| Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference NCAA Division III Conference | |
 | |
| Founded: | 1971 (ice hockey: 2009) |
|---|---|
| Number of teams: | Men-10 (2024-25) Women-7 (starting 2025-26) |
| Commissioner: | Angela Baumann |
| Defending champions (men): | Plymouth State Panthers |
| Defending champions (women): | Plymouth State Panthers |
| Website: | http://www.mascac.com |
Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) is a league in NCAA Men's Division III. The conference was established in 1971. Men's ice hockey was sponsored from 1971-72 through 2002-03 seasons and then was reestablished starting with the 2008-09 season.
Men's Membership (2024-25)[]
Prior to 2020, of all the conference schools only Plymouth State and Salem State offer women's ice hockey. The women's teams play in New England Hockey Conference.
Plymouth State is located in New Hampshire and they are an affiliated (for hockey only) member of the conference along with U-Mass Dartmouth both joining the conference jor the 2008-09 men's ice hockey season.
Mass Maritime was added to the conference in September of 1974.
Lowell State College was a member until July of 1975 when the school merged with Lowell Tech and the schools were collectively renamed the University of Lowell and later UMass-Lowell, this school is now a member of NCAA Division I Hockey East.
Boston State was a member until 1982 when the school was merged in to UMass-Boston. The school now plays in the former ECAC East, which is now known as the New England Hockey Conference.
In 1997, North Adams State was renamed Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. The athletic teams changed their nickname from Mohawks to Trailblazers in 2002. The school was concerned about the use (and public backlash of a Native American name for its' team. The Trailblazers name was chosen since there are several notable trails including the Mohawk Trail (a trading route that was used to linked the pre-Colonial populations of of New England and upstate New York Other trails such as the African-American Heritage Trail, Appalachian Trail, Long Trail, Molly Stark Trail, Taconic Trail and the Mount Greylock trail system.[1]
Prior to the 2009-10 season, all these teams were in the ECAC Northeast (except Salem State, which was in the ECAC East). In 2008, Westfield State restarted their program after 30 years, which brought the number of MASCAC teams playing men's hockey to 7, enough for an automatic bid. As such, MASCAC began sponsoring hockey in 2009 and these seven teams left their old conferences.
On August 26, 2014 it was announced that Western Connecticut State Colonials will join the conference as an affiliated member for men's ice hockey starting with the 2015-16 season. However, the school cancelled the program for the 2015-16 season due to financial concerns and suspended the American Collegiate Hockey Association team as well.
Two all-sport MASCAC members do not presently participate in varsity level men's hockey; they are Bridgewater State, and Mass Maritme Academy (based in Buzzard's Bay). Bridgewater State and MMA have a men's club hockey team.
Seasons/Champions[]
Original League[]
Notable Players[]
- Joe Gurney (Fitchburg State '88) played for the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL and Maine Mariners of the AHL from 1988-1991
- Dick Lamby (Salem State '75) member of 1976 US Olympic Hockey Team; played for St. Louis Blues from 1978-1981
- Peter Laviolette (Westfield State '86) member of 1988 and 2004 US Olympic Hockey Teams; NHL Coach played 10 years in the minors and played 12 games for the New York Rangers. Head coach of Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. He was hired to be the head coach of the Nashville Predators starting with the 2014-15 season. He also coached the New York Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Women's League[]
As part of a June 14, 2023 announcement of the provisional addition of the Anna Maria Amcats men's ice hockey team and the Rivier University Raiders men's ice hockey team to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference as affiliate members for the 2024-25 playing season the likely addition of women's ice hockey in the not too distant future, likely in 2024-25 with the Anna Maria Amcats women's ice hockey and Rivier University Raiders women's ice hockey teams joining the women's conference.[1] This announcement would also put the previously independent Worcester State Lancers women's ice hockey and MCLA Trailblazers teams in a conference as well as the MASCAC is its' all-sport home.
The Salem State Vikings women's ice hockey team will join the conference in 2025-26 when the New England Hockey Conference is disbanded by the formation of the Little East Conference.
The Framingham State Rams women's ice hockey team will join the conference as a new program with the 2024-25 season.
Of the conference members that offer men's ice hockey Fitchburg State, Massachusetts-Dartmouth, and Westfield State do not offer women's ice hockey. Plymouth State is a member of the New England Hockey Conference as of the time of the announcemnt of the formation of MASCAC women's conference and will be joining the Little East Conference when it begins play in 2025-26. Bridgewater State and Mass Maritime Academy don't offer ice hockey at the varsity level for either men or women.