Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference


The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference is an [List of National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA conferences|intercollegiate athletic conference] affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Full member institutions are all located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with affiliate members also located in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia. The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference was established in June 1971, making it the oldest NCAA Division III men's and women's playing college athletic conference in the United States.
All full members are a part of the Massachusetts State Universities system and the public associate members are part of the University of Massachusetts System, the University System of New Hampshire, and the Connecticut State University System respectively. The rest of the associate members are private colleges.
On October 5, 2023, it was announced that in the 2025–26 school year, Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts will become the first private full member in the 53 year history of the MASCAC and the first new full member since 1974.
WWW mascac.com

History

Recent events

On April 21, 2022, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts announced they would reinstate men's ice hockey for the first time since 2002–03 and add women's ice hockey, beginning the 2023–24 academic year.
On January 5, 2023, Vermont State University at Castleton announced that it would join the MASCAC as an associate member for football, beginning in the 2024 fall season of the 2024–25 academic year.
On June 14, 2023, Anna Maria College and Rivier University joined the MASCAC as associate members for men's ice hockey and provisional women's ice hockey members beginning in the 2024 fall season of 2024–25 academic year.
On October 5, 2023, Anna Maria later announced that it would join the MASCAC as a full member, beginning in the 2025–26 academic year; thus becoming the first full private school member in conference history and the first new full member since Massachusetts Maritime in 1974.
On October 10, 2023, Dean College announced that it would join the MASCAC as an associate member for football, beginning in the 2025 fall season of the 2025–26 academic year.
On February 29, 2024, Plymouth State University and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth became the first MASCAC associate members to upgrade as affiliate members for football, beginning the 2025 fall season of the 2025–26 academic year.
On August 8, 2024, Marymount University and Marywood University announced it would join the MASCAC as associate members for men's golf, beginning almost immediately for the 2024 fall season of the 2024-25 academic year as the first members in conference history outside of New England.

Chronological timeline

Member schools

Current full members

The MASCAC currently has nine full members, all but one are public schools:
InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentEndowment
NicknameJoinedColors
Anna Maria CollegePaxton1946Catholic
1,485$7.2Amcats2025
Bridgewater State UniversityBridgewater1840Public9,550$54.0Bears1971
Fitchburg State UniversityFitchburg1894Public6,296$19.9Falcons1971
Framingham State UniversityFramingham1839Public4,111$35.4Rams1971
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
North Adams1894Public933$14.7Trailblazers1971
Massachusetts Maritime AcademyBuzzards Bay1891Public1,362$13.1Buccaneers1974
Salem State UniversitySalem1854Public6,239$25.3Vikings1971
Westfield State UniversityWestfield1838Public4,602$20.0Owls1971
Worcester State UniversityWorcester1874Public5,611$34.5Lancers1971

;Notes:

Current associate members

The MASCAC currently has seven associate members, all but two are public schools:
InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedMASCAC
sport		Primary
conference
Dean CollegeFranklin, Massachusetts1865Nonsectarian1,151Bulldogs2025footballGreat Northeast (GNAC)
Marymount UniversityArlington, Virginia1950Catholic
3,667Saints2024men's golfAtlantic East (AEC)
Marywood UniversityScranton, Pennsylvania1915Catholic
2,606Pacers2024men's golfAtlantic East (AEC)
Plymouth State UniversityPlymouth, New Hampshire1871Public3,839Panthers2013footballLittle East (LEC)
Rivier UniversityNashua, New Hampshire1933Catholic
2,822Raiders2024men's ice hockeyGreat Northeast (GNAC)
Rivier UniversityNashua, New Hampshire1933Catholic
2,822Raiders2024women's ice hockeyGreat Northeast (GNAC)
Springfield CollegeSpringfield, Massachusetts1885Nonsectarian2,785Pride2019men's golfNew England (NEWMAC)
University of Massachusetts–DartmouthDartmouth, Massachusetts1895Public7,759Corsairs2013footballLittle East (LEC)

Notes:

Future associate members

The MASCAC will have three future associate members, two private schools, and one public school.
InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedMASCAC
sport		Primary
conference
Husson UniversityBangor, Maine1898Nonsectarian3,065Eagles2026men's lacrosseNorth Atlantic (NAC)
Maine Maritime AcademyCastine, Maine1941Public979Mariners2026men's lacrosseNorth Atlantic (NAC)
Thomas CollegeWaterville, Maine1894Nonsectarian1,949Terriers2026men's lacrosseNorth Atlantic (NAC)

;Notes:

Former full members

The MASCAC had two former full members, both were public schools:
InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedLeftColorsCurrent
conference
Boston State CollegeBoston1872Public11,000Warriors19711982N/AN/A
Lowell State CollegeLowell1894Public2,353Indians19711975N/AN/A

