New head coach and a conference could be a boon for UMass football ... eventually

CEDAR RAPIDS - UMass has been UMess when it comes to its football program.

The school was successful at the FCS, formerly NCAA Division I-AA, level, but it decided to go big time in 2011. The results have not been pretty.

Massachusetts has gone 26-122 at the FBS level. Its best seasons were in 2017 and 2018, when it went 4-8 in each.

The Minutemen technically became bowl eligible in 2013, but there have been no bowls. Nothing even close to qualifying for one.

Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst, Mass., seats 17,000. Just 3,714 folks showed up for UMass’ home opener last week, an embarrassing 27-26 loss to FCS school Bryant University of Rhode Island.

Woe is they.

Massachusetts (0-2) is a 35 1/2-point underdog for its game Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:40 (Big Ten Network).

This is a money game for UMass, as Iowa is paying it $1.7 million to play.

“This is going to be a violent game. Like extremely violent,” first-year UMass Coach Joe Harasymiak said Monday at his weekly press conference. “So we’ve got to match their violence.”

Harasymiak would seem to be a reason for optimism if you are a Minutemen fan. Or a Minute-fan, if you will.

The 39 year old is in his first year after spending time as defensive coordinator at Rutgers from 2022 to 2024. Prior to that, he was co-DC at Minnesota in 2020 and 2021.

Harasymiak graduated from NCAA Division III Springfield College, right next door to UMass, so he knows and loves the area. He also has head coaching experience at Maine, where he went 20-15 in three seasons, including leading the Black Bears to the FCS semifinals in 2018.

Of course, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz began his head college coaching career at Maine.

“I think he knows what to do,” Ferentz said Tuesday as his weekly press conference. “He's done this before, and he's been around football. He's probably a little more seasoned than I was when I went to Maine. There are a lot of things you learn, and the good news is a lot of the mistakes I made ... nobody really noticed because they were more interested in hockey or maybe some other things going on there.”

“What I learned at Maine is you’ve got to get people who believe in what you believe in,” Harasymiak said at his introductory press conference. “Now with everything that’s going on in the way of college football, I think that gets lost a little bit. We’re going to make sure that the people who are here believe in what we believe in. It starts with that.”

UMass was an independent from 2016 to 2024. Being a nomad hurt the program, without question.

But the Minutemen are full-fledged member this season of the Mid-American Conference, which is another reason for optimism. UMass reportedly had $2 million in guaranteed NIL money to attract recruits and transfers (of which there are a lot on this roster) this season, a figure that will be bumped to $3 million next season.

Those numbers are considered solid by non-power conference standards.

“Being here as a student-athlete in Springfield, and a lot of friendships that I have here ... There was just a little bit of an aura as a Division III player when I used to come up here and see the big stadium and kind of see all the success that they had all the time in the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association),” Harasymiak said. “This place was very powerful. That was my memory. That was what UMass was to me.

“So certainly getting involved in this process, combining that thought with what I know what we’re doing (here) from the top down, it’s a scary thought what we can do. I’m just really excited to be a part of it.”

Ferentz said he has an appreciation for Harasymiak and what he can do at his new school, considering his familiarity with him via the Big Ten Conference.

“UMass has an outstanding coach,” Ferentz said. “We've got a background with Joe from being at Minnesota and being at Rutgers most recently, so familiar with his work. He's a defensive coach. He's an outstanding coach; was a head coach at Maine on top of that. A little bit of familiarity there in terms of (his) philosophical approach to the game.”

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