The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst; strictly speaking, the Minutemen nickname applies to men's teams and athletes only — women's teams and athletes are known as Minutewomen. The Minutemen and Minutewomen compete in NCAA Division I sports competition primarily as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. UMass is one of only 16 universities in the nation that plays Division I FBS football and Division I men's ice hockey. The nickname is also applied to club teams that do not participate within the NCAA structure.
The UMass Minutemen football team represents the University of Massachusetts in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Minutemen compete as an FBS independent. Since 1965, their home games have been played at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium on the university's campus in Hadley, Massachusetts.
The 2006 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Don Brown and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The Minutemen won their first conference title since 2003, and advanced all the way to the NCAA Division I Championship before falling to Appalachian State. 2006 was the last season of A-10 football, as all member programs would move over to the Colonial Athletic Association in the offseason. UMass finished the season with a record of 13–2.
The 2004 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Don Brown and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The Minutemen struggled in their first year under Coach Brown, but finished the season with a three-game winning streak and promise for the future. UMass finished second in the North division of the A-10 with a record of 6–5.
The 2002 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Mark Whipple and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 2002 season saw UMass return to the top half of the conference, as they finished the season with a record of 8–4 overall and 6–3 in conference play.
The 2001 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Mark Whipple and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 2001 season was a difficult one for the Minutemen, as they collected their first losing record since the 1997 season. UMass finished the season with a record of 3–8 overall and 3–6 in conference play.
The 2000 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Mark Whipple and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 2000 Minutemen failed to reach the postseason for the first time since 1997. UMass finished the season with a record of 7–4 overall and 5–3 in conference play.
The 1999 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Mark Whipple and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The Minutemen entered the season with high expectations as defending National Champions, but struggled out of the gate as they lost three of their first four games. UMass turned their fortune around after that as they used a 77–0 thrashing of Northeastern to propel them on an eight-game winning streak. The Minutemen did not lose again until the second round of the NCAA Playoffs against the eventual champions, Georgia Southern. UMass finished the season with a record of 9–4 overall and 8–1 in conference play.
The 1998 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Mark Whipple and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. 1998 was the most successful season in Minutemen history, as UMass won their first national championship in the NCAA DI-AA playoffs in Whipple's first year with the team. UMass entered the postseason as champions of the A-10, but were not expected to make a serious run for the title. They reached the final game ranked 12th in the nation, and were matched up with perennial powerhouse Georgia Southern, the top ranked team in the country. The Minutemen rushed out of the gates, scoring three touchdowns in the opening quarter, and won the shootout by a final score of 55–43. UMass finished the season with a record of 12–3 overall and 6–2 in conference play.
The 1997 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season, as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Mike Hodges and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. It was Hodges' last as head coach, as he would take the position of assistant athletic director at the university in the offseason. The 1997 season was a tough one for the Minutemen as they stumbled to their worst record since 1953. UMass finished the season with a record of 2–9 overall and 1–7 in conference play.
The 1996 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Mike Hodges and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. UMass finished the season with a record of 6–5 overall and 4–4 in conference play.
The 1991 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Yankee Conference. The team was coached by Jim Reid and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 1991 season was Reid's last as head coach of the Minutemen. UMass finished the season with a record of 4–7 overall and 3–5 in conference play.
The 1985 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Yankee Conference. The team was coached by Bob Stull and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 1985 season was notable as it was Bob Stull's last as coach of the Minutemen, as Stull left after the season to become the head coach at UTEP. UMass finished the season with a record of 7–4 overall and 4–1 in conference play.
The 1982 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Yankee Conference. The team was coached by Bob Pickett and played its home games at Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 1982 season was notable as it was the last Conference Championship for Bob Pickett as coach of the Minutemen. UMass finished the season with a record of 5–6 overall and 3–2 in conference play, winning the Yankee Conference championship.
The 1978 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Yankee Conference. The team was coached by Bob Pickett and played its home games at Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 1978 season was the first after the NCAA split Division I football into two subdivisions, and the first that featured a postseason playoff for Division I-AA. The Minutemen reached this inaugural championship game, losing to Florida A&M, 35–28. UMass finished the season with a record of 9–4 overall and 5–0 in conference play.
The 1977 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1977 NCAA Division II football season. Led by Dick MacPherson in his seventh and final season as head coach, the Minutemen compiled an overall record of 8–3 with a mark of 5–0 in conference play, winning the Yankee Conference title. UMass advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs, losing in the quarterfinals to the eventual national champion, Lehigh. The team played home games at Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts.
The Boston College–UMass football rivalry is a college football rivalry between the Eagles of Boston College and Minutemen of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The 2013 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. The team was coached by Charley Molnar in his second year and played its home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The 2014 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was their first year with head coach Mark Whipple, who returned after 10 years coaching in the NFL. The Minutemen divided their home schedule between two stadiums. Three home games were played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The other three were played on the UMass campus at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium, which reopened after a renovation to bring the facility up to FBS standards. This season was UMass's third in the Mid-American Conference in the East Division. They finished the season 3–9, 3–5 in MAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the East Division.
The 2015 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was their second year with head coach Mark Whipple. The Minutemen divided their home schedule between two stadiums. Three home games were played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts and the other three games were played on the UMass campus at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium. This season was UMass's fourth and last in the Mid-American Conference within the East Division. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in MAC play to finish in a three way tie for fifth place in the East Division.
