The UMass Minutemen college football team competes as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), representing the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). UMass began play in 1879 and have since appeared in two major bowl games. As they spent most of their existence since the late 1970s as a Football Championship Subdivision program, they participated in the DI-AA/FCS playoffs rather than postseason bowl games. In 2013 the team once again became eligible for bowl games upon the completion of their transition to FBS.