1997 UMass Minutemen football team

American college football season

1997 UMass Minutemen football

Conference| Atlantic 10 Conference
Division| New England Division
Record| 2–9 (1–7 A-10)
Head coach|

* Mike Hodges (6th season)

Defensive coordinator| Jerry Azzinaro (2nd season)
Home stadium| Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium

Seasons

<- 1996

1998 ->

1997 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
New England Division
New Hampshire x  |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |
Connecticut |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 4  |
Maine |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |
Rhode Island |  | 2  | - | 6  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 9  |
Boston University |  | 1  | - | 7  |  |  |  |  | 1  | - | 10  |
UMass |  | 1  | - | 7  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 9  |
Mid-Atlantic Division
No. 1 Villanova x$^  |  | 8  | - | 0  |  |  |  |  | 12  | - | 1  |
No. 3 Delaware ^  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 12  | - | 2  |
No. 20 Northeastern |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 8  | - | 3  |
Richmond |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  |
William & Mary |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 4  |
James Madison |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |

* $ - Conference champion
* x - Division champion/co-champions
* ^ - NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant

Rankings from The Sports Network poll

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.

## Schedule

[edit]

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

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August 30| 1:00 p.m.| Richmond|

* McGuirk Stadium
* Hadley, MA

| | L 6–21| 10,837| [1]
September 13| 1:00 p.m.| at Maine|

* Alumni Stadium
* Orono, ME

| | L 6–49| 4,363| [2]
September 20| 6:00 p.m.| at James Madison|

* Bridgeforth Stadium
* Harrisonburg, VA

| | L 10–13| 11,300| [3]
September 27| 1:00 p.m.| Rhode Island|

* McGuirk Stadium
* Hadley, MA

| | W 18–14| 8,218|
October 4| 12:00 p.m.| New Hampshire|

* McGuirk Stadium
* Hadley, MA (rivalry)

| A10 TV| L 10–28| 14,835|
October 11| 1:00 p.m.| at No. 4 Villanova|

* Villanova Stadium
* Philadelphia, PA

| NESN| L 27–49| 7,109|
October 18| 1:30 p.m.| at Buffalo*|

* UB Stadium
* Amherst, NY

| | W 26–20| 6,052|
October 25| 1:00 p.m.| No. 4 Delaware*|

* McGuirk Stadium
* Hadley, MA

| | L 9–40| 5,317|
November 1| 12:30 p.m.| No. 24 Hofstra*|

* McGuirk Stadium
* Hadley, MA

| | L 13–51| 2,510|
November 8| 1:00 p.m.| at Boston University|

* Nickerson Field
* Boston, MA

| | L 8–33| 3,140|
November 15| 12:30 p.m.| Connecticut|

* McGuirk Stadium
* Hadley, MA (rivalry)

| | L 16–49| 2,870|

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Eastern time

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "UMass loses league opener". The Hartford Courant. August 31, 1997. Retrieved November 6, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ "Fein's passing powers Bears past Minutemen". The Bangor Daily News. September 15, 1997. p. 15. Retrieved April 5, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "James Madison stops fumbling Minutemen". The Boston Globe. September 21, 1997. Retrieved October 24, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

UMass Minutemen football

Venues|

* Alumni Field (1879–1964)
* Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium (1965–2011, 2014–present)
* 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
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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[No.]: Number