As the college football season approaches, anticipation is building for MAC Media Day, an event that serves as the unofficial kickoff for the Mid-American Conference.
As UMass Football prepares for its highly anticipated return to the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the national recognition is already rolling in. Phil Steele, college football’s premier preview guru, has released his Preseason All-MAC teams, and the Minutemen are well-represented with eight players earning distinct honors.
On Wednesday, UMass fans learned four different kickoff times for games in 2026, with networks begging to slowly reveal their TV coverage plans. The Minutemen’s season opener will start at 6:00 p.m. against Rutgers on Thursday, September 3 and the game will air nationally on the Big Ten Network. On November 4 (a Wednesday night), Ball State visits McGuirk Stadium for a 7:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. kickoff. That MACtion…
By Ryan Barry NEFJ Correspondent AMHERST – A cool spring afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium was the setting for the 2026 UMass Football Spring Game in Amherst, Massachusetts. Unlike last year’s event that featured a Team Maroon vs. Team White format, this year was a lot simpler with four quarters, a running clock, and an offensive vs. defensive unit without points. Across 13 total drives, fans saw four touchdowns and…
While the offense and defense certainly deserved plenty of criticism for the year UMass had in 2025, special teams is of course part of that too. Special teams often flies under the radar during seasons like that because there are so many other problems much bigger than the execution of the kick off, punt and field goal units. But, the lack of a return and coverage game, along with just…
Image courtesy of UMass Athletics The UMass offense can’t get any worse or anemic than it was last year. So, new offensive coordinator Max Warner is starting with a relatively low bar. Warner should have plenty to work with this season, particularly with the hometown QB-WR duo of Pop Watson and Joe Griffin Jr. now on board. Following spring practice on Tuesday morning, Warner spoke to the media for the…
Following practice on Thursday, former Springfield Central star and most-likely starting UMass quarterback William ‘Pop’ Watson spoke to the media. This was the first time Watson has spoken in this setting since his decision to return home after a couple of not-so-great seasons at Virginia Tech. Last week following the first spring practice, head coach Joe Harasymiak spoke highly of his relationship with Watson already, noting that the two are…
Tyler Martin’s commitment to UMass football is rooted in a deep-seated connection to his home state and a refusal to leave a project unfinished.
AMHERST – After an 0-12 season, there’s nowhere to go but up for UMass. Fans have seemingly been saying that for two decades now, but it’s actually true at this point. The Minutemen were the butt of jokes throughout 2025 both locally and nationally. But, after dipping into the transfer portal, making some staff changes and trying to re-establish the culture he began putting in place this time last year,…
The Joe Harasymiak Era got off to a rough start, but the Minutemen have a ton of turnover and there’s a quiet confidence among the program that things are in fact getting better, Not only did UMass open up spring practice on Tuesday, but the full 2026 schedule was also unveiled. A sign that the page has truly been turned. Here’s how the schedule shakes out: Thursday, Sept. 3 at…