UMass to play football this fall, reversing call

UMass says it will play football this fall, reversing an August decision to postpone the season until the spring.

One of few independents in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the school says it will start in mid-October. Games still need to be scheduled, which could be a challenge because most leagues are playing a limited number of nonconference games, if any.

There will be no fans at any of the team’s home games in Amherst.

UMass was an occasional power in Division I-AA, now known as the Football Championship Subdivision, winning it all in 1998 and returning to the title game eight years later. But since making the jump to the FBS in 2012, the Minutemen have gone 19-77. They left the Mid-American Conference and became an independent in 2016.

Cox Media Group