PITMAN, N.J. — Vermont State University Castleton announced Wednesday that the school’s football team will join the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) as an associate member beginning in the 2025-26 academic year.
“This is a major milestone for VTSU Castleton football,” said Vermont State University President Dave Bergh. “It has been a long, and uncertain journey, but thanks to the hard work, passion, and perseverance of our athletics department leadership and coaches, the VTSU Spartan football team has found its place in a new, exciting, and highly competitive regional conference.”
The NJAC has a history of being one of the strongest football conferences in the country, housing teams such as associate member Salisbury University, which is currently ranked sixth in NCAA Division III football.
“We are thrilled to become an associate member of the NJAC for the sport of football,” said VTSU Castleton Director of Athletic Tim Barrett. “We would like to thank the NJAC Council of Presidents, athletic directors, and Commissioner Terry Small for accepting us into their prestigious conference. We look forward to the high level of competition and the opportunity to grow our football program against some of the best teams in the region.”
In addition to Salisbury, the Spartans’ new conference opponents include Kean University, Montclair State University, Rowan University, The College of New Jersey, William Paterson University, and fellow associate member Christopher Newport University.
“We are excited to welcome Vermont State University Castleton as the newest associate football member program in the NJAC,” said Commissioner Terry Small. “It’s a program that was in need of a conference home, and we feel that participation in the NJAC will be of great benefit to the Spartan football student-athletes. From a conference perspective, this development helps us from a scheduling standpoint and makes an already competitive football league even stronger.”
The Spartans will join the NJAC after participating in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) during the 2024 season.
“The Vermont State University Castleton football program is excited to join the NJAC,” said Head Coach Tyler Higley. “We are happy to find a home that has such a great reputation for football and athletics as a whole. The program is looking forward to the challenge of playing quality programs week in and week out.”
Castleton’s football program was a founding member of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference in 2009 during the Spartans’ inaugural season and proceeded to amass a 45-40 record over 13 seasons of play in the league through the 2023-24 academic year. 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. During its lone season in the MASCAC, Castleton owns a 3-4 record with three games remaining.
The first of those three remaining contests is scheduled for this Saturday as Castleton prepares to host MASCAC rival Worcester State at 2:30 p.m. at Dave Wolk Stadium.
