Plans were announced on Monday, Feb. 26 to bring a familiar face back to the Mid-American Conference. The University of Massachusetts, (UMass), will return as a full-time member to start the 2025-26 athletic calendar.

UMass was a member of the MAC for a short stay from 2012 to 2015.

The move will apply to all sports which is a change from their original deal in 2012 that applied only to football. An exception is their hockey team, who are a member of the Hockey East Association and will stay put regardless of the move.

With the move, the MAC sits at 13 schools for, bringing up questions as to how it will seamlessly work with the MAC’s recently announced adjustment to their pod-style seeding system.

The addition of UMass has caused speculation that more teams are on the way to help even the number of teams, with Western Kentucky being a common name in the discussion.

UMass is the first full addition to the MAC since Buffalo in 1998, and with their absence, there are only two remaining independent FBS teams left (Connecticut, Notre Dame).

Conference realignment has become a huge movement over the past few seasons being fueled by Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and switching playoff formats.

The Minutemen finished their football season at 3-9, baseball is 1-3 to start the season and women’s basketball is currently sitting at 3-26. Their men’s team has the highest win percentage of any UMass team, being 17-10.