Massachusetts Minutemen

UMass Minutemen football
Current season: 2021 Massachusetts Minutemen
First season	1879
Athletic director	Ryan Bamford
Head coach	Walt Bell
	1st year, 1–15–0 (.063)
Home stadium	McGuirk Alumni Stadium
Stadium capacity	17,000
Stadium surface	FieldTurf
Location	Amherst, Massachusetts
Conference	Independent
All-time history
All-time record	570–587–50 (.493)
Postseason bowl record	1–1 (.500)
Claimed national titles	1 (Div. I FCS): 1998
Conference titles	22 (non-FBS)
Rivalries	Boston College (rivalry) UConn (rivalry)
Heisman winners	0
Consensus All-Americans	2
Current uniform
Colors	Maroon and White
Fight song	Fight Mass
Mascot	Sam the Minuteman
Marching band	The Power and Class of New England
Outfitter	Adidas
Website	UMassAthletics.com

The Massachusetts Minutemen football team, also known as the UMass Minutemen, represents the University of Massachusetts at Amherst located in Amherst, Massachusetts.

The Minutemen are currently part of the NCAA FBS Independents. Previously UMass was a member of the NCAA FBS Mid-American Conference from 2012 to 2015. Prior to that, the Minutemen were a member of the NCAA FCS Colonial Athletic Association.

The Minutemen play their home games at McGuirk Alumni Stadium (capacity 17,000) in Hadley, Massachusetts. The Minutemen also play some home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts - which also serves as the home field for the New England Patriots of the NFL. UMass is currently coached by Walt Bell.

UMass began play in 1879 and have since appeared in three FCS National Championship games, winning the title in 1998. The Minutemen began a two-year Football Bowl Subdivision transition period in 2011, becoming bowl eligible in 2013. In March 2014, the Mid-American Conference and UMass announced an agreement for the Minutemen to leave the conference after the 2015 season due to UMass declining an offer to become a full member of the conference.

The Minutemen have subsequently played as an independent through the 2019 season. Template:Asof, the program's 12-game schedules through the 2022 season are fixed, 10 of 12 games are fixed for both 2023 and 2024, and at least three games per season are fixed out to 2028.

History

Early history (1879–1977)

UMass began playing football on November 22, 1879, when the school was known as Massachusetts Agricultural College, and the team was known as the "Aggies." They were first organized the previous fall by Francis Codman, but did not play their first game until November 22, 1879, defeating the Amherst College freshman team 4–0. As this was their only game that year, 1879 is noted as their first undefeated season, matched only by the 1889 season (2–0) and the 1963 season (8–0–1). Massachusetts later teamed up with Storrs Agricultural College (now the University of Connecticut) and Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now the University of Rhode Island) to form the Athletic League of New England State Colleges for the purpose of scheduling football matchups between the schools. The first meeting between the Aggies and each of the other schools resulted in a shutout win for Massachusetts, as they defeated Connecticut, 36–0, in 1897 and Rhode Island, 46–0, in 1903. Massachusetts won their 100th game on October 2, 1920, topping rival Connecticut in a 28–0 shutout. The team played their 1000th game on November 11, 2000, losing to conference foe Delaware, 19–31. The team's nickname has endured several changes throughout the years. Though the official nickname remained "Aggies", "Statesmen" was also used interchangeably beginning when the school was renamed to Massachusetts State College in 1931. The nickname was officially changed to the "Redmen" when the name of the college became the University of Massachusetts in 1947.

Pittsburgh assistant coach Vic Fusia took over the Redmen football program in 1961 and under his tutelage, UMass compiled a record of 59–32–2. The Fusia era included an undefeated 8–0–1 campaign in 1963 as well as records of 8–2, 7–2, 6–3 and 7–2 in the following years. However, two losing records in three seasons led to Fusia's dismissal after the 1970 season. Denver Broncos linebackers and defensive backs coach Dick MacPherson, a former UMass assistant from 1959–1960, took over after Fusia's firing. Under MacPherson, the Redmen compiled a record of 45–27–1. In response to changing attitudes regarding the use of Native American-themed mascots, they changed their mascot in 1972 to the Minuteman, based on the historical "minuteman" relationship with Massachusetts; women's teams and athletes are known as Minutewomen.

