The Little East Conference officially began on April 28, 1986 as a playing conference for men's and women's basketball among six New England institutions: Eastern Connecticut State University, Plymouth State University (formerly Plymouth State College), Rhode Island College, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (formerly Southeastern Massachusetts University), the University of Massachusetts Boston and the University of Southern Maine. From the beginning, the conference was officially recognized by the NCAA.

The number of sports contested in the conference has grown to include men's and women's soccer, baseball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor track, men's and women's outdoor track, men's lacrosse, softball, men's and women's tennis and volleyball, as well as the original men's and women's basketball. The number of participating institutions rose to seven with the addition of Western Connecticut State University in 1993-94 and then to eight for the 1997-98 year as Keene State College joined.

Along with planning for the inclusion of new sports within the conference, the LEC's cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field programs are participating in an innovative joint program with the MASACAC conference to determine New England Alliance championships. Events contested are scored within each conference and for the Alliance as well.

The LEC recognizes the advantages of combining with other conferences which allows teams with lower numbers of participants to join forces and compete at a full-team level. It is likely there will be additional sports contested within the Alliance over time.