecticut State.

NCAA Division II schools are allowed to have athletic scholarships, but the football schools in New England don’t have them, according to Price.

The Eagles have made dramatic progress in their three seasons.

Following an 0-7 inaugural season, the Eagles went 2-7 two years ago in which four of the losses were by 14 points or less. This season, they finished 3-4.

Two of those losses were by four points or less, to Plymouth State (21-19) and William Paterson (14-10).

The Eagles had more than 100 players on their roster this fall.

“We certainly made a lot of progress this year,” said Price. “We certainly had enough players to win games and be successful. We’ve matured so much as a team. I’ve very excited about the future of Husson College football.”

Price has seven games penciled in for next season, including a first-ever meeting with Norwich.

Husson is also tentatively scheduled to play Bridgewater State, which beat Husson 14-13 in an exhibition game this fall.

“We’ll have nine or 10 games next year,” said Price. “We get calls regularly [about scheduling them]. We don’t have trouble getting games, but they may not be ideal.”

Despite its independent status, Husson can still earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament if it has a good season.

But the chances would be better if the Eagles were in a conference, Price said.