The UMass Dartmouth Corsairs football team represents the
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at the
NCAA Division III level. The Corsairs are members of the
Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), fielding its team in the MASCAC since 2013. The Corsairs play their home games at
Cressy Field
The UMass Dartmouth Corsairs football team represents the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Corsairs are members of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), fi ...
in
Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
Their head coach is
Josh Sylvester
Joshua Sylvester (born ) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, a position he has held since 2023. He was previously the offensive coordinator and Position coach, quarte ...
, who took over the position in 2023.
History
It was announced in the late 1960s that UMass Dartmouth—then Southeastern Massachusetts University—would establish an
American football team as a club team in the coming years. The
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth football program played its inaugural season as a club team in 1985 off campus at
Sargent Field (now named Paul Walsh Field). The team's first coach was
Paul Harrison in 1985, and he held the position until 1989. In 1988, the school transitioned its football team from a club team to an official varsity sport. The university hired
William Kavanaugh as their head coach in 1990 until his retirement in 2006. The third head coach,
Mark Robichaud
Mark Robichaud (born ) is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth from 2007 until his retirement after the 2022 season; leading the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs foo ...
, was named as Kavanaugh's successor for the 2007 season where he coached until his retirement following the 2022 season.
Josh Sylvester
Joshua Sylvester (born ) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, a position he has held since 2023. He was previously the offensive coordinator and Position coach, quarte ...
, previously an
offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
for the team, replaced Robichaud.
Paul Harrison era (1985–1989)
In 1985,
Harrison was hired to be their first
head coach. He coached the team through its first three years as a club team and then two more years after transitioning to
Division III.
In 1988, Harrison led the Corsairs to a 5–4 record, getting his first win against
Western New England with the final score being 23–15. The team went on a five-game winning streak beating
UMass–Boston (35–3),
Worcester State (14–7),
Bridgewater State
Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU ha ...
(22–9), and
Fitchburg State (34–0) before ending the year dropping three in a row to
Framingham State (18–26),
Westfield State
Westfield State University (Westfield State) is a public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1839 by Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender, or economic class.
Ran ...
(0–7), and
Massachusetts Maritime (6–14).
The following year in 1989, UMass Dartmouth finished with a record of 2–7 and did not win a single of their five games on the road. The teams first win of the season did not come until homecoming night where the Corsairs beat Framingham State 22–18 at home. They finished the year winning one more game against Massachusetts Maritime 30–16 to finish Harrison's last game as a coach for the team.
William Kavanaugh era (1990–2006)
In 1990,
Kavanaugh took the job as the UMass Dartmouth head coach and finished his first campaign with the team with a 1–8 record; with their only win being Westfield State on the second-to-last-week of the season 14–13. The next season, in 1991, Kavanaugh had turned the team around to accomplish a 6–3 record which was good enough for second in the
New England Football Conference (NEFC).
After finishing 5–4 in both 1992 and 1993, the Corsairs finished 8–3 in 1994, their best record in program history up to that point. With a 7–1 conference record UMass Dartmouth was named conference co-champions alongside
Maine Maritime and were invited to the team's first postseason appearance in the
ECAC Northwest Championship Bowl at
Union College. The team lost against Union 34–14 for its first action in postseason play.
The team went 4–6 in 1995 before going 8–2 three consecutive years from 1996 to 1998. Finishing second in the NEFC in 1996 and 1998 and third in 1997. Despite having an 8–2 record for three straight years the team was yet to get a spot in the
NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. The team went 3–7 in 1999, 5–4 in 2000, and 6–3 in 2001.
In 2002, Kavanaugh led the team to an undefeated regular season record of 11–0. The Corsairs beat their opponents by at least 20 points in all but three outings, including a 44–0 win over
Utica on homecoming night. UMass Dartmouth beat Westfield State 16–0 in the NEFC Championship Game to advance into their first ever
playoff tournament appearance and postseason appearance since they were co-champions in 1994. The Corsairs lost their first-ever tournament appearance 6–56 against the
Muhlenberg Mules.
Despite the large loss in the previous year, UMass Dartmouth followed their undefeated season with a 9–2 record including a 21–7 victory over Worcester State in the ECAC Northeast Bowl, making the team back-to-back champions. The following year Kavanaugh went 7–4 as the coach and once again went to the ECAC Northwest Bowl, they lost to
Ithaca 19–36 in what would be Kavanaugh's last bowl game appearance.
The last two seasons of Kavanaugh's career were average, going 5–5 in 2005 and 5–4 the following year. His final record with the team was 104–64 (.619) including two bowl game victories. He was named NEFC Coach of the Year three times throughout his seventeen years with the Corsairs, and is currently still the teams all-time leader in coaching wins and seasons coached. He was inducted into the UMass Dartmouth Hall of Fame in 2011.
Mark Robichaud era (2007–2022)
In 2007, UMass Dartmouth hired
Mark Robichaud
Mark Robichaud (born ) is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth from 2007 until his retirement after the 2022 season; leading the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs foo ...
to be their next head coach, despite having no prior head coaching experience. In Robichaud's first season with the team they went 5–5. The team started 0–5, but after beating
Nichols, 28–7, the team won five straight to finish at an even .500. Over the next ten years the team was consistently below average, reaching as high 6–4 in 2008 and as low as 0–10 in 2009 and 1–9 in 2012.
In 2019, the Corsairs began the season with a 54–7 win over
Alfred State and won their first four games of the season before falling to Framingham State 33–39. The team would drop another game to Bridgewater State 20–56 before winning their homecoming game against Worcester State 46–8. The team finished with a record of 7–3, their best since their last bowl game appearance in 2004 under Kavanaugh. In 2020, the season was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, Robichaud and the Corsairs compiled a record of 9–2 enroot to a New England Bowl appearance where the team faced Alfred State. The game ended in a 42–16 win for the Corsairs, their first bowl win since 2003.
In 2022, the team finished with a 9–1 record and a trip to the
playoffs and a MASCAC championship after beating Plymouth State 46–21 in
Plymouth, New Hampshire. He was also given the Murray Lewis Award, given to an outstanding football coach who positively influenced the game of football. Robichaud was named as the BSN Coach of the Year.
Under Robichaud, UMass Dartmouth produced 49 all-conference selections, and in 2016 the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year was junior
running back Eddie Sheridan.
On February 1, 2023, Robichaud announced his retirement; he finished as the school's second all-time leader in coaching wins.
Josh Sylvester era (2023–present)
On February 1, 2023, following Robichaud's retirement, former Corsair offensive coordinator
Josh Sylvester
Joshua Sylvester (born ) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, a position he has held since 2023. He was previously the offensive coordinator and Position coach, quarte ...
took over the position.
Championships
Conference championship
UMass Dartmouth has won three championships, sharing one.
† Co-champions
Division championships
UMass Dartmouth has won one division championship, their first, and only, being in the 2002 season as they won the Boyd Division with a record of 11–1.
Bowl games
UMass Dartmouth has participated in four bowl games, going 2–2.
Conference affiliations
*
New England Football Conference (1991–2012)
*
Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (2013–present)
List of head coaches
Key
Coaches
NCAA Division III playoff appearances
UMass Dartmouth made two appearances in the Division III playoffs going 0–2.
Year-by-year results
Cressy Field
Cressy Field is a
multi-purpose stadium in
Dartmouth, Massachusetts, with a
seating capacity of 1,850. It is home to the
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Corsairs
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
,
field hockey,
lacrosse and
track and field teams. The facility opened in 1988.
The field is named after former chancellor Peter H. Cressy.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football navbox
American football teams established in 1985
1985 establishments in Massachusetts