Mark Whipple era (1998–2003)

In his first stint as coach of UMass from 1998 to 2003, Mark Whipple won the NCAA Division I-AA national title. His UMass teams rewrote the record books, setting more than 40 team records. The 1998 national championship team posted school records in points scored (524), touchdowns (73), total yards (7,074), passing yards (4,050), completions (306), and first downs (354).

Whipple left college football for a position as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL in 2004.

Don Brown era (2004–2008)

In 2004, Northeastern head coach Don Brown returned to UMass, where he'd served as defensive coordinator from 1998–1999 to take over as head coach. During his tenure as head coach from 2004 to 2008, UMass posted the best five-year record in school history, 43–19. In his first year, he led the Minutemen to a 6–5 record, including victories over fourth-ranked Colgate, seventh-ranked New Hampshire, and ninth-ranked Maine. During 2005, Brown helped UMass to a 7–2 start and a final ranking of No. 19. That year, the Minutemen defeated fourth-ranked James Madison and handed Delaware their worst home loss in two decades, 35–7.

Logos/Uniforms

Image gallery

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Postseason appearances

Division II playoffs

Season	Date	Round	Opponent	Result	Location
1977	November 26	Quarterfinal	Lehigh	L 23–30	Amherst, Massachusetts

Division I-AA playoffs

Season	Date	Round	Opponent	Result	Location
1978	December 9	Semifinal	Nevada	W 44–21	Reno, Nevada
	December 16	Championship	Florida A&M	L 28–35	Wichita Falls, Texas
1988	November 26	First Round	Eastern Kentucky	L 17–28	Richmond, Kentucky
1990	November 24	First Round	William & Mary	L 0–38	Williamsburg, Virginia
1998	November 28	First Round	McNeese State	W 21–19	Lake Charles, Louisiana
	December 5	Quarterfinal	Lehigh	W 27–21	Amherst, Massachusetts
	December 12	Semifinal	Northwestern State	W 41–31	Natchitoches, Louisiana
	December 19	Championship	Georgia Southern	W 55–43	Chattanooga, Tennessee
1999	November 27	First Round	Furman	W 30–23 OT	Greenville, South Carolina
	December 4	Quarterfinal	Georgia Southern	L 21–38	Statesboro, Georgia
2003	November 29	First Round	Colgate	L 7–19	Hamilton, New York
2006	November 25	First Round	Lafayette	W 35–14	Amherst, Massachusetts
	December 2	Quarterfinal	New Hampshire	W 24–17	Amherst, Massachusetts
	December 12	Semifinal	Montana	W 19–17	Missoula, Montana
	December 15	Championship	Appalachian State	L 17–28	Chattanooga, Tennessee
2007	November 24	First Round	Fordham	W 49–35	Amherst, Massachusetts
	December 1	Quarterfinal	Southern Illinois	L 27–34	Carbondale, Illinois

