Sports/UMass
UMass basketball: Four Minutemen earn all-Atlantic 10 honors, including first team selections for Josh Cohen and Matt Cross
By GARRETT COTE
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Four UMass men’s basketball players picked up Atlantic 10 Conference regular season awards, the league announced on Tuesday morning before the start of the conference tournament.Matt Cross and Josh Cohen picked up First Team...
UMass hockey: Another late goal sends Maine past Minutemen to secure weekend sweep
With a home game in the Hockey East Tournament and a potential spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line, the UMass hockey team was unable to come through late in the third period for the second night in a row on Saturday.Host Maine rallied from a 3-2...
UMass hockey: Maine tallies late in the third period to knock off Minutemen 2-1
The Massachusetts hockey team survived Maine’s first power play of the third period. When the Black Bears went back on the power play just 47 seconds after the initial UMass kill, it was a different story. Tied 1-1, Aydar Suniev was whistled for a...
MAC football coaches are already familiar with UMass: ‘It almost feels like they’ve been in our conference’
CONNOR PIGNATELLO
AMHERST – UMass may be joining the MAC in all sports in 2025-26, but the football program is no stranger to the conference. From 2012-15, the Minutemen competed in the MAC as a football-only member, going 8-40.In the eight years since, UMass has...
Miami University football coach Chuck Martin says getting to play for a MAC title should motivate UMass: “That is our big dance”
CONNOR PIGNATELLO
AMHERST – One of the benefits for the UMass football program’s transition to the MAC will be potential entrance into a conference championship game, something the Minutemen have not been able to play for in eight years as an FBS independent.The Daily...
Move to the MAC a relief for Don Brown, UMass football schedule-makers
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — Don Brown moseyed his way up to the table in front of a packed house inside the Martin Jacobson Football Performance Center adjacent McGuirk Alumni Stadium.The UMass football head coach cracked a smile as he gave his opening remarks about...
Men’s basketball coach Frank Martin supporting UMass’ decision to join MAC: “They believed in me, and they haven’t lied to me since I’ve been here”
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — From a basketball perspective, Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said it was a no-brainer to add UMass to his conference.The men’s basketball program was perhaps the most appealing of the school’s athletic teams given its...
What made UMass an appealing option for the MAC to offer its first full membership spot since 1998?
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — About a decade ago, the UMass football program wrapped up its four-year stint (2012-2015) in the Mid-American Conference having started, and finished, as one of the least successful programs during its time in the conference.Given that the...
MAC basketball coaches hope the addition of UMass raises the bar for rest of the league
By CONNOR PIGNATELLO
AMHERST – UMass director of athletics Ryan Bamford confirmed on Thursday that UMass will increase its men’s basketball budget upon entrance to the Mid-American Conference for the 2025-26 academic year. UMass spent $4.5 million on men’s basketball last...
UMass basketball: Minutewomen's season comes to an end with 81-57 loss to Duquesne in Atlantic 10 tourney second round
After an opening-round victory over La Salle on Wednesday, the UMass women’s basketball team was unable to keep its Atlantic 10 Tournament run going on Thursday.The 13th-seeded Minutewomen fell into a double-digit deficit after the first quarter and...
Granby’s Mike Toth leads UMass baseball to first win over ranked opponent in over 20 years
CONNOR PIGNATELLO
Over the weekend, the UMass baseball team recorded its first win over a ranked opponent in over 20 years, handing No. 13 Virginia its first loss of the season with a 10-5 road win on Saturday afternoon.Granby High School graduate Mike Toth was at the...
UMass basketball: Shorthanded Minutemen survive, edge Fordham 66-64 to reach 20 wins
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — There was a lot on the line heading into the UMass men’s basketball team’s matchup with Fordham on Wednesday night at the Mullins Center.The Minutemen were looking for their first 20-win season in 10 years, their first three-game conference...
UMass basketball: Minutewomen advance in Atlantic 10 tourney with 54-49 win over La Salle
By GARRETT COTE
The previous two times the UMass women’s basketball team played La Salle this season, the Minutewomen held late leads in the fourth quarter and watched them slip away en route to two heartbreaking conference defeats.But on Wednesday afternoon in...
UMass basketball: Minutewomen looking to end season strong at Atlantic 10 tourney
By GARRETT COTE
It’s been a complete turnaround from last season, and not the turnaround the UMass women’s basketball team had hoped for.It was going to be almost impossible to replicate the success the 2022-23 team had last winter (program record in wins, Atlantic...
UMass basketball: Minutemen look to get to 20 wins in regular season finale against Fordham
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — Only three scholarship players were set to return from last season’s UMass men’s basketball team. Just as fans did following each disappointing loss throughout the 2022-23 campaign, players filed for the exits following one final stinker in...
UMass hockey: Ryan Ufko’s second OT winner in as many nights sends Minutemen past Lowell
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — With the UMass hockey team awaiting an offensive zone faceoff while on the power play in overtime, UMass Lowell elected to take a timeout to talk over its defensive strategy for the biggest moment in the game.Minutemen defenseman Ryan Ufko...
UMass basketball: Matt Cross, Daniel Hankins-Sanford make plays late as Minutemen win at Davidson for first time since 1998
By GARRETT COTE
Trailing by three points with under a minute to go, the UMass men’s basketball team turned to one player to carry them to a comeback victory.That would be Matt Cross, who nailed four consecutive free throws as part of his game-high 26 points to boost...
UMass’ NIL Collectives excited about move to the MAC: “If we get this right, we have a bright future”
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — All signs pointed to something happening soon, but Corey Schneider had no idea it would be that soon.At a Feb. 22 event held at the UMass Club in Boston, nearly the entire UMass Board of Trustees was in attendance – which is fairly unusual,...
UMass hockey: Ryan Ufko’s OT winner lifts Minutemen past Lowell 2-1
Junior co-captain Ryan Ufko buried a breakaway opportunity 2:56 into overtime to give No. 14/12 University of Massachusetts hockey a 2-1 win over UMass Lowell on Friday night at Tsongas Center.With the win, the Minutemen move to 18-10-3 overall,...
UMass Hall of Famer, ESPN broadcaster Rene Ingoglia on move to MAC: “for some years now, there’s a bus, and football drives the bus”
CONNOR PIGNATELLO
UMass Hall of Famer and ESPN college football analyst Rene Ingoglia spoke with the Daily Hampshire Gazette to share his thoughts on UMass’ move to the MAC for the 2025-26 academic year, ending its short-lived and unsuccessful experiment as an FBS...