;Notes

Former associate members

The MASCAC had nine former associate members, five were public schools and four were private schools:
InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedLeftMASCAC
sport		Primary
conference
Dean CollegeFranklin, Massachusetts1865Nonsectarian1,151Bulldogs20192020men's golfGreat Northeast (GNAC)
Eastern Nazarene CollegeQuincy, Massachusetts1900Nazarene535Lions20192023men's golfClosed in 2024
Elms CollegeChicopee, Massachusetts1928Catholic
1,513Blazers20192021men's golfGreat Northeast (GNAC)
Mitchell CollegeNew London, Connecticut1938Nonsectarian500Mariners20192023men's golfGreat Northeast (GNAC)
New England CollegeHenniker, New Hampshire1946Nonsectarian2,858Pilgrims20212023men's golfGreat Northeast (GNAC)
Plymouth State UniversityPlymouth, New Hampshire1871Public3,839Panthers20092025men's ice hockeyLittle East (LEC)
Plymouth State UniversityPlymouth, New Hampshire1871Public3,839Panthers20242025women's ice hockeyLittle East (LEC)
University of Massachusetts–DartmouthDartmouth, Massachusetts1895Public7,759Corsairs20092025men's ice hockeyLittle East (LEC)
Vermont State University at CastletonCastleton, Vermont1787Public2,363Spartans20242025footballLittle East (LEC)
Western Connecticut State UniversityDanbury, Connecticut1903Public4,417Wolves20132025footballLittle East (LEC)
Western Connecticut State UniversityDanbury, Connecticut1903Public4,417Wolves20182019men's golfLittle East (LEC)

;Notes:

Membership timeline


DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1971 till:2041
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5
Colors =
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:FullxF from:1971 till:1982 text:Boston State
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1971 till:2013 text:Bridgewater State
bar:2 color:Full from:2013 till:end
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1971 till:2013 text:Fitchburg State
bar:3 color:Full from:2013 till:end
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1971 till:2013 text:Framingham State
bar:4 color:Full from:2013 till:end
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1971 till:1975 text:Lowell State
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1971 till:end text:MCLA
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1971 till:end text:Salem State
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1971 till:2013 text:Westfield State
bar:8 color:Full from:2013 till:end
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1971 till:2013 text:Worcester State
bar:9 color:Full from:2013 till:end
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1974 till:2013 text:Massachusetts Maritime
bar:10 color:Full from:2013 till:end
bar:11 color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2013 text:Massachusetts–Dartmouth
bar:11 color:AssocF from:2013 till:end
bar:12 color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2013 text:Plymouth State
bar:12 color:AssocF from:2013 till:end
bar:13 color:AssocF from:2013 till:2025 text:Western Connecticut State
bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:2019 text:
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2020 text:Dean
bar:14 color:AssocF from:2025 till:end
bar:15 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2023 text:Eastern Nazarene
bar:16 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2021 text:Elms
bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2023 text:Mitchell
bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Springfield
bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:2023 text:New England (N.H.)
bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2024 till:end text:Anna Maria
bar:21 color:Full from:2025 till:end
bar:22 color:AssocOS from:2024 till:end text:Marymount
bar:23 color:AssocOS from:2024 till:end text:Marywood
bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2024 till:end text:Rivier
bar:25 color:AssocF from:2024 till:2025 text:Vermont State–Castleton
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1971
TextData =
fontsize:M
textcolor:black
pos: tabs:
text:^"Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference membership history"
  1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space.
<#

Sports

The MASCAC sponsored football for the first time in 2013. Conference members Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State, Framingham State, Massachusetts Maritime, Westfield State, and Worcester State departed the New England Football Conference after the 2012 season. They were joined later by fellow NEFC opponents Plymouth State, UMass–Dartmouth, and Western Connecticut State. The NEFC retained the conference's automatic bid to the [NCAA NCAA Division III|Division III Football Championship|NCAA Division III playoffs].
On August 22, 2019, the MASCAC invited 5 of the recently dropped men's golf members from the New England Collegiate Conference which includes Dean College, Eastern Nazarene College, Elms College, Mitchell College, and Springfield College; all of them are private colleges which is the first time that the MASCAC awarded membership to private colleges. The 5 private colleges joined the other men's golf sponsoring MASCAC schools from the NECC which includes MCLA, Salem State, Westfield State, and Worcester State to create a 9-team men's golf league. However Dean College men's golf left the MASCAC after the 2019-20 men's golf season to join their primary conference the Great Northeast Athletic Conference in men's golf. The MASCAC started Automatic Qualification to the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships in the 2021–2022 season for the MASCAC men's golf tournament winner.
Conference Sports
SportMen'sWomen's
Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Field Hockey
Football
Golf
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Track & Field
Volleyball

Men's Sports

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the MASCAC that are played by MASCAC schools

;Notes:

Women's Sports

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the MASCAC that are played by MASCAC schools

;Notes

Football

''For the current season, see 2025 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football season.''

All-time school records (ranked according to winning percentage)

Through end of the 2022 regular season. Records reflect official NCAA results, including any forfeits or win vacating.
#MASCACRecordWin %MASCAC
Championships
1Plymouth State298–198–71
2Bridgewater State335–238–71
3UMass Dartmouth181–1551
4Worcester State185–1810
5Framingham State220–251–27
6Massachusetts Maritime208–253–10
7Westfield State173–217–10
8Western Connecticut221–278–41
9Fitchburg State109–2530

Intra-conference football rivalries

The members of the MASCAC have longstanding rivalries with each other, especially on the football field. The following is a list of active rivalries in the MASCAC with totals & records through the completion of the 2022 season.