1972 UMass Minutemen football team
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.
| 1972 UMass Minutemen football | |
|---|---|
Yankee Conference champion Boardwalk Bowl champion | |
Boardwalk Bowl, W 35–14 vs. UC Davis | |
| Conference | Yankee Conference |
| 1972 record | 9–2 (5–0 YC) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Alumni Stadium (17,000) |
| 1972 Yankee Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 23 | Maine | W 37–0 | ||
| September 30 | at Harvard* | W 28–19 | ||
| October 7 | at Vermont | W 33–14 | ||
| October 14 | Boston University* |
| W 44–15 | |
| October 21 | at Rhode Island | W 42–7 | ||
| October 28 | Connecticut |
| W 49–16 | |
| November 4 | at Bucknell* | L 15–28 | ||
| November 11 | at Holy Cross* | L 16–28 | ||
| November 18 | New Hampshire |
| W 42–7 | |
| November 25 | Boston College* |
| W 28–7 | |
| December 9 | vs. UC Davis* | W 35–14 | ||
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