1972 UMass Minutemen football team

American college football season

1972 UMass Minutemen football

Yankee Conference champion
Boardwalk Bowl champion

Boardwalk Bowl, W 35–14 vs. UC Davis

Conference| Yankee Conference
Record| 9–2 (5–0 Yankee)
Head coach|

* Dick MacPherson (2nd season)

Home stadium| Alumni Stadium

Seasons

<- 1971

1973 ->

1972 Yankee Conference football standings

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
UMass $  | 5  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 2  | - | 0
Connecticut | 4  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 5  | - | 0
Vermont | 3  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 5  | - | 0
New Hampshire | 2  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 5  | - | 0
Maine | 1  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 6  | - | 0
Rhode Island | 0  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 7  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

The 1972 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1972 NCAA College Division football season as a member of the Yankee Conference. The team was coached by Dick MacPherson and played its home games at Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 1972 season was the first in which Massachusetts was named the "Minutemen," as the university had changed their nickname from the "Redmen" due to changing attitudes regarding the use of Native American-themed mascots in sports. It was also the last season of the NCAA's University and College Division setup, as they would split athletics into three numbered divisions in 1973, with UMass moving into Division II. Massachusetts performed strongly enough in the regular season to earn a spot in the 1972 Boardwalk Bowl, which at the time served as the NCAA College Division East championship game. The team defeated UC Davis by a score of 35–14 and finished the season with a record of 9-2 overall and 5-0 in conference play.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 23| | Maine| |

* Alumni Stadium
* Hadley, MA

| W 37–0| 8,500–9,500| [1]
September 30| | at Harvard*| |

* Harvard Stadium
* Boston, MA

| W 28–19| 13,000–13,500| [2]
October 7| | at Vermont| |

* Centennial Field
* Burlington, VT

| W 33–14| 4,700| [3]
October 14| | Boston University*| |

* Alumni Stadium
* Hadley, MA

| W 44–15| 12,500|
October 21| | at Rhode Island| |

* Meade Stadium
* Kingston, RI

| W 42–7| 4,621–5,857| [4]
October 28| | Connecticut| |

* Alumni Stadium
* Hadley, MA (rivalry)

| W 49–16| 17,500|
November 4| | at Bucknell*| No. 10|

* Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium
* Lewisburg, PA

| L 15–28| 6,800| [5]
November 11| | at Holy Cross*| |

* Fitton Field
* Worcester, MA

| L 16–28| 16,321–16,700| [6]
November 18| | New Hampshire| |

* Alumni Stadium
* Hadley, MA (rivalry)

| W 42–7| 11,700|
November 25| | Boston College*| |

* Alumni Stadium
* Hadley, MA (rivalry)

| W 28–7| 20,000|
December 9| 2:00 p.m.| vs. UC Davis*| |

* Atlantic City Convention Center
* Atlantic City, NJ (Boardwalk Bowl)

| W 35–14| 2,857| [7][8][9][10]

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Eastern time

[11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Final 1972 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
2. ^ "Massachusetts downs Harvard". The New York Times. Associated Press. October 1, 1972. p. S6.
3. ^ "UMass storms to 33–14 comeback at Vermont". The Boston Globe. October 8, 1972. Retrieved June 2, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Final 1972 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
5. ^ Gammons, Peter (November 5, 1972). "Bucknell lines cut UMass string, 28–15". The Boston Globe. p. 76 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ Nason, Jerry (November 12, 1972). "Vaas, Wilson spark 25–16 HC upset of UMass". The Boston Globe. p. 93 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ Dunning, Bob (December 9, 1972). "Aggies, Minutemen Will Clash Today". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. B1. Retrieved May 12, 2022 - via Newspapers.com .
8. ^ Dunning, Bob (December 9, 1972). "Aggies, Minutemen Will Clash (continued)". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. B4. Retrieved May 12, 2022 - via Newspapers.com .
9. ^ Dunning, Bob (December 10, 1972). "Massachusetts Nips USD Rally". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. F1. Retrieved May 12, 2022 - via Newspapers.com .
10. ^ Dunning, Bob (December 10, 1972). "Massachusetts Blunts USD Rally, Wins 35-14 (continued)". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. F4. Retrieved May 12, 2022 - via Newspapers.com .
11. ^ "Final 1972 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 24, 2022.

* v
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UMass Minutemen football

Venues|

* Alumni Field (1879–1964)
* Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium (1965–2011, 2014–)
* Gillette Stadium (alternate) (2012–2016)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Boston College
* New Hampshire
* UConn

Culture & lore|

* Sam the Minuteman
* "Fight Mass"
* University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1879
* 1880
* 1881
* 1882
* 1883
* 1884
* 1885
* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
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* 1893
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* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
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* 1989
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* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

National championship seasons in bold

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Yankee Conference football champions

* New Hampshire (1947)
* New Hampshire (1948)
* Connecticut & Maine (1949)
* New Hampshire (1950)
* Maine (1951)
* Connecticut & Maine & Rhode Island (1952)
* New Hampshire & Rhode Island (1953)
* New Hampshire (1954)
* Rhode Island (1955)
* Connecticut (1956)
* Connecticut & Rhode Island (1957)
* Connecticut (1958)
* Connecticut (1959)
* Connecticut & UMass (1960)
* Maine (1961)
* New Hampshire (1962)
* UMass (1963)
* UMass (1964)
* Maine (1965)
* UMass (1966)
* UMass (1967)
* Connecticut & New Hampshire (1968)
* UMass (1969)
* Connecticut (1970)
* Connecticut & UMass (1971)
* UMass (1972)
* Connecticut (1973)
* Maine & UMass (1974)
* New Hampshire (1975)
* New Hampshire (1976)
* UMass (1977)
* UMass (1978)
* Boston University & UMass (1979)
* Boston University (1980)
* Rhode Island & UMass (1981)
* Boston University & Connecticut & Maine & UMass (1982)
* Boston University & Connecticut (1983)
* Boston University & Rhode Island (1984)
* Rhode Island (1985)
* Connecticut & Delaware & UMass (1986)
* Maine & Richmond (1987)
* Delaware & UMass (1988)
* Connecticut & Maine & Villanova (1989)
* UMass (1990)
* Delaware & New Hampshire & Villanova (1991)
* Delaware (1992)
* Boston University (1993)
* New Hampshire (1994)
* Delaware (1995)
* William & Mary (1996)

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*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties