UMass’ football team will leave the Mid-American Conference after the 2015 season, the school announced Wednesday.
Athletic director John McCutcheon said the decision was made after the MAC exercised a contract clause that offered UMass full-time membership in the conference for all sports. If UMass declined the offer, it would be able to remain a football-only member for just two more years. The school declined and will now leave the league after the 2015 season.
“While the report is not complete,” McCutcheon said, “we believe full membership for all sports in the MAC is not a good fit for us. Because most of the MAC schools are in the Midwest, the additional travel would strain our athletic budget and pose considerable time management challenges for our student athletes. We are confident that, within the next two years, we will find a more suitable conference for our FBS football program.”
“We remain committed to FBS football,” McCutcheon added. “Many institutions have successfully navigated this challenging period of conference realignment and we will do the same.”
In its first two seasons in the MAC (and FBS), UMass went 2-14 in conference play and 2-22 overall. The school changed coaches after this past season when it fired Charley Molnar and brought back Mark Whipple, who led the team to a Division I-AA national championship in 1998.