What stood out from UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak’s press conference on Friday?

January 24, 2025

| Image courtesy of Amherst Bulletin New head Minuteman head coach Joe Harasymiak met with the media for the second time since taking over the reigns on Friday afternoon, touching on a number of different things. Here’s what stood out: On if he’s been able reflect on his journey to becoming an FBS coach “Not really. It’s been wild. We got here and just getting to meet the players and……

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UMass officially names Mike Bajakian offensive coordinator

January 15, 2025

In a release sent out by the program on Wednesday afternoon, new UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak officially announced his new offensive coordinator. Mike Bajakian is the new man charged with building the Minuteman offense. He’s got plenty of local ties and more importantly, experience at every level of football and proven success everywhere he goes. Bajakian was at the University of Utah last year and ended the season as…

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Harasymiak re-tooling the UMass roster in the portal

January 15, 2025

New UMass coach Joe Harasymiak and his staff have been busy the past month bringing in transfers. As of Monday, Harasymiak and his staff have brought in 27 transfers in the portal. An astounding number. Not only have they brought in 27 new faces but many of the players brought in have either local high school or college ties. Like his predecessor Don Brown, Harasymiak has dipped into the Ivy……

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Harasymiak adds first few coaches to new UMass staff

December 13, 2024

New UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak announced a trio of staff additions on Thursday in a statement released by the program. Joe Castellitto (Special Teams Coordinator), Tre Bell (Cornerbacks) and Kayon Whitaker (Defensive Analyst) are all joining this new era of Minuteman football. Castellitto spent the previous two seasons at Dartmouth  under the late Buddy Teevens. Castelitto joined the Big Green as the special teams coordinator and nickels coach initially….

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Harasymiak can be the right guy but he will need time to turn the UMass program around

December 10, 2024

Courtesy of UMass Athletics UMass hired Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak as the school’s new head football coach last week. The hiring was universally applauded as the 38 year old Harasymiak has the perfect blend of local ties and experience on his resume. Harasymiak played at Springfield College and has coached locally at Maine Maritime and the University of Maine where he eventually became head coach in 2016. Harasymiak led……

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UMass officially introduces Harasymiak as another new era begins

December 6, 2024

Image courtesy of UMass Athletics By Andrew Guindon NEFJ Staff AMHERST – Recently hired University of Massachusetts Amherst football head coach Joe Harasymiak was officially introduced at a news conference Friday morning. One aspect of the football program was continuously visited throughout the press conference: the beginning of a new era for football in Amherst. UMass Athletics Director Ryan Bamford was adamant that the athletic department is “very serious” about…

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UMass names Joe Harasymiak as next head coach

December 4, 2024

Image courtesy of AP Photos By Ryan Barry NEFJ Staff The nearly two and a half week search for the next UMass football head coach finally came to an end on Wednesday morning as they named Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak to lead the program. On the heels of what felt like a never ending news cycle of blunders and misunderstandings throughout multiple levels of the program the past couple…

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UConn 47, UMass 42 — Huskies surge in second half to beat Minutemen

November 30, 2024

By Ryan Barry NEFJ Staff AMHERST — The 78th edition of the “U Game” will forever go down as one of the best installments of this longtime New England rivalry. The UConn Huskies (8-4) outlasted the UMass Minutemen (2-10), 47-42, in a game that lasted just over three and a half hours. A back-and-forth first half saw the Minutemen lead 28-27 going into the locker room, only for the Huskies……

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UConn (7-4) at UMass (2-9) Preview – Battle for the 1st Southwick Jug in 78th meeting

November 29, 2024

(Trophy image from @MidnightRideNIL) By Ryan Barry NEFJ Staff Kickoff: The regular season in New England comes to an end with longtime rivals UMass and UConn squaring off at for the 78th time at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon, although the rivalry is technically 127 years old. This will be the first time the Southwick Jug will be up for grabs too, in a trophy created by The Midnight…

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