Sports/UMass

UMass hockey: Minutemen ready to play UMass Lowell for first time this season

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

By the end of the weekend, the Massachusetts hockey team will have officially squared off with every Hockey East opponent this season.UMass, coming off a series against UNH where the Minutemen knocked off the Wildcats at home on Friday and fell in...

UMass confirms move to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) as 13th member

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — As of Thursday afternoon, it’s officially official.The UMass athletics department released a press release at 3:30 p.m. confirming its move to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) as a full member, as the baseball, men’s and women’s basketball,...

UMass basketball: Big first half gets Minutemen back in win column with victory over George Washington

The UMass men’s basketball team looked like a squad set on avenging its loss to St. Bonaventure over the weekend.Taking on George Washington at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, the Minutemen shot 53.1 percent from the field in...

Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade responds to UMass’ decision to leave the Atlantic 10: “This news does not alter the mission of the A-10”

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — For nearly half a century, University of Massachusetts athletics have been an integral part of the Atlantic 10 Conference in a variety of sports – ranging from basketball, to lacrosse, to swimming and much more. The institution was one of...

Fan base conflicted on UMass’ decision to leave Atlantic 10, move to the MAC

News that’s been imminent for months finally broke Monday afternoon — UMass is leaving the Atlantic 10 Conference and joining the MAC.And while finding a conference home for the school’s football program has been at the forefront of conversation for...

UMass basketball: After disappointing loss, Minutemen head to George Washington in need of a win

By GARRETT COTE

Saturday was one of the those games that the UMass men’s basketball team had to win – regardless of by how much or how pretty it looked.The biggest Mullins Center crowd (7,016) since 2015 was on hand as were a ton of alumni sitting courtside. The...

UMass will reportedly join the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in all sports in 2025-26

By GARRETT COTE

According to multiple sources, the University of Massachusetts is set to join the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for an all-sports move beginning in the 2025-26 academic year.The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach and ESPN’s Pete Thamel were among those to...

Colleges: UNH rallies late, takes down UMass hockey in OT

Clinging to a 2-1 lead late in the third period, the UMass hockey team was just a few minutes away from a weekend sweep over New Hampshire. The Minutemen defeated the Wildcats at the Mullins Center 3-2 on Friday night, and headed to Durham for...

UMass basketball: St. Bonaventure beats Minutemen at own game, scores 75-67 win in front of largest crowd of the season at Mullins Center

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Throughout the season, it’s clear the UMass men’s basketball team has built its identity doing the dirty work. Following several conference matchups over the past month, most coaches took the time to say the Minutemen are the most resilient...

Colleges: Samuli Niinisaari scores pair, UMass hockey overcomes adversity in 3-2 win over New Hampshire

Challenges, disallowed goals, penalties… it was all on display Friday night at the Mullins Center.The 14th-ranked UMass hockey team had two goals disallowed due to video replay, and survived five shorthanded situations to No. 16 New Hampshire. Despite...

UMass basketball: Winners of three of their last four, Minutemen look to keep momentum going against St. Bonaventure

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

The UMass men’s basketball team found a good time to play its best basketball of the season. The Minutemen have won three of their last four contests, with Tuesday’s victory over VCU certainly checking in as one of their best victories of the season....

UMass hockey: After being swept by BC, Minutemen turn page to series against UNH

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

With just six regular season games remaining on the schedule, the UMass hockey team must quickly turn the page after a pair of tough losses to top-ranked Boston College this past weekend. After falling to the Eagles, 5-1, on Friday, the Minutemen...

UMass basketball: Minutemen bounce back, roll to 74-52 victory over VCU

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Anxious murmurs percolated throughout the Mullins Center crowd as a Roosevelt Wheeler layup cut VCU’s deficit to 48-38 – the closest it had been since 12-2 in the opening minutes – with exactly 14 minutes to go in regulation.The UMass...

UMass basketball great George “Trigger” Burke dies at 91

CONNOR PIGNATELLO

 UMass basketball great George “Trigger” Burke died at his home in Quincy on Feb. 14. He was 91. The namesake for the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame, Burke played point guard for the Minutemen from 1954-1956 and shares a No. 32 with Julius Erving in the...

UMass basketball: Red-hot VCU comes to Mullins Center on Tuesday

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — The saying all season long for the UMass men’s basketball team is a simple one: Don’t let the highs be too high, and don’t let the lows be too low.After a disappointing loss to then last-place La Salle over the weekend, the Minutemen are...

UMass hockey: Amherst’s Ryan Leonard scores hat trick to lift No. 1 Boston College past Minutemen 6-4

By GARRETT COTE

For the second time in three days, the UMass hockey team was overwhelmed by the offensive firepower of Boston College, as the N0. 1 Eagles completed a weekend – and season – sweep of the Minutemen with a 6-4 victory at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill on...

UMass basketball: Minutemen dig double-digit hole, drop road game at last-place La Salle, 82-81 

Just three days removed from its biggest win of the season, the UMass men’s basketball team followed it up with perhaps its worst loss of the year on Saturday.The Minutemen dug themselves a double-digit halftime hole on the road against last place La...

UMass hockey: Boston College locks down Minutemen, pulls away for 5-1 victory in front of packed Mullins Center (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Late in the third period, Boston College freshman Ryan Leonard found himself free in the attacking zone, skating into the slot with nobody between he and UMass goalie Michael Hrabal.Leonard loaded up and snapped a wrist shot into the top...

UMass basketball: Minutemen travel to last-place La Salle on Saturday

By GARRETT COTE

There’s nothing quite like a huge road win in the Atlantic 10 Conference.The UMass men’s basketball team traveled down to Virginia and handled league-leading Richmond on Wednesday, defeating them 69-59 after being up as many as 17 points in the second...

UMass hockey: No. 1 Boston College heads to Amherst on Friday

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

The top-ranked team in college hockey is coming to Amherst. UMass, the No. 10 ranked team in PairWise, will host No. 1 Boston College at the Mullins Center on Friday before heading to Chestnut Hill to play the Eagles on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the return...