MASCAC HISTORY
In 1970-71, at the urging of Trustee Howard Smith, the Athletic Directors of the State Colleges held a series of meetings to discuss the possibility of forming an Athletic Conference. In June of 1971, an affirmative agreement was reached and the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference became a reality.
In September of 1974, the Director of Athletics at Boston State College, James Sullivan, was appointed by the Board of Trustees to act as the first commissioner of the conference with David Roberts as the Sports Information Director. Also, in September of 1974, Massachusetts Maritime Academy became a member.
July of 1975 brought a merger between Lowell State and Lowell Technological Institute forcing the resignation of Lowell State from the conference. In January of 1982, Boston State College merged with the University of Massachusetts at Boston.
During the initial year of its existence, the conference members voted to award a cup annually to the institution, which excelled in overall athletic achievement. This trophy was named the Howard C. Smith Cup, in honor of former Trustee Smith, because of his tremendous contributions to athletics. However, as a suitable scoring system was not established, the cup was not awarded until the 1972-73 academic year.
Subsequently, additional trophies were donated to the Conference. In 1972, Governor Francis Sargent donated a trophy for the basketball championship. This award was to be called the "Governor's Trophy." The Board of Trustees gave a trophy for soccer to be known as the "Trustees Trophy." Trustee William Aubuchon donated two trophies in memory of his father and uncle to be known as the "William E. Aubuchon Sr. Trophy" in track and the "John B. Aubuchon Trophy" in baseball.
In June of 1973, August of 1987, December of 1990, and May of 1997 the Constitution and By-Laws of the Conference were revised, and approved by the Council of Presidents. From 2005-2017, all changes were approved with the Council of Presidents through the President’s Athletic Liaison.
In June 1975, the Conference was accepted as an Allied member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. This resulted in our basketball champion receiving automatic representation in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
During the 1976-77 academic year, the state institution women's athletic teams were incorporated into the Smith Cup competition on a trial basis. This expansion made the MASCAC the oldest men’s and women’s playing conference. At the annual meeting of 1977, it was voted to make women's athletics a permanent part of the Conference. A permanent trophy for field hockey was donated by Howard Smith in memory of his wife, to be known as the "Evelyn Sloan Smith Trophy."
On September 10, 1979, the Howard C. Smith Scholar-Athlete Award was established to be given to the outstanding male and female scholar-athletes. In December, 1981, F. Paul Bogan was appointed the second Commissioner of the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference, by the Council of Presidents with Curtis Pires and Mickey Curtis serving as Sports Information Director. In August 1990, John D. Galaris was appointed the third commissioner of the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference by the Council of Presidents with Tom Roundy as the MASCAC Sports Information Director.
In May, 1997, John C. Harper was approved by the Council of Presidents as the fourth commissioner of the conference while Susan E. Chapman was appointed the first-ever Assistant Commissioner. In July 1997, Charles “Rusty” Eggen and Carey Williams-Eggen were named as the Co-Conference Sports Information Director Intern and Publicist.
In August 1997, North Adams State College became The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in a move approved by the Board of Higher Education and Governor Cellucci.
In July 2000, Scott Nichols was approved by the Council of Presidents as the fifth commissioner of the conference. In January of 2006, Carey Eggen took over the Sports Information Director responsibilities. In August of 2006, Angela Baumann was selected as the first full-time commissioner and the sixth commissioner in conference history. In December of 2007, Justin Mokerzecki was selected as the MASCAC Media Relations Director. In August of 2008, Jim Seavey was named MASCAC Media Relations Director.
UMass Dartmouth and Plymouth State University joined the MASCAC as Men’s Ice Hockey Affiliates during the 2009-10 academic year. In 2010, in response to the six colleges becoming universities, the MASCAC changed it’s name to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference. During the conference’s 40th year, a strategic planning committee was convened to develop a strategic plan. In July of 2013, the MASCAC hired its first full-time Director of Media Relations Emily (Diekelmann) Loux.
The MASCAC hosted the inaugural year of MASCAC football with affiliates UMass Dartmouth, Plymouth State University and Western Connecticut State University in the fall of 2013. The strategic plan committee reconvened to update the document in 2016-17. In 2019, Dean College, Eastern Nazarene College, Elms College, Mitchell College and Springfield College joined the MASCAC as men's golf affiliates.