2003 UMass Minutemen football team

American college football season

2003 UMass Minutemen football

A10 co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 7–19 vs. Colgate
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	10–3 (8–1 A-10)
Head coach	Mark Whipple (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Neil McGrath (4th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium
Seasons ← 2002 2004 →

2003 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Delaware +^	8	–	1	15	–	1
No. 11 UMass +^	8	–	1	10	–	3
No. 20 Northeastern	6	–	3	8	–	4
No. 25 Villanova	5	–	4	7	–	4
Maine	4	–	4	6	–	5
William & Mary	4	–	4	5	–	5
James Madison	4	–	5	6	–	6
New Hampshire	3	–	6	5	–	7
Rhode Island	3	–	6	4	–	8
Hofstra	2	–	6	2	–	10
Richmond	1	–	8	2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2003 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). The team was coached by Mark Whipple and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 2003 season was Whipple's last with UMass. He left to take the position of quarterbacks coach with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers after the season. It was a successful year for Whipple and the Minutemen as they returned to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs for the first time since 1999 by virtue of winning the A-10 Conference championship. UMass finished the season with a record of 10–3 overall and 8–1 in conference play.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	1:00 p.m.	Central Connecticut State *	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA	W 51–7	8,360
September 13	1:00 p.m.	at No. 7 (I-A) Kansas State *	No. 10	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	L 7–38	46,102
September 20	6:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Maine	No. 12	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	W 24–16	7,316
September 27	1:00 p.m.	James Madison	No. 10	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA	W 31–26	10,196	^[1]
October 4	1:00 p.m.	New Hampshire	No. 9	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA (rivalry)	W 44–30	7,085
October 11	1:00 p.m.	at William & Mary	No. 7	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA	W 24–14	4,868
October 18	12:30 p.m.	Hofstra *^dagger	No. 6	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA	CN8	W 27–22	7,323
October 25	3:30 p.m.	at No. 2 Villanova	No. 5	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FSNE	W 19–14	9,125
November 1	12:30 p.m.	Northeastern	No. 4	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA	CSTV	W 28–24	7,106
November 8	12:00 p.m.	Richmond	No. 4	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA	W 30–17	6,167
November 15	12:15 p.m.	at No. 6 Delaware	No. 3	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	FSNE	L 45–51 ^3OT	21,804	^[2]
November 22	12:00 p.m.	Rhode Island	No. 7	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA	W 31–17	7,087
November 29	12:45 p.m.	at No. 6 Colgate *	No. 5	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 7–19	4,197	^[3]
*Non-conference game ^daggerHomecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^ "UMass edges James Madison, 31–26". The Berkshire Eagle. September 28, 2003. Retrieved October 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Kevin Tresolini (November 16, 2003). "Hens Back on Track: Overtime thriller brings A-10 closer". The News Journal. pp. D1, D11 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Burris, Joe (November 30, 2003). "Winter Blunderland: It's No Joy Ride as UMass Can't Weather Colgate". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e UMass Minutemen football
Venues	Alumni Field (1879–1964) Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium (1965–2011, 2014–present) Gillette Stadium (alternate) (2012–2016)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Boston College New Hampshire 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 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Atlantic 10 Conference football champions
Villanova (1997) Richmond (1998) James Madison & UMass (1999) Delaware & Richmond (2000) Hofstra, Maine, Villanova, & William & Mary (2001) Maine & Northeastern (2002) Delaware & UMass (2003) Delaware, James Madison , & William & Mary (2004) New Hampshire & Richmond (2005) UMass (2006)
National championships in bold

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