In July 2019, the majority of Stevens’ athletic teams will be leaving the Empire 8 to join the Middle-Atlantic Conference, otherwise known as the MAC. The MAC is made up of two separate conferences, and Stevens will be joining the Freedom Conference.
“We are excited because the MAC is a very well-established conference with an extensive history,” said Russell Rogers, the Stevens Director of Athletics, who had significant involvement in the move to the new conference.
Stevens is no stranger to the MAC, making its return to the conference after a 42-year absence. Stevens will look to continue to add to its history in the MAC and carry over its dominance from the Empire 8 to the new conference.
The change, which will affect 23 of Stevens’ 26 teams, is predominantly driven by an effort to reduce the long travel times for Stevens’ student-athletes.
“We need to travel six hours for a two-hour game; it is really time consuming,” said Eloi Pradier, a freshman tennis player at Stevens. “I am really looking forward to the change.”
The shortened travel times that will result from Stevens’ transition to a new conference will provide student-athletes with a much more balanced student life. Not only will traveling to competitions become less of a hassle, but students will be able to spend more time on campus as well. Accordingly, students will miss less classes and have more free time.
Moreover, because of an increased proximity to conference teams, families and friends of students will be able to attend more competitions, enhancing the athletic experience for them as well.
“Our longest trip right now is 6 hours; the longest trip in the MAC is going to be 3 to 3.5 hours,” Rogers said.
Further, the direct product of less time spent on the road is an economic benefit for Stevens Athletics. Shorter trips mean less time spent in hotels and in buses, cutting costs and creating an opportunity for reinvestment, further bolstering the quality of the program.
“We didn’t want to just make a change just for change’s sake. While there was a sense of urgency, there was also a sense of ‘Let’s do it the right way, let’s find the right group of schools that make sense for all the right reasons like location, competitiveness, and the quality of the conference.’ The MAC Conference really fit all of those characteristics that we were looking for,” said Rogers on behalf of the change.
The only Stevens teams not transitioning to the MAC are the Men and Women’s Fencing Team and the Equestrian Team, which will remain in their current conferences.
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