Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Tuesday--January 14th, 2014

From the Athletic Dept e-mail:

UMass Amherst tomorrow morning will officially introduce Mark Whipple back to campus as the new head coach of your Minutemen football team. We hope you’ll join us in welcoming Coach Whipple back to Amherst by tuning in as our 11 a.m. press conference is streamed live on the UMass Athletics website.
Coach Whipple returns to UMass for his second stint as the Minutemen’s head coach. In his first turn at the helm, 1998-2003, the Minutemen won the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship and made two more postseason appearances. Coach Whipple compiled an overall record of 49-26 with the Minutemen.
It’s fitting that a successful coach is returning to our program just as the team prepares to return to playing home games in McGuirk Stadium on campus. The Minutemen will play three of their six 2014 home games in Amherst and three — including the August 30 season opener vs. the Boston College Eagles — at Gillette Stadium.
Season tickets, which include full packages, Gillette Stadium packages, and McGuirk Stadium packages, are available now.
Since he last coached the Minutemen, Coach Whipple has:
Coach Whipple Brings 31 seasons of football coaching experience with him as he returns to the Minutemen to take over as the second coach of the Football Bowl Subdivision era.
Coach Whipple is uniquely qualified to help our team build a winning tradition in the Mid-American Conference and the FBS. Please join us in welcoming him back to campus. And remember to order your season tickets today.

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Matty V. says Mark Whipple's old players are pulling for him.

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Dan Malone takes an early look at UMass' 2014 schedule. Since the MAC is an unbalanced league and since there are nine league games and only six or seven teams in each of the MAC's division, every two years the Minutemen's schedule will include different teams.

This year's iteration is tougher than the previous two years.

The Minutemen lose:
  • Northern Illinois 12-2
  • Central Michigan 6-6
  • Western Michigan 1-11
Gain:
  • Ball State 10-2
  • Toledo 7-5
  • Kent State 4-8
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Toledo is usually one of the top teams in the MAC. In 2013 the Rockets beat Navy and Bowling Green. BTW, Toledo opens with New Hampshire in 2014. In 2012 Kent State went 11-3.

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The Boston Globe says Mark Whipple is back at the helm of UMass Football.

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Nicholas Lewis of Hustle Belt looks at the regime change at UMass.

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 The MAC had a substantial lead over the Sun Belt and Mountain West in bowl viewership.

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