2026 Season

[Steve81]

WMUA has their first Episode Podcast - Summer
https://youtu.be/mWW1d17nunw

[69MG]

I thought we would be ranked ahead of Sac State. Need at least 3 wins, 4 would be a success for me.

[eldonabe]

I thought we would be ranked ahead of Sac State. Need at least 3 wins, 4 would be a success for me.

It should be easy to beat expectations when the bar that is set is resting on the floor...

[Juice Stand]

Just imagine how great it would feel if UMass football could win, I don't know, 5 games. Not even post a winning record, but go 5-7 (remember, two FCS games). That would be incredible. I bet it's never happened in FBS or even MAC history for a team to go winless one year, and then win 5 games the next season...

Oh wait, Mark Carney, who was interim coach last year at Kent St, did exactly that. 1-11 in 2023 and 0-12 in 2024 with Kenni Burns as the head coach, then in 2025, Carney as an interim in his first ever head coaching gig, brought them to 5-7. A team that was picked to finish in last place, behind UMass, in the preseason poll.

I'm not on the UMass football hype train, not even close. We don't need to rehash how utterly pathetic it has been for over a decade. But if an interim guy can do it in year 1 at Kent St, then I suppose it's possible at UMass. I'll get excited when September rolls around. It literally can't be worse than last year.

[stevemaz]

Wow! I love your optimism!!
I'm certainly hoping you're correct!!!
I'm reluctant to go THAT far.
Could you be more specific?
Thnx! Football fan.

5-3 in MAC.. im not even going to speculate on the elation when we beat UConn too and go 8-4

[Jack]

Hopefully. UMass will be competitive against Sacred Heart. That seems like a reasonable ask in exchange for 2 STs and a Script U Donation.

[DeeDeeBee]

That's a pretty low bar for the money!

[ZooMass84]

Hopefully. UMass will be competitive against Sacred Heart. That seems like a reasonable ask in exchange for 2 STs and a Script U Donation.

If that is the "hope" then this program is a sad joke. I'm planning on going to the Sacred Heart game and if we can't beat them then I'm for bagging football. If we don't beat Stonehill by 50 points then this whole FBS thing is finished. Don't mean to beat a dead horse but in the 11 years Bamford has been AD, UMass sports with the exception of 2021 hockey has been decimated. Last NCAA big dance bid was BEFORE Bamford took over. Can't believe Mens LAX played for the National Championship in 2006. Now we are like a D2 program.

[ZooMass84]

Some day Ryan Bamford will be gone.............don't know if UMass is still playing Div 1 at that time but he's certainly done a great job decimating UMass sports. You know its funny: he went to D3 Ithaca and Marty Meehan went to D2 UMass Lowell. It's almost like they want UMass Amherst to be the same.

[DeeDeeBee]

I don't agree with a lot that's said here re FB, but..
If they dont comfortably beat the 2 FCS teams I would not be against dropping the sport that I love and played (HS) and initially attracted me as a fan to Umass Sports in general a long time ago.

[Floyd]

Hopefully. UMass will be competitive against Sacred Heart. That seems like a reasonable ask in exchange for 2 STs and a Script U Donation.

If that is the "hope" then this program is a sad joke. I'm planning on going to the Sacred Heart game and if we can't beat them then I'm for bagging football. If we don't beat Stonehill by 50 points then this whole FBS thing is finished. Don't mean to beat a dead horse but in the 11 years Bamford has been AD, UMass sports with the exception of 2021 hockey has been decimated. Last NCAA big dance bid was BEFORE Bamford took over. Can't believe Mens LAX played for the National Championship in 2006. Now we are like a D2 program.

I think at that point you should publicly apologize to Joleon

[Steve81]

For better or worse, do think differently than a lot of you guys. Now basketball is different as 1 or 2 players can change a team and not as easily done with football. But will be drawing comparisons to Coach H and an early Calipari. Both took over terrible programs after a decade of terrible seasons. They both did not do well in year 1, but in year 2 they got a key player to start building the program.

This is the terrible decade of basketball, which Cal took over. In fact, some the coaches listed here took a negative dip in year 1 of their coaching from the prior coach (including Cal).



Year 2 Cal got Jim McCoy and in year 2 of Coach H got Pop Watson and Joe Griffin.

With continued support, we should rise out of the basement and with time to the top 25% of G6 football.

[ZooMass84]

Hopefully. UMass will be competitive against Sacred Heart. That seems like a reasonable ask in exchange for 2 STs and a Script U Donation.

If that is the "hope" then this program is a sad joke. I'm planning on going to the Sacred Heart game and if we can't beat them then I'm for bagging football. If we don't beat Stonehill by 50 points then this whole FBS thing is finished. Don't mean to beat a dead horse but in the 11 years Bamford has been AD, UMass sports with the exception of 2021 hockey has been decimated. Last NCAA big dance bid was BEFORE Bamford took over. Can't believe Mens LAX played for the National Championship in 2006. Now we are like a D2 program.

I think at that point you should publicly apologize to Joleon

I already said that to D_U_N or more formally Joleon......if we don't beat Sacred Heart and Stonehill that its apparent Bamford and Meehan want UMass to fail at the FBS level. It's impossible to succeed when the "big people" like Bamford and Meehan want the program to fail. Bamford should be working to get quality players to UMass. NIL or not. 15 years in FBS and we are sweating out FCS contests. A ton of schools like Missouri State etc are brand new in FBS and going to bowls.

[ZooMass84]

For better or worse, do think differently than a lot of you guys. Now basketball is different as 1 or 2 players can change a team and not as easily done with football. But will be drawing comparisons to Coach H and an early Calipari. Both took over terrible programs after a decade of terrible seasons. They both did not do well in year 1, but in year 2 they got a key player to start building the program.

This is the terrible decade of basketball, which Cal took over. In fact, some the coaches listed here took a negative dip in year 1 of their coaching from the prior coach (including Cal).



Year 2 Cal got Jim McCoy and in year 2 of Coach H got Pop Watson and Joe Griffin.

With continued support, we should rise out of the basement and with time to the top 25% of G6 football.

Steve, you might as well bring up Civil War battles or something. Ray Wilson was almost 50 years ago. A Marcus Camby can change a hoops program. A Pop Watson all by himself can do absolutely nothing to change a football team with out a quality OL. Coach Cal stole Camby from Connecticut and couldn't do that today. Today it's all NIL $$$$$$. I just saw that the Minutemen Collective is finished. I want UMass to win a game or two but I'm afraid its not going to happen. Having a shitty AD and President is too much for any program.

[ZooMass84]

The absolute saddest part of this Bamford/Meehan debacle is that they could care less if football wins a game or not. Bamford is politically connected to Meehan (they both started 11 years ago) and Bamford makes $1,000,000 per year. Meehan or the BOT is not going to "fire" Bamford. Bamford is already vested for his pension so what does he care. It's Coach Joe I feel bad for: this is his career and he said it himself that if he fails in the UMass stint, then he is probably out of college football in any capacity. And shit canning Don Brown after that piece of shit FG Lurie who missed the 25 yarder as time expired against Liberty tore my heart out. Don Brown was a UMie. He loved UMass.