Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference

The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) is an 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.^[1][2]

Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference

Association	NCAA
Founded	1971
Commissioner	Angela Baumann (since 2006)
Sports fielded	16 men's: 8 women's: 8
Division	Division III
No. of teams	9 full, 7 associate
Country	United States
Headquarters	Westfield, Massachusetts
Region	Massachusetts and New England (with associates)
Official website	www.mascac.com
Locations

All full members are a part of the Massachusetts State Universities system (every member in the Massachusetts State Universities system except the Massachusetts College of Art and Design is also a MASCAC member)^[3] and the public associate members are part of the University of Massachusetts System [UMASS System (UMASS Dartmouth)], the University System of New Hampshire (Plymouth State University), and the Connecticut State University System (Western Connecticut State University) 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.^[4]

History

Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference

50km
31miles

Framingham State

Rivier

Dean

Anna Maria

Springfield

UMass Dartmouth

Plymouth State

Salem State

Mass Maritime

Bridgewater State

Worcester State

Westfield State

MCLA

Fitchburg State

   

Locations of MASCAC members: full, current associate (note: map does not show men's golf affiliates Marymount (in Arlington, Virginia) and Marywood (in Scranton, Pennsylvania))

Chronological timeline

• 1971 – In June 1971, the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) was founded. Charter members included Boston State College, Bridgewater State College (now Bridgewater State University), Fitchburg State College (now Fitchburg State University), Framingham State College (now Framingham State University), Lowell State College, North Adams State College (now the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts [MCLA]), Salem State College (now Salem State University), Westfield State College (now Westfield State University) and Worcester State College (now Worcester State University), beginning the 1971–72 academic year.
• 1974 – The Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Mass Maritime) joined the MASCAC in the 1974–75 academic year.
• 1975 – Lowell State College left the MASCAC when it was merged into Lowell Technological Institute to become the University of Lowell (now the University of Massachusetts–Lowell [UMass Lowell]) after the 1974–75 academic year.
• 1982 – Boston State College left the MASCAC when it was merged into the University of Massachusetts–Boston (UMass Boston) after the 1981–82 academic year.
• 2009 – The University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth) and Plymouth State University joined the MASCAC as associate members for men's ice hockey in the 2009–10 academic year. This marked the first time the MASCAC added associate members and it marked the first time that the MASCAC added members (full or associate) outside of Massachusetts.
• 2013 – The MASCAC began sponsoring football in the 2013 fall season (2013–14 academic year) after the New England Football Conference (NEFC) dissolved; with Western Connecticut State University (alongside UMass Dartmouth and Plymouth State) joining as MASCAC as associate members for the sport.
• 2019 – Dean College, Eastern Nazarene College, Elms College, Mitchell College and Springfield College joined the MASCAC as associate members for men's golf in the 2020 spring season (2019–20 academic year). This marks the first time that the MASCAC added private institutions under the MASCAC banner for any sport.
• 2020 – Dean left the MASCAC as an associate member for men's golf after the 2020 spring season (2019–20 academic year).
• 2021 – New England College joined the MASCAC as an associate member for men's golf in the 2022 spring season (2021–22 academic year).
• 2022 – MCLA announced they would reinstate men's ice hockey for the first time since 2002–03 and add women's ice hockey for the 2023–24 academic year.^[5]
• 2024 –
  • 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 (2024–25 academic year).^[6]
  • Vermont State University at Castleton joined the MASCAC as an associate member for football beginning in the 2024 fall season (2024–25 academic year).^[7][8]
  • Marymount University and Marywood University joined the MASCAC as associate members for men's golf beginning in the 2024 fall season (2024-25 academic year) as the first members (full or associate) in conference history outside of New England.^[9]
• 2025 –
  • Anna Maria College joined the MASCAC as a full member beginning in the 2025 fall season (2025-26 academic) as the first full private school member in conference history and the first new full member since Massachusetts Maritime in 1974.^[10]
  • Dean College joined the MASCAC as an associate member for football beginning in the 2025 fall season (2025–26 academic year).^[11]
  • VSU Castleton and Western Connecticut State both left the MASCAC for football after the 2024 fall season (2024–25 academic year).^[12]

Member schools

Current full members

The MASCAC currently has nine full members, all but one are public schools:

Institution	Location[a]	Founded	Affiliation[b]	Enrollment	Endowment (millions)	Nickname	Joined[c]	Colors
Anna Maria College	Paxton	1946	Catholic (S.S.A.)	1,485	$7.2	Amcats	2025
Bridgewater State University[d]	Bridgewater	1840	Public[e]	9,550	$54.0	Bears	1971
Fitchburg State University	Fitchburg	1894		6,296	$19.9	Falcons	1971
Framingham State University	Framingham	1839		4,111	$35.4[f]	Rams	1971
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts[g] (MCLA)	North Adams	1894		933	$14.7	Trailblazers	1971
Massachusetts Maritime Academy[h][d]	Buzzards Bay	1891		1,362	$13.1[i]	Buccaneers	1974
Salem State University[g]	Salem	1854		6,239	$25.3	Vikings	1971
Westfield State University	Westfield	1838		4,602	$20.0[j]	Owls	1971
Worcester State University	Worcester	1874		5,611	$34.5	Lancers	1971

Notes

1. All cities are located in the State of Massachusetts.
2. Any school that's a private school will be classified based on a religious affiliation; unless it had none, hence being nonsectarian.
3. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
4. School does not sponsor ice hockey.
5. Part of the Massachusetts State Universities System.^[13]
6. Actual amount in endowment is $35,385,907.
7. School does not sponsor football.
8. School does not sponsor men's or women's basketball.
9. Actual amount in endowment is $13,051,554.
10. Actual amount in endowment is $20,002,999.

Current associate members

The MASCAC currently has seven associate members, all but two are public schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation[a]	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	MASCAC sport(s)	Primary conference
Dean College	Franklin, Massachusetts	1865	Nonsectarian	1,151	Bulldogs	2025	football	Great Northeast (GNAC)
Marymount University	Arlington, Virginia	1950	Catholic (RSHM)	3,667	Saints	2024	men's golf	Atlantic East (AEC)
Marywood University	Scranton, Pennsylvania	1915	Catholic (I.H.M.)	2,606	Pacers	2024	men's golf	Atlantic East (AEC)
Plymouth State University	Plymouth, New Hampshire	1871	Public[b]	3,839	Panthers	2013	football	Little East (LEC)
Rivier University	Nashua, New Hampshire	1933	Catholic (S.P.M.)	2,822	Raiders	2024	men's ice hockey	Great Northeast (GNAC)
						2024	women's ice hockey
Springfield College	Springfield, Massachusetts	1885	Nonsectarian	2,785	Pride	2019	men's golf	New England (NEWMAC)
University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth	Dartmouth, Massachusetts	1895	Public[c]	7,759	Corsairs	2013	football	Little East (LEC)

Notes:

1. Any school that's a private school will be classified based on a religious affiliation; unless it had none, hence being nonsectarian.
2. Part of the University System of New Hampshire.
3. Part of the University of Massachusetts System.

Former full members

The MASCAC had two former full members, both were public schools:

Institution	Location[a]	Founded	Affiliation[b]	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[c]	Left[d]	Colors	Current conference
Boston State College	Boston	1872	Public	11,000[14]	Warriors	1971	1982	N/A	N/A[e]
Lowell State College	Lowell	1894	Public	2,353[15]	Indians[16][17]	1971	1975	N/A	N/A[f]

Notes

1. All cities were located in the State of Massachusetts.
2. Any school that's a private school will be classified based on a religious affiliation; unless it had none, hence being nonsectarian.
3. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
4. Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
5. Boston State was merged into the University of Massachusetts–Boston.
6. Lowell State was merged into the University of Massachusetts–Lowell.

