UMass Lowell River Hawks football

UMass Lowell River Hawks football
First season	1980
Last season	2002
Athletic director	Dana Skinner
Head coach	Wally Dembowski 2nd season, 4–17 (.190)
Stadium	Cushing Field Complex (capacity: 2,000)
Year built	2001
Field surface	FieldTurf
Location	Lowell, Massachusetts
NCAA division	Division II
Conference	NE-10
Past conferences	Independent NEFC FFC ECFC ECF
All-time record	87–125–1 (.411)
Conference titles	1
Division titles	2
Colors	Blue, white, and red [1]
Mascot	River Hawks

The UMass Lowell River Hawks football team represented the University of Massachusetts Lowell in college football at the NCAA Division II level. The River Hawks were members of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10), having fielded its team in the NE-10 from 2001 to 2002. The River Hawks played their home games at the Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Their last head coach was Wally Dembowski, who took over the position from 2001 to 2002.

Conference affiliations

• Club team (1980)
• Independent (1981–1986)
• New England Football Conference (1987–1991)
• Freedom Football Conference (1992–1995)
• Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (1996)
• Eastern Football Conference (1997–2000)
• Northeast-10 Conference (2001–2002)

List of head coaches

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list

General		Overall		Conference		Postseason [A 1]
No.	Order of coaches [A 2]	GC	Games coached	CW	Conference wins	PW	Postseason wins
DC	Division championships	OW	Overall wins	CL	Conference losses	PL	Postseason losses
CC	Conference championships	OL	Overall losses	CT	Conference ties	PT	Postseason ties
NC	National championships	OT	Overall ties [A 3]	C%	Conference winning percentage
†	Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame	O%	Overall winning percentage [A 4]

Coaches

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, conference records, postseason records, championships and selected awards

No.	Name	Season(s)	GC	OW	OL	OT	O%	CW	CL	CT	C%	PW	PL	PT	DC	CC	NC	Awards
1	John Perreault	1980–1885	47	18	29	0	0.383	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2	Dennis Scannell	1986–1992	65	45	19	1	0.700	23	7	0	0.767	–	–	–	2	1	–	–
3	Tom Radulski	1993–1995	30	5	25	0	0.167	2	13	0	0.133	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
4	Sandy Ruggles [5]	1996–2000	50	15	35	0	0.300	12	30	0	0.286	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
5	Wally Dembowski [6] [7]	2001–2002	21	4	17	0	0.190	4	16	0	0.200	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Year-by-year results

National champions

Conference champions

Bowl game berth

Playoff berth

Season	Year	Head coach	Association	Division	Conference	Record							Postseason	Final ranking
						Overall			Conference
						Win	Loss	Tie	Finish	Win	Loss	Tie
Lowell Chiefs
1980	1980	John Perreault	Club team
1981	1981		NCAA	Division III	Independent	4	5	0					—	—
1982	1982					2	8	0					—	—
1983	1983					4	5	0					—	—
1984	1984					5	4	0					—	—
1985	1985					3	7	0					—	—
1986	1986	Dennis Scannell				2	7	0					—	—
1987	1987				NEFC	4	4	0	4th (North)	2	2	0	—	—
1988	1988					8	1	0	2nd (North)	5	1	0	—	—
1989	1989					9	1	0	1st (North)	5	0	0	L conference championship	—
1990	1990					8	1	0	2nd (North)	4	1	0	—	—
UMass Lowell River Hawks
1991	1991	Dennis Scannell	NCAA	Division III	NEFC	10	1	0	1st (North)	5	0	0	W conference championship	—
1992	1992				FFC	4	4	1	4th	2	3	1	—	—
1993	1993	Tom Radulski				5	5	0	T–5th	2	3	0	—	—
1994	1994					0	10	0	8th	0	5	0	—	—
1995	1995					0	10	0	9th	0	5	0	—	—
1996	1996	Sandy Ruggles			ECFC	6	4	0	6th	4	4	0	—	—
1997	1997			Division II	EFC	2	8	0	5th (Bay State)	1	7	0	—	—
1998	1998					2	8	0	T–3rd (Bay State)	2	6	0	—	—
1999	1999					3	7	0	5th (Atlantic)	3	6	0	—	—
2000	2000					2	8	0	5th (Atlantic)	2	7	0	—	—
2001	2001	Wally Dembowski			NE-10	1	9	0	10th	1	9	0	—	—
2002	2002					3	8	0	T–8th	3	7	0	—	—

Notes

1. Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played. ^[2]
2. A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
3. Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since. ^[3]
4. When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss. ^[4]

References

1. "UMass Lowell Athletics Identity Standards". August 8, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
2. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
3. Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
4. Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
5. "North Middlesex parts ways with legendary football coach Sandy Ruggles after 25 seasons". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
6. "UMass-Lowell axes football program, citing budget cuts". New Bedford Standard-Times. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
7. ALGERI, STEVE (April 15, 2011). "Winchester High names new football coach". Homenewshere.com. Retrieved June 24, 2023.