Massachusetts Men's Swimming & Diving To Compete In The Missouri Valley Conference

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts men's swimming and diving program will be joining the Missouri Valley Conference as an affiliate member, beginning on July 1, 2025.

The Minutemen will become the seventh men's swimming and diving program in the league for 2025-26 and the third Mid-American Conference affiliate, alongside Ball State and Miami (Ohio). That trio joins MVC members Evansville, University of Illinois-Chicago, Southern Illinois and Valparaiso.

The MVC first sponsored men's swimming a century ago, with the first championship in 1924. Prior to reintroducing men's swimming and diving for the 2024-25 season as a league sport, the MVC had not sponsored men's swimming since 2002-03. The MAC sponsored men's swimming & diving from 1953-2024. Miami enters the 2025-26 campaign having won five-straight conference championships in men's swimming & diving (four in the MAC and one in the MVC in 2025).

The Massachusetts men's swimming and diving program won the Atlantic 10 championship 16 times, earning its first A-10 title in 1996 and notched three consecutive titles in 1997, before winning from 2001-05, and again from 2007-12. The Minutemen picked up their final two championship titles in 2015 and 2016.

Additionally, the program produced 95 A-10 individual champions, 28 A-10 relay champions and four A-10 individual championship record holders. The men also have three NCAA qualifiers, including most recently, diver Andrew Bell in 2023-24 and 2024-25. The Minutemen had two A-10 Student-Athletes of the Year and combined to earn 49 Academic All-Conference honors. UMass men's swimming has had three Academic All-Americans in program history – Marc Surrette (1986), Peter Koback, (1990) and Bell (2024).

Massachusetts Athletics Conference Overview
The Massachusetts Athletics department accepted an invitation to join the Mid-American Conference (MAC) as a full member, beginning on July 1, 2025. UMass will compete in the Mid-American Conference in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's and women's indoor/outdoor track & field, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, softball, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis and rowing (announced on July 19, 2024).

The Massachusetts hockey program will remain in the Hockey East Association.

The Massachusetts men's soccer program will join the Summit League as an affiliate member on July 1, 2025, while the men's lacrosse program will remain in the Atlantic 10 as an affiliate member. The men's swimming and diving program will compete in the Missouri Valley Conference.

About The University of Massachusetts
The flagship of the Commonwealth, the University of Massachusetts is a nationally ranked public land-grant research university that seeks to expand educational access, fuel innovation and creativity, and share and use its knowledge for the common good. Founded in 1863, UMass sits on nearly 1,450-acres in scenic Western Massachusetts and boasts state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, research, scholarship and creative activity. The institution advances a diverse, equitable and inclusive community where everyone feels connected and valued—and thrives, and offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees across 10 schools and colleges and 100 undergraduate majors. We believe every member of our university community can contribute to our ongoing success by striving for the highest level of excellence as we seek breakthrough solutions to mounting environmental, social, economic and technological challenges in our world.

About The Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference -- the nation's second-oldest NCAA Division I conference -- continues to be a leader in college athletics and is one of the nation's most progressive conferences, celebrating its 118th season in 2024-25. The Valley brand remains very strong, both regionally and nationally, and the great athletic tradition of the Conference remains a compelling force in recruiting student-athletes and in marketing all the MVC programs. League members have worked together to focus on common goals and objectives, placing a high value on league harmony, while continuing to invest in athletic programs to compete at the highest level.

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