University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Football And Mississippi State Agree To Three-Game Series
June 08, 2015 | Football
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford announced today a three-game football series with Mississippi State which will begin in 2016 at Gillette Stadium. The series includes a pair of return games to Starkville in 2017 and 2020.
The landmark game on Sept. 24, 2016 represents the most high-profile opponent to be hosted by the Minutemen. Mississippi State was one of the top programs during the 2014 campaign as a top-10 program during the last nine weeks of the regular season, including five-consecutive weeks as the No. 1 team in the country. The Bulldogs posted a 10-3 record overall and played in the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech.
"I could not be more excited to announce this series with Mississippi State as it is a major piece in our construction of a quality home schedule for the 2016 season," said Bamford. "Having a prominent SEC program play in the Commonwealth is a great step for our football program and will provide our fans with an unparalleled Division I gameday experience. For sure, there will be no shortage of Maroon in Gillette Stadium on September 24, 2016."
The Bulldogs will be the second SEC team that UMass will play in 2016 - its first season as an independent FBS program. The Minutemen will start the season at Florida (Sept. 3). Mississippi State marks the third SEC team that UMass will have played since becoming an FBS program (Vanderbilt, Florida).
In addition to the 2016 game, the Minutemen will return twice to Starkville's Davis Wade Stadium on Sept. 23, 2017 and Oct. 17, 2020.
Since becoming the Director of Athletics at UMass, Bamford has now secured three new football series following last week's announcement of Tulane and Louisiana Tech. All three series will begin during the 2016 season at Gillette Stadium giving the Minutemen four home games and 11 games overall.
"We are excited to have this opportunity to host Mississippi State in 2016 which will be one of the biggest home games in our program's history," said head coach Mark Whipple. "Ryan has done a truly remarkable job over the last few weeks in solidifying this home slate of games which will put our program in the national spotlight."
The 2016 schedule will be the most entertaining for UMass fans in program history. It includes a mix of competitive regional rivalries -- like Connecticut and Boston College -- and several exciting road games at Florida, BYU and Hawaii.
An announcement of a fifth home game, to be played in McGuirk Stadium as the 2016 homecoming game, will be announced soon.
Per NCAA rules, FBS teams which host five home games between split venues must play four at one site to be designated as the official home stadium. In seasons with six home games, that split moves to 3-3 which has been the case for UMass the past two seasons.
The Minutemen will kick-off the 2015 season at Colorado on Sept. 12 before opening the home schedule against Temple on Sept. 19 at Gillette Stadium. UMass was one of the top offensive teams in the country last year and expects to continue that trend this upcoming season. The Minutemen will be the most veteran team in the country this fall with 19-of-22 starters from 2014 returning.
2016 UMass Football Updated Schedule:
Sept. 3 - at Florida
Sept. 10 - Connecticut
Sept. 17 - at Boston College
Sept. 24 - Mississippi State
Oct. 1 - Tulane
Oct. 8 - at Old Dominion
Oct. 15 - Louisiana Tech
Oct. 29 - at Appalachian State
Nov. 5 - at Troy
Nov. 19 - at BYU
Nov. 26 - at Hawaii
