EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is breaking, and more information will be added as it becomes available.
Another chapter has been written in a turbulent week for the Massachusetts football team, as multiple players and accounts report that the school’s athletic department has changed its Senior Day plans for the team’s Nov. 30 matchup against UConn.
Graduate tight end Dominick Mazotti made a series of posts on Thursday night indicating that UMass has taken away a pregame ceremony that’s become commonplace at Senior Days both in Amherst and nationwide. To replace the typical festivities–announcements over the loudspeaker as an athlete’s family walks across the field with him–Mazotti mentioned in a reply to a comment that “[UMass] said our parents could come on the field before the game and watch us warm up…and then take some pictures with them if we wanted basically.”
Shortly after Mazotti’s comments were made, an alleged message to the team from the administration was released on X by the Minutemen fan account @MaroonMusket. The message contains reasoning that the traditional proceedings have been canceled “due to the number of players who are completing their eligibility and graduating from school.”
The message then goes on to clarify that “In lieu of the ceremony, the athletic department is offering your families the opportunity to be on the field for pre-game warmups and will have a photographer available to take pictures with you.”
Other UMass players, including safety Tyler Rudolph, defensive back Te’Rai Powell and kicker Bennett Abbe took to social media later in the night to voice their frustrations with the proposed plan.
The Daily Collegian reached out to the UMass athletic department for comment. A statement was released by the University early Friday morning, reading “We regret the miscommunication with our team regarding the Senior Day activities planned for next Saturday. To be clear, the Senior Day ceremony was NEVER cancelled, instead we planned to amend the pre-game ceremony due to the large number of seniors (54 total) this year…”
This news comes just three days after Don Brown was fired as head coach of the Minutemen. Through three seasons with the program, Brown had amassed a 6-28 record and can receive a buyout of up to $1.4 million from the university.
Interim head coach Shane Montgomery will lead the Minutemen into their next game Saturday, a 12:45 p.m. kickoff against No. 10 Georgia.
Dean Wendel can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @DeanWende1.
