By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State University is leaving the New England Football Conference following the 2012 season after being a member for nearly five decades.

The Bears, along with seven other NEFC schools plus Western Connecticut State University, will play in the nine-team Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference beginning in the fall of 2013.

Bridgewater State, Curry College and Maine Maritime Academy are charter members of the NEFC, which was formed in 1965 and has grown into a 16-team conference, the largest for Div. 3 schools in the country.

The Bears will be joined in MASCAC football by Framingham State, Fitchburg State, Westfield State, Worcester State and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, who all compete in the conference’s other sports. The MASCAC will have 17 championship sports.

The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Plymouth State University, who are in the Little East in other sports, will leave the NEFC for the MASCAC and be joined by Western Connecticut State, which is now in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

The NEFC will consist of eight schools, including Curry, Maine Maritime, Nichols, Endicott, Western New England, Salve Regina, Coast Guard and MIT.

According to BSU director of athletics John Harper, the idea of leaving the NEFC for the MASCAC has been discussed in recent years.

He said the 16-team format had become difficult from an administrative angle and there was “a difference in philosophy in how programs were funded by public and private schools.’’

“This makes an awful lot of sense,’’ said Harper. “We have six MASCAC schools who play football. From an administrative point of view, it just makes sense.

“The worst part of it is we were charter members of the NEFC. Quite honestly, one of the things that goes through my mind is Coach (Pete) Mazzaferro (the former BSU coach) and (retired Mass. Maritime coach) Don Ruggeri, who did so much with the NEFC.

“Change is always hard, but if you’re making it for the right reason, it’s OK.’’

The MASCAC will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Div. 3 tournament beginning in 2015 after a two-year waiting period.

The NEFC, which has held a championship game since 2000, will maintain its automatic bid in the tourney.

BSU, Curry and Maine Maritime were alone in the NEFC from 1965-71, then Plymouth State and New England College were added. By 1981, there were 12 teams, and when the conference grew to 14 teams in 1997, two divisions were set up.

Since the MASCAC will be a nine-team league, BSU and the others will have a bye week at some point in the season. The MASCAC teams will play two non-conference games, and Harper said the hope is that the opponents will come from the NEFC.

The Bears, who begin spring practice on March 19, will finish out their run in the NEFC next fall, then prepare for a new football chapter.

“I don’t think it’s going to be tremendously different,’’ said BSU coach Chuck Denune. “We’re going to be playing everybody we played in the NEFC.

“Times are changing. It was neat being part of the largest (Div. 3) conference in the nation with a playoff game. Not a lot of Div. 3 leagues have championship games like that.’’

Bridgewater State won the NEFC championship in 2000, defeating Salve Regina, 27-24, in the initial title game. They also won championships in 1966, 1969, 1989 and 1992.

The Bears earned division titles in 1998 and 1999 and shared the crown with Worcester State in 1997.