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1972 UMass Minutemen football team

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1972 UMass Minutemen football
Yankee Conference champion
Boardwalk Bowl champion
Boardwalk Bowl, W 35–14 vs. UC Davis
ConferenceYankee Conference
Record9–2 (5–0 Yankee)
Head coach
Home stadiumAlumni Stadium
Seasons
← 1971
1973 →
1972 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23MaineW 37–08,500–9,500[1]
September 30at Harvard*W 28–1913,000–13,500[2]
October 7at VermontW 33–144,700[3]
October 14Boston University*
  • Alumni Stadium
  • Hadley, MA
W 44–1512,500
October 21at Rhode IslandW 42–74,621–5,857[4]
October 28Connecticut
W 49–1617,500
November 4at Bucknell*No. 10L 15–286,800[5]
November 11at Holy Cross*L 16–2816,321–16,700[6]
November 18New Hampshire
W 42–711,700
November 25Boston College*
W 28–720,000
December 92:00 p.m.vs. UC Davis*W 35–142,857[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 Open access icon.
  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 Open access icon.
  9. ^ Dunning, Bob (December 10, 1972). "Massachusetts Nips USD Rally". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. F1. Retrieved May 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  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 Open access icon.
  11. ^ "Final 1972 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 24, 2022.