Mid-American Conference adds UMass as full member
The University of Massachusetts was unanimously voted into the Mid-American Conference (MAC) as a full member for all sports by the MAC’s Council of Presidents, as they announced on Thursday, Feb. 29. The move will be effective in 2025-26 and will improve the conference’s membership to 13 institutions.
UMass will compete in the MAC in baseball, field hockey, football, men's & women's basketball, men's & women's cross country, men's & women's indoor/outdoor track and field, softball, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, men's & women's swimming and women's tennis.
The conference isn’t anything new to the Minuteman, as they originally joined the MAC in 2012 as a football only affiliate, until they decided to become independent in 2015.
There will be a press conference held with MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, UMass Chancellor Javier A. Reyes and UMass Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford. It will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 7, and will be live streamed on UMassAthletics.com, ESPN+, and on the Massachusetts Athletics YouTube page.
EMU volleyball officially announces 2024 spring schedule
The Eastern Michigan University women’s volleyball program’s 2024 spring schedule is officially here, as head coach Kevin Foeman announced on Friday, March 1.
The Eagles are now fully focused to ramp up their spring season after concluding the fall season with an overall record of 5-25 while posting a 3-15 conference record.
The 2024 spring schedule will include the Green and White hitting the road for four exhibition matches. To set things off, the Eagles will head to East Lansing, Mich., on March 29, for a matchup with Michigan State University at 6 p.m.
Next, EMU will travel to Dayton, Ohio, on April 6, as they take on the Raiders of Wright State University. That matchup is listed as a tournament event with opponents, dates, and times being announced at a later date.
The Eagles will then face off against intrastate and MAC rival Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich., with times to be announced.
To end the spring slate, EMU will return to Washtenaw County on April 17, as they head down the road for a battle against the University of Michigan Wolverines.
Buck Smith named Co-Diving Coach of the Year as Eagles place sixth at MAC Championships
The Eastern Michigan University swimming and diving team competed at the 2024 MAC Championships as they placed sixth after a four-day series at the OU Aquatic Center on the campus of Ohio University.
The University of Akron would take the crown as they finished in first place with 812.5 points. In second place was Miami University (652.5), third place was Ohio University (583), fourth place was held by the University at Buffalo (442), and Ball State University finished in fifth place.
In the individual finals, Abby Szadorski (Oswego, Ill.) finished the 200y breaststroke with a time of 2:17.66 as she finished in 10th place. Just behind Szadorski was Taylor Harris (Tiffin, Ohio) as she finished in 11th place with a time of 2:17.71.
Kierstin Russell (Clinton, Mich.) would compete in the 200y backstroke finals where she placed 11th with a time of 1:59.43.
Katarina Pastar (Vienna, Austria) would close out the individual performances for the Eagles as she took part in the 200y butterfly finals finishing with a time of 2:04.93 to place 14th.
Marlee Christie (Seminole, Fla.), Lucy Noble (Flagler Beach, Fla.), Emma Littrell (Taylor Mill, Ky.) and Russell competed in the 400y freestyle relay as they finished in sixth place with a time of 3:24.77, marking a season-best for the Eagles.
To wrap things up in the three meter diving A-final, Rebekah Knapp (Mesa, Ariz.) would finish in second place to mark EMU’s highest finish throughout the four day event.
EMU’s head diving coach Buck Smith would take home his 25th MAC Co-Diving Coach of the Year award.
Next up, Eagle swimmers will now await who will be selected to compete at the 2024 College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) National Invitational Championships on March 14-16. Meanwhile, EMU divers will compete at the 2024 Zone C Diving Championships on March 14-16, in Louisville, Ky.