Former associate members

The MASCAC had nine former associate members, five were public schools and four were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation[a]	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[b]	Left[c]	MASCAC sport(s)	Primary conference
Dean College	Franklin, Massachusetts	1865	Nonsectarian	1,151	Bulldogs	2019	2020	men's golf	Great Northeast (GNAC)
Eastern Nazarene College	Quincy, Massachusetts	1900	Nazarene	535	Lions	2019	2024	men's golf	Closed in 2024
Elms College	Chicopee, Massachusetts	1928	Catholic (S.S.J.)	1,513	Blazers	2019	2022	men's golf	Great Northeast (GNAC)
Mitchell College	New London, Connecticut	1938	Nonsectarian	500	Mariners	2019	2024	men's golf	Great Northeast (GNAC)
New England College	Henniker, New Hampshire	1946	Nonsectarian	2,858	Pilgrims	2021	2024	men's golf	Great Northeast (GNAC)
Plymouth State University	Plymouth, New Hampshire	1871	Public[d]	3,839	Panthers	2009	2025	men's ice hockey	Little East (LEC)
						2024	2025	women's ice hockey
University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth	Dartmouth, Massachusetts	1895	Public[e]	7,759	Corsairs	2009	2025	men's ice hockey	Little East (LEC)
Vermont State University at Castleton	Castleton, Vermont	1787	Public[f]	2,363	Spartans	2024	2025	football	Little East (LEC)
Western Connecticut State University	Danbury, Connecticut	1903	Public[g]	4,417	Wolves	2013	2025	football	Little East (LEC)

Notes

1. Any school that's a private school will be classified based on a religious affiliation; unless it had none, hence being nonsectarian.
2. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
3. Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
4. Part of the University System of New Hampshire.
5. Part of the University of Massachusetts System.
6. Part of the Vermont State Colleges System.
7. Part of the Connecticut State University System.

Membership timeline

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football)   Associate member (sport) 

Sports

See also: MASCAC men's basketball tournament

See also: MASCAC Men's Hockey Tournament

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 (NEFC) (now Commonwealth Coast Football) after the 2012 season. They were joined later by fellow NEFC opponents Plymouth State, UMass–Dartmouth, and Western Connecticut State.^[18] The NEFC retained the conference's automatic bid to the 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 (NECC) 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.^[19][20][21] 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 (GNAC) in men's golf. The MASCAC started Automatic Qualification (AQ) to the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships in the 2021–2022 season for the MASCAC men's golf tournament winner.^[19]

Conference Sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Field Hockey		Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y
Ice Hockey	Y	Y
Lacrosse		Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Track & Field	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

Men's Sports

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Football	Golf	Ice Hockey	Soccer	Track & Field	Total MASCAC Sports
Anna Maria	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	N	5
Bridgewater State	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	6
Fitchburg State	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	7
Framingham State	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	6
Mass Maritime	Y	N	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	5
MCLA	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	5
Salem State	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	5
Westfield State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Worcester State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Totals	9	8	6	7+3	4+3	7+1	9	5	55+7
Affiliate Members
Dean				Y					1
Marymount					Y				1
Marywood					Y				1
Plymouth State				Y					1
Rivier						Y			1
Springfield					Y				1
UMass Dartmouth				Y					1

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

School	Lacrosse	Rowing	Sailing	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Wrestling
Anna Maria	NAC
Bridgewater State				LEC	LEC	NEWA
Mass Maritime	LEC	Y	Y
MCLA	NAC
Salem State	LEC				LEC

Notes

Women's Sports

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Field Hockey	Ice Hockey	Lacrosse	Soccer	Softball	Track & Field	Volleyball	Total MASCAC Sports
Anna Maria	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	7
Bridgewater State	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Fitchburg State	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Framingham State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Mass Maritime	N	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	6
MCLA	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	6
Salem State	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	7
Westfield State	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Worcester State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Totals	8	7	7	5+1	8	9	9	6	9	68+1
Affiliate Members
Rivier				Y						1

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

School	Equestrian	Golf	Rowing	Sailing	Swimming & Diving	Tennis
Bridgewater State	IHSA				LEC	LEC
Mass Maritime			Y	Y
Salem State						LEC
Westfield State		LEC			LEC[a]
Worcester State		IND

Notes

1. Swimming only

Football

For the current season, see 2023 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.

