The Massachusetts men’s soccer team will be competing in the Summit League in 2025 and beyond, the team announced Monday. UMass accepted an invitation to become an affiliate member of the conference after the school chose to depart most of its other sports from the Atlantic 10 for the Mid-American Conference.
“It is a great day for UMass men’s soccer having been invited to join the Summit League, one of the nation’s premier soccer conferences,” head coach Fran O’Leary said. “We look forward to playing against some terrific teams and coaches and a special thanks to our athletic director, Ryan Bamford, for his countless hours of work spent on finding us a top conference to compete in.”
The MAC suspended its sponsorship of men’s soccer following the 2022 season, leaving the Minutemen actively seeking a new home for next year. With only five teams in the conference in its final season, the league decided to disband.
UMass is joining a much smaller conference which contains only half the amount of teams that the A-10 held in 2024. The Minutemen are one of two new additions ahead of next season, along with the University of Delaware. The two first-year schools are by far the easternmost members of the Midwest-dominated conference.
Denver has been the top team in the Summit League for the past two years. Ironically, UMass’ first ever matchup with the Pioneers was the most recent game it played, a 3-0 loss in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The two schools have previously sparked a hockey rivalry which will likely carry over into soccer in the near future, considering they’ll see each other annually.
Kansas City is another Summit League member that had a successful season in 2024, bringing in more competition for the Minutemen. The Roos finished with a 14-5-3 record and made it to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
Similar to the MAC move for most other sports at UMass, travel for away games will span much further horizons. The other three members of the Summit League are Omaha, St. Thomas and Oral Roberts. This means that conference road trips will take place in Delaware, Missouri, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado.
The Minutemen are coming off their second-best NCAA Tournament finish of all time, as the loss to No. 3 Denver marked their longest postseason run since the 2007 journey to the College Cup. UMass leaves the A-10 as three-time conference champions and five-time regular season champions and will look to replicate that success in its new Summit League venture.
Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @cam_pellegrino.
