From the hardwood to the hashmarks, the Massachusetts Minutemen and Minutewomen are breaking free from their traditions in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) for a football-driven move to the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Since the formation of the A-10 in 1976, originally called the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (ECBL), Massachusetts Men’s Basketball has been involved in the conference’s creation from the start. The league has evolved into a different conference since then, but one thing has remained constant: UMass and George Washington University have been the enduring fixtures of the conference until now, when Massachusetts announced its departure from the A-10 to the MAC in February 2024 for the 2025-26 academic year.

The Minutemen and Minutewomen of Massachusetts have succeeded in the A-10 for both basketball teams, recently or in the middle of the 1990s. Whether it was winning the regular season or the conference tournament titles, UMass forever has its name in the Atlantic record books with six regular season and five conference tournament titles from the men’s basketball team, and one regular season and one conference tournament title from the women’s basketball team. 

“It is perplexing with UMass’s history of basketball,” former Duquesne Men’s Basketball Head Coach Keith Dambrot stated after the announcement of the move. “It is a little perplexing that they are going to put all of their eggs into football.” Dambrot spent time as a head coach in the MAC at Akron before going to Duquesne.

Head Sports Editor for the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, Dean Wendel, has seen the Mid-American Conference up close and personal. Wendel, a rising senior at UMass from Buffalo, N.Y., has witnessed the MAC by attending sporting events at the University of Buffalo Bulls. 

“The MAC has always been the conference that stays the same a lot of the time,” Wendel said. “That is changing now with Northern Illinois leaving and UMass coming in, and a safe bet that [there] will probably be a couple more moves within the next five to ten years.” Before Massachusetts announced it would be leaving the Atlantic 10 to go to the Mid-American Conference, there was no movement of full members for around 20-25 years.

With Wendel having a perspective of some of the MAC teams, he feels that there is a good chance that Buffalo (UB) and Massachusetts could become conference rivals once UMass becomes a full member in July 2025. “UMass is similar to Buffalo, not even just with athletics, but [the] campus size is similar,” Wendel said. “Student population is pretty similar, [and] they are both big public universities.” 

This rivalry had the chance to start when the Minutewomen faced Buffalo in the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) on March 23, 2025. The game was back and forth between the Minutewomen and the Bulls throughout the whole game, so they needed overtime to determine a winner. Buffalo ended up winning in overtime and then went on to become the WNIT champions. The overtime match-up might be the spark to start a rivalry between the institutions. 

“Men’s [basketball] is going to be interesting to watch,” Wendel mentioned. “If they spend the same amount that they spent in the A-10 on resources and roster, they should be leading that conference and outspending them by a lot.” The men’s basketball team finished 11th this past season in a so-so year for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Meanwhile, the UMass Women’s Basketball team should fit smoothly into the MAC. The Minutewomen finished seventh in a top-heavy A-10 and could be MAC title contenders if they continue the upward build that Head Coach Mike Leflar has been working on since his tenure started in 2023, in what was a competitive conference last season. “Women’s Basketball [in the MAC] has been more competitive than the men’s side,” Wendel mentioned. “I think for the women’s team it will be more of a lateral move.”

The transfer portal era could impact teams in the MAC currently, as well as Massachusetts for next season, particularly affecting players on both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Some teams that were in the middle of the MAC this past season saw most, if not all, of their players enter the transfer portal in hopes of finding another team to play for next season. UMass Men’s Basketball faces a situation similar to most mid-majors, with 12 of their 17 players on the roster entering the transfer portal or graduating at the end of this academic year.

Looking at how players like Jayden Ndjigue and Daniel Hankins-Sanford, who are returning for the Minutemen, will fit into the MAC, as they are two of the returners for the Minutemen in the move. “I think [Jayden] Ndjigue and [Daniel Hankins-Sanford will] do well there,” Wendel hypothesizes on their potential success. “Both their defense, their hustle, and with DHS, specifically his scoring, I think they are going to be important for [UMass in] the MAC.”

The move to the MAC marks a bold new direction for a UMass program that has been involved in the traditions of the A-10. While the move has raised questions, especially from those who have witnessed both women’s and men’s basketball programs etch their names into the A-10 history, it is clear the university is set to prioritize the success of the football program.

With the dust settling on the move, the focus for fans shifts to what is next for Massachusetts in the MAC. On the women’s side, the team looks poised for a strong debut in a competitive MAC landscape. Meanwhile, the men’s team faces challenges with roster shake-ups, but returning players like Daniel Hankins-Sanford and Jayden Ndjigue give the Minutemen a place to build a foundation on.

Change is never easy, especially when it involves leaving behind decades of traditions. For UMass, the transition to the MAC is not merely a conference change – it is a statement. A new chapter begins in July, and Massachusetts is poised to make its mark in this new era.

Featured Images: Chris Tucci, UMass Athletics