February MACtion: UMass set to rejoin MAC in 2025

© Lon Horwedel- USA Today Network

Conference realignment continued to shock the college football world on Monday as the UMass Minutemen are set to rejoin the MAC starting in 2025.

This move will now leave just Notre Dame and UConn as the lone FBS independent teams in the country.

Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic first confirmed that UMass will be joining the conference for all sports after a 10-year absence.

UMass last competed in the MAC during the 2015 season finishing with a 3-9 record, 2-6 in conference play.

The two sides then chose to part ways as UMass elected not to bring all of its other sports to the MAC from the Atlantic 10.

© Meg Potter/Sun-News- USA Today Network

That concluded a four-year stint in the MAC where the Minutemen recorded just eight total wins in the team's first seasons in FBS play.

Before the move to the sport's highest level, UMass shined on the FCS stage with a national championship in 1998 and another appearance in 2006 under head coach Don Brown.

Brown coached the Minutemen from 2004-2008 but returns after multiple coaching stops, including most recently as the defensive coordinator with the Arizona Wildcats. He returned as head coach in 2021 and will look to lead the UMass program into a new era in the MAC.