The Mid-American Conference is adding UMass as an all-sports member beginning in 2025-26, the conference announced Thursday.
UMass was previously in the MAC as a football-only member from 2012-15. The school and the conference parted ways because UMass declined to bring all of its sports to the conference. The school had been hesitant to leave the Atlantic 10, a conference in which it was a founding member.
UMass football won an FCS national championship in 1998 and reached the championship game in 2006, but it has struggled since moving up to FBS in 2012, never winning more than four games in a season. Coach Don Brown, who led that 2006 team, is 4-20 in two seasons in his second stint leading the program.
The men’s basketball team, which is led by former South Carolina coach Frank Martin, hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 2014. They’re 17-10, the program’s most wins since 2015. The women’s basketball team won 53 games in the previous two seasons but is currently 3-26. Ice hockey plays in the Hockey East Association, separate from any A-10 to MAC move.
“Conference realignment has become a constant among Division I Institutions,” Atlantic 10 commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade said in a statement. “Massachusetts has been very transparent with the Atlantic 10 in its search for an FBS conference affiliation. In turn, the A-10 has been very respectful of this need and the environment needed surrounding FBS football. … This news does not alter the mission of the A-10 as a nationally relevant successful basketball-centric conference with a robust Olympic sports platform also built for success.”
UMass will be the first full membership addition for the MAC since 1998 when it added Buffalo. The conference briefly had UCF, Temple and UMass as football-only members since then.
IT’S TIME TO GET SOME MACtion, @UMassAthletics!
Mid-American Conference to add the University of Massachusetts as full member beginning with the 2025-26 academic season!
🗒: | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/98dybD7ecV
— #MACtion (@MACSports) February 29, 2024
The MAC considered expanding beyond its 12 members during the massive realignment of 2021, talking with Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. MTSU eventually opted to stay with CUSA, and while WKU was still willing to accept an invitation at the time, the MAC chose to stay put and not grow to an odd number. While the conference didn’t expand at that time, commissioner Jon Steinbrecher stayed in touch with potential future members, a person involved in the discussions said.
Conference USA also had conversations with UMass about joining the conference, especially after announcing around Thanksgiving it would add Delaware in all sports. CUSA hopes to invite a 12th member this spring and Missouri State remains an option there with UMass now off the table.
UMass’ move leaves UConn as the last completely independent FBS program. Army will join the American Athletic Conference this summer, and while Notre Dame is an independent, it has a long-term scheduling agreement with the ACC. BYU joined the Big 12 last year, and Liberty and New Mexico State joined CUSA last year.
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