BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University added another home-and-home series to its future football schedules on Wednesday when it finalized a home-and-home series versus Massachusetts. Appalachian State hosts UMass at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Oct. 29, 2016 and will travel to face the Minutemen in Amherst, Mass. on Oct. 28, 2017.

In the teams' only previous matchup, App State topped UMass, 28-17, in the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS national championship game in Chattanooga, Tenn.. The victory gave the Mountaineers the second of three-straight national titles.

UMass jumped to NCAA Division I FBS in 2012 and has been a member of the Mid-American Conference. The Minutemen will leave the MAC following the 2015 season and compete as an FBS independent in 2016 and '17.

Appalachian State is in its first season as a member of FBS and the Sun Belt Conference. The UMass series is the sixth that Appalachian has scheduled with FBS programs, joining Southern Miss (2014, '18), Wyoming (2015, '21), Old Dominion (2015, '16), Akron (2016, '17) and Charlotte (2018, '19).

The home game versus UMass closes out the Mountaineers' 2016 non-conference slate. App State will also play at Tennessee (Sept. 3), at home versus Old Dominion (Sept. 10) and at Akron (Sept. 24) in '16, giving the Mountaineers an all-FBS schedule for the first time.

Appalachian's game at UMass in 2017 will be its first venture into New England since it played at New Hampshire in the 1994 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs (a 17-10 overtime victory). The Mountaineers have never played a regular-season game in New England.

“We're happy to announce another future home-and-home series versus an appealing FBS opponent,” Appalachian State interim director of athletics Rick Beasley said. “App Nation remembers the first matchup against UMass in the 2006 FCS national championship as one of the most exciting games in program history. We're excited to welcome the Minutemen and their fans to Boone in 2016 and are looking forward to returning to New England for the first time in more than two decades in 2017.”