University of Massachusets Athletics
Football Set to Play Boston College, UConn in Future Series
December 10, 2015 | Football
Future Schedules
AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford announced on Thursday a considerable change to the 2016 football schedule and the addition of games versus New England rivals Boston College (2021 and 2022) and the University of Connecticut (2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021) to future Minutemen football schedules.
“UMass is fortunate to have the opportunity to help promote college football in this region while also enhancing our 2016 schedule to include an additional home game on campus,” Bamford said. “I’m particularly excited about the changes to our first Independent schedule as they truly enhance the experience for our fans and football student-athletes. As a bonus, we were able to lock in future games with two respected regional rivals through a great partnership with Boston College and UConn. These match-ups are substantial for the UMass football brand and fans throughout the Commonwealth who support major college football.”
The Minutemen now boast six home games on the 2016 slate, four at Gillette Stadium and two at McGuirk Alumni Stadium, a feat started and completed in the last seven months.
Previously scheduled for Sept. 17, 2016, UMass and Boston College will now play at Gillette for a Minuteman home game on Sat., Sept. 10, 2016. The contest in Chestnut Hill remains slated for Sept. 1, 2018.
The two teams will further the rivalry with a second home-and-home series scheduled for 2021 (Sept. 11 at Gillette) and 2022 (Sept. 17 at Boston College’s Alumni Stadium).
UMass and UConn have entered into a new four-year series. The two teams will play in 2018 (Oct. 27 at UConn’s Rentschler Field), 2019 (Oct. 26 at Gillette), 2020 (Sept. 3 at UConn’s Rentschler Field) and 2021 (Oct. 2 at Gillette). This new series cancels previously scheduled games in 2016 and 2017.
“In essence, we made changes to our 2016 and 2017 schedules to allow UConn and Boston College an opportunity to start a home-and-home series,” Bamford added. “We fully understand and support that a BC-UConn match-up will help New England college football gain traction nationally. UMass has always believed that the collective goal of the three New England FBS schools should be to collaborate often and build a strong partnership to further enhance the culture of college football in this region. With this news, I think we are making progress on this goal.”
UMass has also entered into a new home-and-home series with Florida International. The two schools will meet at McGuirk Stadium, in Amherst, on Sept. 17, 2016 and at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium, in Miami, on Oct. 5, 2019. This new series is in addition to the previously scheduled contest on Sept. 15, 2018 (Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium, Miami). Also previously announced, UMass hosts Maine twice (2017 and 2019), adding to the passion for college football within New England. The Minutemen now face a regional foe every season stretching from 2015 to 2022.
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