#	MASCAC	Record	Win %	MASCAC Championships
1	Plymouth State	298–198–7	.599	1
2	Bridgewater State	335–238–7	.584	1
3	UMass Dartmouth	181–155	.539	1
4	Worcester State	185–181	.505	0
5	Framingham State	220–251–2	.467	7
6	Massachusetts Maritime	208–253–1	.451	0
7	Westfield State	173–217–1	.444	0
8	Western Connecticut	221–278–4	.443	1
9	Fitchburg State	109–253	.301	0

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.

Teams		Rivalry name	Trophy	Meetings	Record	Series leader	Current streak
Bridgewater State	Massachusetts Maritime	Cranberry Bowl	The Scoop	47	34–12–1	Bridgewater State	Bridgewater State won 5
	Westfield State	None	None	40	31–9		Bridgewater State won 11
Fitchburg State	Worcester State	Sterling Cup[22]	Sterling Cup trophy	37	10–27	Worcester State	Worcester State won 5
Framingham State	Western Connecticut	None	None	19	15–4	Framingham State	Western Connecticut won 1
	Massachusetts Maritime	Kelley Bowl	Kelley Cup[23]	50	28–23	Framingham State	Framingham State won 14
	Worcester State	Route 9 Cup[24]	None	37	18–20	Worcester State	Framingham State won 10
Massachusetts Maritime	Bridgewater State	Cranberry Bowl	The Scoop	47	12–34–1	Bridgewater State	Bridgewater State won 5
	Framingham State	Kelley Bowl	Kelley Cup[23]	50	23–28	Framingham State	Framingham State won 14
Plymouth State	UMass Dartmouth	None	None	23	11–12	UMass Dartmouth	UMass Dartmouth won 4
UMass Dartmouth	Plymouth State			23	12–11
Western Connecticut	Framingham State			19	4–15	Framingham State	Western Connecticut won 1
Westfield State	Bridgewater State			40	9–31	Bridgewater State	Bridgewater State won 11
Worcester State	Fitchburg State	Sterling Cup[22]	Sterling Cup trophy	37	27–10	Worcester State	Worcester State won 5
	Framingham State	Route 9 Cup[24]	None	37	20–18	Worcester State	Framingham State won 10

Football champions

		Record		Ranking
Year	Champions	Conference	Overall	D3.com	Bowl result	Head coach
2013	Framingham State	8–0	9–2	N/A	L NCAA Division III First Round 17–20 vs. Ithaca	Tom Kelley
2014	Framingham State	8–0	10–1	N/A	W ECAC North Atlantic Bowl	Tom Kelley
2015	Framingham State	8–0	9–2	N/A	L NCAA Division III First Round 22–42 vs. Wesley	Tom Kelley
2016	Bridgewater State	8–0	8–3	N/A	L NCAA Division III First Round 27–33 vs. Alfred	Joe Verria
2017	Framingham State	7–1	10–1	N/A	W New England Bowl	Tom Kelley
	Plymouth State	7–1	9–2	N/A	L NCAA Division III First Round 0–66 vs. Brockport	Paul Castonia
2018	Framingham State	7–1	8–3	N/A	L NCAA Division III First Round 27–40 vs. Brockport	Tom Kelley
2019	Framingham State	8–0	8–3	N/A	L NCAA Division III First Round 21–58 vs. Wesley	Tom Kelley
2020	MASCAC season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25]
2021	Framingham State	8–0	8–3	N/A	L NCAA Division III First Round 0–45 vs. Muhlenberg	Tom Kelley
2022	UMass Dartmouth	8–0	9–2	N/A	L NCAA Division III First Round 20–63 vs. Ithaca	Mark Robichaud
2023	Western Connecticut	7-1	7-3	N/A	L NCAA Division III First Round 20–62 vs. Johns Hopkins	Joe Loth