UMass returning to MAC as full member for all sports beginning in 2025 after 10-year absence from league

[ad_1]

UMass will be joining the MAC in all sports starting in the 2025-26 academic year, the conference announced on Thursday. This marks a return to the MAC for UMass’ football program, which competed in the league from 2012-15 after making the jump from the Football Championship Subdivision. UMass’ other sports currently compete in the Atlantic 10. 

UMass football has competed as an independent since its departure from the MAC in 2015. The Minutemen have gone through three different coaches and failed to make a bowl game in the years since. They just finished their second consecutive season under coach Don Brown, who himself made a return to the program ahead of the 2022 season. 

“Today marks a historic moment for the Mid-American Conference as we proudly welcome the University of Massachusetts into our family,” MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said in a statement. “Adding UMass is an exciting next step as we increase the strength of our collective programs. We are thrilled to welcome their student-athletes, coaches, administrators, alumni and fans to the Conference.  The opportunity to add a state flagship institution with exceptional academics and a storied athletics tradition does not come along often.  I look forward to our collaborative efforts in providing outstanding opportunities for student-athletes to maximize their intellectual and athletic pursuits.”

Brown led UMass from 2004-08 when it competed in the Atlantic 10 and then the Colonial Athletic Association. He won two conference titles and guided the program to two FCS playoff appearances before leaving in 2009. In two years since making his way back to Amherst, Brown has compiled a 4-20 record, but three of those victories came during the 2023 season to mark the program’s highest win total since 2018 when it went 4-8. 

The addition of UMass will increase the MAC’s membership to 13, an imbalance that would normally be rectified in a…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/umass-returning-to-mac-as-full-member-for-all-sports-beginning-in-2025-after-10-year-absence-from-league/

Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2024-02-29 20:42:01

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.