One year after the Missouri Valley Conference reintroduced men’s swimming and diving for the first time since the 2002-23 season, the conference is growing. UMass Amherst announced on Monday that its men’s swimming and diving program will join the conference as an affiliate member of July 1st.
This means there will be seven teams at the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Miami-Ohio and Ball State are also Mid-American conference affiliates, and compete against MVC members Southern Illinois, Evansville, University of Illinois-Chicago, and Valparaiso at the championships. Many of these teams joined the MVC from the MAC, which sponsored men’s swimming and diving from 1953-2024.
The Miami-Ohio RedHawks are the powerhouse in this conference. Heading into the 2025-26 collegiate season, the team has won five-straight conference championships; four of those titles came in the MAC and the most recent from their win this season at the first MVC men’s swimming and diving championships since 2003.
A simulated version of the 2025 MVC championships with last year’s UMass roster (and using 2024-25 season best times) sees the RedHawks maintain their status as conference championships and slots the Minutemen fifth of the seven teams. Diver Andrew Bell, a rising senior and two-time NCAA Championship qualifier, would be one of the Minutemen’s most valuable athletes at this simulated championship, as he was at this year’s A-10 Championships. Bell was UMass’ high point scorer at the meet, winning gold on the 1-meter and 3-meter board. Freshman Chase Keeler was the team’s highest scoring swimmer with 36 points, followed by junior Sammy Quigg’s 30 points. The team finished sixth of eight teams at the 2025 A-10 Championships, 26 points behind fifth place La Salle.
The UMass men won 16 A-10 Championships during their time in the conference, winning their first in 1996 and their most recent in 2016. The team had 95 A-10 individual champions, 28 A-10 relay champions, and four A-10 individual championship record holders, per the school’s press release.
2025 MVC Men’s Swimming Standings
- Miami-Ohio — 820
- Southern Illinois — 691.5
- Missouri State — 602.5
- Illinois-Chicago — 553.5
- Ball State — 387.5
- Valparaiso — 139
- Evansville — 127
Unrelated, but Matt Fallon announced he’s not competing this summer. USA breaststroke is done
My tax $’s well invested as a Massachusetts taxpayer………their football expenses are the equivalent of standing on the “Tobin Bridge” and lighting $100 bills on fire. We’ve gotten the same return ever since the program went “big time” to Div I. This is my old college conference where Ohio U, Western Michigan, Bowling Green and my beloved alma mater “Golden Flashes” all had men’s programs in the mid to late 60’s. Only the Miami “Redskins” still have a men’s team from my era. Bowling Green went from the worst facility in the MAC to perhaps one of the best and then dropped their men’s program……go figure? I’m glad that UMASS kept both swim programs in this conference switch. For how… Read more »
In unrelated news, UMass has shuttered its geography department.
What’s happening to the A-10?
A-10 is fine. They just lost a member.
UMass is joining MAC and leaving A10 on7/1
What do you mean? It’s one of 11 schools, I dont think they’ll miss UMASS
This conference stuff is so stupid.
UMass?? Can’t find any colleges to swim against in the northeast???
This makes total sense as the UMass Women Swimming & Diving is already scheduled to join the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for 2025 – 26. So, with the Mid-American Conference and the Missouri Valley Conference combining under the MVC for Men (the MAC no longer support Men’s Swim & Dive), this was expected.
It makes sense only from the standpoint of where college conferences are currently at. Think Steve’s larger point is that conferences have become a mess.
Cal being in the Atlantic Coast Conference or UMass being in the Missouri Valley Conference would have seemed insane to most people 20 years ago.
They moved to the MAC for football reasons. All other sports included
Yep… Per the Press Release…
“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… Read more »
Ice hockey is the only sport they’re national class. Regional school rivalries disappear with these random conference assignments, different rivals for different sports will eventually kill interest in minor sports at these “mid major” schools.
I do agree with the sentiment that the loss of regional rivalries is bad for mid-major athletics, BUT their lacrosse teams are often national class, and their men’s soccer team is occasionally as well.