As the conference realignment carousel continues to turn, another New Jersey school finds itself on the move.

Monmouth University announced yesterday it has accepted an invitation to join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for the 2013-14 season. The Hawks will join the conference — based out of Edison — effective July 1, 2013, leaving the Northeast Conference.

“Monmouth is flattered by the invitation to join the MAAC,” university president Paul G. Gaffney said in a statement released by the school. “I thank the Council of Presidents for having confidence in us. While we have enjoyed our relationships with the NEC member institutions and our successes on the field, Monmouth is pleased with the opportunity to aim for new goals.

“There is little doubt that Monmouth and our NEC friends will find ways to continue valuable competitions. I look forward to working closely with new colleagues in the continual advancement of our new home conference.”

The MAAC will also welcome Quinnipiac University in Connecticut as a new member next season. There are reports that Wagner College on Staten Island will become the 12th and final member of the conference, but no invitation has been extended yet.

Monmouth’s opening to jump from the NEC came when Loyola (Md.) announced this past summer it would leave the MAAC to join the Patriot League.

The other current MAAC schools include Rider, St. Peter’s, Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Marist, Niagara and Siena.

“In evaluating potential new member schools the MAAC membership has sought to maintain a brand that stresses excellence in academics and athletics and Monmouth University fully meets that criteria,” MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor said. “The MAAC will be a great home for the Monmouth athletic program and the conference looks forward to the start of their participation with the start of the 2013-14 academic year.”

Monmouth has been a member of the NEC since 1985-86 and has won a total of 63 conference championships.

The West Long Branch-based school is expected to be the regional partner for Rider in the league’s new setup. Each of the 12 schools is expected to have a regional travel partner when the MAAC finalizes its expansion.

The move of Monmouth, Quinnipiac and possibly Wagner from the NEC to the MAAC could result in another New Jersey school moving to the NEC.

The NEC — based out of Somerset — would be left with nine teams if Wagner leaves. A possible replacement is New Jersey Institute of Technology. NJIT is currently a member of the Great West Conference, which does not hand out an automatic bid to the men’s NCAA Tournament.

But with the latest round of conference musical chairs opening a spot in a league with an automatic bid for basketball, NJIT is expected to push hard to join either the NEC or the America East Conference, according to an individual familiar with the school’s thinking.

While the NEC might be the more natural fit — replacing a fellow New Jersey school in Monmouth — the person said the America East is “more interested right now” in the school. The conference will see its ranks fall to eight after Boston University leaves at the end of the school year.

Moving to either the NEC or America East would finally give the Newark-based university a solidified home for its athletic programs. Being in the Great West, NJIT travels to outposts like Texas-Pan American, Houston Baptist, Chicago State and Utah Valley. The Highlanders are the easternmost school in the conference.

However, there is an added urgency for NJIT to leave the Great West Conference: It will be the only school left in the league at the end of the season.

North Dakota (Big Sky) and South Dakota (Summit) left at the start of this season. Houston Baptist (Southland), Utah Valley, Texas-Pan American and Chicago State (WAC) will all leave at the end of this season.

Brendan Prunty: bprunty@starledger.com; Twitter: @BrendanPrunty