Head coaches

Years	Coach	Games	W	L	T	Pct.
1879–1897	No coach	94	30	58	6	.351
1898	David F. Weeks	6	1	4	1	.250
1899–1900	Fred W. Murphy	20	12	8	0	.600
1901–1903	James Halligan	26	16	8	2	.653
1904, 1907–1908	Matthew Bullock	26	13	8	5	.596
1905	Walter Craig	10	3	7	0	.300
1906	George E. O'Hearn	9	1	7	1	.167
1909	J. W. Gage	9	1	6	2	.222
1910	Willard Gildersleeve	9	1	6	2	.222
1911	Jack Hubbard	9	2	7	0	.222
1912–1915	Arthur Brides	31	12	15	4	.452
1916	George Melican	8	2	4	2	.375
1919–1927	Harold Gore	70	33	32	5	.507
1928–1930	Charles McGeoch	25	6	17	2	.280
1931–1935	Mel Taube	44	29	13	2	.682
1936–1940	Elbert Carraway	44	9	32	3	.239
1941–1942, 1946	Walter Hargesheimer	23	11	11	1	.500
1945, 1947–1951	Thomas Eck	44	17	23	4	.432
1952–1959	Charlie O'Rourke	64	21	39	4	.359
1960	Chuck Studley	9	7	2	0	.778
1961–1970	Vic Fusia	93	59	32	2	.645
1971–1977	Dick MacPherson	73	45	27	1	.623
1978–1983	Bob Pickett	64	36	28	0	.563
1984–1985	Bob Stull	22	10	12	0	.455
1986–1991	Jim Reid	67	36	29	2	.552
1992–1997	Mike Hodges	65	35	30	0	.538
1998–2003	Mark Whipple	75	49	26	0	.629
2004–2008	Don Brown	62	43	19	0	.693
2009–2011	Kevin Morris	33	16	17	0	.485
2012–2013	Charley Molnar	24	2	22	0	.083
2014–2018	Mark Whipple	60	16	44	0	.280
2019–present	Walt Bell	16	1	15	0	.063

Affiliations

• 2016-present - NCAA FBS independent
• 2012-2015 - Mid-American Conference (NCAA FBS)
• 2007-2011 - Colonial Athletic Association (NCAA FCS)
• 1997-2006 - Atlantic 10 Conference (NCAA FCS/1-AA)

Recent season history

2020s

Season	Coach	Record
2022
2021
2020	Walt Bell

2010s

Season	Coach	Record
2019	Walt Bell	1-11
2018	Mark Whipple	4-8
2017	Mark Whipple	4-8
2016	Mark Whipple	2-10
2015	Mark Whipple	3-9
2014	Mark Whipple	3-9
2013	Charley Molnar	1-11
2012	Charley Molnar	1-11
2011	Kevin Morris	5-6
2010	Kevin Morris	6-5

2000s

Season	Coach	Record
2009	Kevin Morris	5-6
2008	Don Brown	7-5
2007	Don Brown	10-3
2006	Don Brown	13-2
2005	Don Brown	7-4
2004	Don Brown	6-5
2003	Mark Whipple	10-3
2002	Mark Whipple	8-4
2001	Mark Whipple	3-8
2000	Mark Whipple	7-4

1990s

Season	Coach	Record
1999	Mark Whipple	9-4
1998	Mark Whipple	12-3
1997	Mike Hodges	2-9
1996	Mike Hodges	6-5
1995	Mike Hodges	6-5
1994	Mike Hodges	5-6
1993	Mike Hodges	9-2
1992	Mike Hodges	7-3
1991	Jim Reid	7-3
1990	Jim Reid	8-2-1

1980s

Season	Coach	Record
1989	Jim Reid	5-5-1
1988	Jim Reid	8-4
1987	Jim Reid	3-8
1986	Jim Reid	8-3
1985	Bob Stull	7-4
1984	Bob Stull	3-8
1983	Bob Pickett	3-8
1982	Bob Pickett	5-6
1981	Bob Pickett	6-3
1980	Bob Pickett	7-3

1970s

Season	Coach	Record
1979	Bob Pickett	6-4
1978	Bob Pickett	9-4
1977	Dick MacPherson	8-3
1976	Dick MacPherson	5-5
1975	Dick MacPherson	8-2
1974	Dick MacPherson	5-6
1973	Dick MacPherson	6-5
1972	Dick MacPherson	9-2
1971	Dick MacPherson	4-4-1
1970	Vic Fusia	4-5-1

External Links

• Official team site