1998 UMass Minutemen football team

1998 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
	New England
	Mid-Atlantic
	$ – Conference champion; x – Division champion/co-champions; ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant; Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1998 UMass Minutemen football
1998 UMass Minutemen football
NCAA Division I-AA champion; A-10 New England Division co-champion; Lambert Cup winner
Division I-AA Championship Game, W 55–43 vs. Georgia Southern
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
	New England Division
1998 record	12–3 (6–2 A-10)
Head coach	Mark Whipple (1st season);
Defensive coordinator	Don Brown (1st season)
Home stadium	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium (17,000)
	Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

The 1998 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Mark Whipple and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. 1998 was the most successful season in Minutemen history, as UMass won their first National Championship in the NCAA DI-AA playoffs in Whipple's first year with the team. UMass entered the postseason as champions of the A-10, but were not expected to make a serious run for the title. They reached the final game ranked 12th in the nation, and were matched up with perennial powerhouse Georgia Southern, the top ranked team in the country. The Minutemen rushed out of the gates, scoring three touchdowns in the opening quarter, and won the shootout by a final score of 55–43. UMass finished the season with a record of 12–3 overall and 6–2 in conference play.

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	7:00 p.m.	at No. 3 Delaware		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE		L 30–33	20,744
September 12	1:00 p.m.	at Richmond		UR Stadium Richmond, VA		W 22–17	10,219
September 26	1:00 p.m.	Buffalo*		McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA		W 51–27	11,672
October 3	12:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Hofstra*		Hofstra Stadium Hempstead, NY		W 40–35	5,308
October 10	1:00 p.m.	James Madison	No. 24	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA		W 28–26	14,202	^[1]
October 17	1:30 p.m.	at Connecticut	No. 18	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT (rivalry)		L 41–44	8,581
October 24	1:00 p.m.	Villanova	No. 19	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA		W 36–26	12,135
October 31	12:30 p.m.	at New Hampshire	No. 16	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (rivalry)		W 27–26	3,578
November 7	12:00 p.m.	at Rhode Island	No. 12	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI		W 23–13	5,036
November 14	12:30 p.m.	Maine	No. 10	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA		W 55–34	10,355
November 21	12:30 p.m.	Connecticut*	No. 7	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA		L 27–28	16,392
November 28	7:00 p.m.	at McNeese State*	No. 12	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)		W 21–19	11,349
December 5	12:00 p.m.	Lehigh*	No. 12	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinals)		W 27–21	12,108
December 12	2:00 p.m.	at Northwestern State*	No. 12	Turpin Stadium Natchitoches, LA (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinals)		W 41–31	10,424
December 19	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 1 Georgia Southern*	No. 12	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)	ESPN	W 55–43	17,501
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

References[]

^ "Smith tip-top in UMass win". The Boston Globe. October 11, 1998. Retrieved October 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

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[1] "Smith tip-top in UMass win". The Boston Globe. October 11, 1998. Retrieved October 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[1]

v t UMass Minutemen football
Venues	Alumni Field (1879–1964) Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium (1965–2011, 2014–) Gillette Stadium (alternate) (2012–2016)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Boston College New Hampshire: Colonial Clash (Bill Knight Trophy) UConn
Culture & lore	Sam the Minuteman "Fight Mass" University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
National championship seasons in bold

v t NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football champions
1970s	1978: Florida A&M 1979: Eastern Kentucky
1980s	1980: Boise State 1981: Idaho State 1982: Eastern Kentucky 1983: Southern Illinois 1984: Montana State 1985: Georgia Southern 1986: Georgia Southern 1987: Northeast Louisiana 1988: Furman 1989: Georgia Southern
1990s	1990: Georgia Southern 1991: Youngstown State 1992: Marshall 1993: Youngstown State 1994: Youngstown State 1995: Montana 1996: Marshall 1997: Youngstown State 1998: UMass 1999: Georgia Southern
2000s	2000: Georgia Southern 2001: Montana 2002: Western Kentucky 2003: Delaware 2004: James Madison 2005: Appalachian State 2006: Appalachian State 2007: Appalachian State 2008: Richmond 2009: Villanova
2010s	2010: Eastern Washington 2011: North Dakota State 2012: North Dakota State 2013: North Dakota State 2014: North Dakota State 2015: North Dakota State 2016: James Madison 2017: North Dakota State 2018: North Dakota State 2019: North Dakota State
2020s	2020: Sam Houston State 2021: North Dakota State

1998 UMass Minutemen football

NCAA Division I-AA champion A-10 New England Division co-champion Lambert Cup winner
Division I-AA Championship Game, W 55–43 vs. Georgia Southern
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Division	New England Division
1998 record	12–3 (6–2 A-10)
Head coach	Mark Whipple (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Don Brown (1st season)
Home stadium	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium (17,000)
Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

1998 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
New England
No. 9 Connecticut x^		6	–	2		10	–	3
No. 1 UMass x^		6	–	2		12	–	3
Maine		3	–	5		6	–	5
New Hampshire		3	–	5		4	–	7
Rhode Island		2	–	6		3	–	8
Mid-Atlantic
No. 10 Richmond x$^		7	–	1		9	–	3
No. 23 Delaware		4	–	4		7	–	4
Villanova		4	–	4		6	–	5
No. 17 William & Mary		4	–	4		7	–	4
Northeastern		3	–	5		5	–	6
James Madison		2	–	6		3	–	8

$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

v t 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
Appalachian State Colgate Connecticut Florida A&M Georgia Southern Hampton Illinois State Lehigh UMass McNeese State Montana Northwestern State Richmond Tennessee State Troy State Western Illinois
Champion – Massachusetts Minutemen