CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University football program will have a new home beginning in 2024, as Assistant Vice President for Athletics and Fitness Deanna Tyson announced Thursday that the Spartans will join the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) as affiliate members for football.
 
"We are grateful for the invitation extended to us by Commissioner Angela Baumann and the member institutions of the MASCAC and are excited to join the league in 2024," said Tyson. "The MASCAC is a great fit for Castleton geographically and allows us to continue to compete against high-quality programs within our region.
 
"The opportunity to compete with three other Little East Conference members as affiliates of the MASCAC made this an enticing move, as we can continue to build on our long-running history with Plymouth State while starting new rivalries with UMass Dartmouth, WestConn and the remainder of the programs in the league," she continued. "We are thankful for the years we spent as members of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference and look forward to this new challenge beginning in 2024."
 
"The MASCAC is extremely excited to announce Castleton University has been accepted to the conference as our tenth football member," MASCAC Commissioner Angela Baumann said. "Being a like state university, Castleton's profile aligns with our current affiliates and will be an excellent fit in expanding football within our conference. We are excited to welcome the Spartans to the MASCAC."
 
Castleton joined the ECFC as a founding member in 2009 as it launched the program, going 45-40 over 13 seasons of play in the league. Seven times the Spartans finished with a winning record against league opponents, including a 6-1 mark in 2012 and 5-2 records in 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2017. In 2021 and 2022, Castleton posted back-to-back 4-2 records in ECFC play. Castleton will compete in its final season in the ECFC in 2023 before joining the MASCAC the following year.
 
The nine other schools that compete in football in the MASCAC are Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State, Framingham State, Mass Maritime, Plymouth State, UMass Dartmouth, WestConn, Westfield State and Worcester State. Three teams from the MASCAC played in the postseason in 2022, with UMass Dartmouth competing in the NCAA Tournament and Plymouth State and Bridgewater State both playing in New England Bowl games.