UMASS FOOTBALL NOTES #3 UMASS vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, UMASS FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Division I Football Championship

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1 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 A-10 Co-Offensive NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP Player of Year 1 Senior Tailback Steve Baylark SCHEDULES/RESULTS Massachusetts (13-1, 8-0 A-10) Sat. Sept. 2 COLGATE (10/RV) W, 28-7 Sat. Sept. 9 at Navy (9/-) CSTV L, Sat. Sept. 16 at Villanova*(9/-) CN8 W, Sat. Sept. 23 STONY BROOK (9/-) W, 48-7 Sat. Oct. 7 WILLIAM & MARY* (10/-) W, 48-7 Sat. Oct. 14 at Towson* (8/22) W, 35-0 Sat. Oct. 21 RHODE ISL.* (6/-) A-10TV W, Sat. Oct. 28 at Northeastern* (4/-)CN8 W, 7-0 Sat. Nov. 4 at N. Hampshire* (3/9)CSTVW, Sat. Nov. 11 MAINE* (3/19) W, 10-9 Sat. Nov. 18 HOFSTRA* (3/-) W, NCAA Championship Playoffs Sat. Nov. 25 LAFAYETTE (3/RV) CN8 W, Sat. Dec. 2 N. HAMPSHIRE (3/9)ESPN Syn.W, Fri. Dec. 8 at Montana (3/2) ESPN2 W, Fri. Dec. 15 vs. Appalachian St. (3/1)ESPN28 p.m. * Atlantic 10 Games; Home Games in CAPS at McGuirk Stadium Appalachian State (13-1, 8-0 Southern) Sat. Sept. 2 at NC State L, Sat. Sept. 9 JAMES MADISON (1/12) W, Sat. Sept. 16 MARS HILL (1/-) W, 41-0 Sat. Sept. 23 at Gardner-Webb (1/-) W, 41-6 Sat. Sept. 30 ELON* (1/-) W, 45/21 Sat. Oct. 7 at Chattanooga* (1/-) W, Sat. Oct. 14 WOFFORD* (1/-) W, 14-7 Sat. Oct. 21 at Georgia Southern*W, ot Sat. Oct. 28 FURMAN (1/8) W, 40-7 Sat. Nov. 4 THE CITADEL*(1/-) W, Sat. Nov. 11 at West. Carolina*(1/-) W, 31-9 NCAA Championship Playoffs Sat. Nov. 25 COASTAL CAROLINA (1/13) W, Sat. Dec. 2 MONTANA STATE (1/18) W, Sat. Dec. 9 YOUNGSTOWN ST. (1/5) W, Fri. Dec. 15 vs. Massachusetts (1/3) 8 p.m. * Southern Games; Home Games in CAPS at Kidd Brewer Stadium GAME FACTS Massachusetts 2006 Record: 13-1 (8-0 Atlantic 10/1st, North) 2006 NCAA Berth: Automatic, A-10 Champion 2006 Ranks:(3rd) TSN, (3rd) Coaches, (2nd) D. Hansen Head Coach: Don Brown (Norwich 77) Coach s Record: (.684)/10th season Coach s Record at UMass: (.722)/3rd season Appalachian State 2006 Record: 13-1 (8-0 Southern/1st) 2006 NCAA Berth: Automatic, Southern Champion 2006 Ranks: (1st) TSN, (1st) Coaches, (1st) D.Hansen Head Coach: Bobby Moore (Baylor 61) Coach s Record: (.693)/18th season Coach s Record at App. State: Same Series Information All-Time Series: Television: ESPN2 National Telecast (Dave Pasch, playby-play, Trevor Matich, color, Rod Gilmore, color, Dave Ryan, sidelines). Radio: UMass Sports Network (Bob Behler, play-by-play; Matt Goldstein, color; Nick DiFelice, sidelines); WRNX (100.9 FM, Holyoke, flagship; WCRN (830 AM, Worcester/Boston); WATD (95.9 FM, Marshfield/Boston) & UMassAthletics.com Live Stats: UMassAthletics.com Massachusetts Football SID: Jason Yellin (jyellin@admin.umass.edu) Phone/Cell/Fax: (413) / / Website: Appalachian State First Meeting MEDIA INFORMATION Football SID: Mike Flynn (flynnmh@appstate.edu) Phone/Cell/Fax: (828) / / Website: GAME 15 NO. 3 PLAYS FOR 2ND NCAA FOOTBALL TITLE AGAINST NO. 1 APP STATE The No. 3 UMass football team will be seeking its second NCAA Football Championship as the Minutemen head to Chattanooga to take on No. 1 Appalachian State, the defending national champions. The takes place on Friday with an 8:07 p.m. kickoff from Davenport Field at Finley Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Dave Pasch calls the game with color provided by Rod Gilmore and Trevor Matich. Dave Ryan will report from the sidelines. Both teams come into the game with identical 13-1 record with both teams suffering losses to I-A/Bowl Subdivision teams back in early September. UMass captured its only NCAA football title in 1998 with a win over No. 1 Georgia Southern back on Dec. 19. That game marked the last time the Minutemen have faced the No. 1 team in the nation as they will do on Friday. The game will also be broadcast live on the UMass Sports Network. Veteran Bob Behler will call the action and former kicker Matt Goldstein will handle the color commentary. The pregame show begins at 7:30 p.m. on WRNX (100.9 FM), the flagship of the network. It will also air on WCRN (830 AM) and WATD (95.9 FM). The game can also be heard live online at UMassAthletics.com. UMass broadcaster Bob Behler returns to Chattanooga for the first time in 20 years after he had his first broadcasting job out of college for the minor league baseball Chattanooga Lookouts from UMass is seeking its fourth overall national championship in its athletic history. The school most recently captured the I-AA football championship in 1998 in addition to the first NCAA women s lacrosse title in 1982 and the 1973 AIAW women s gymnastics championship. The football team is the second UMass team to play for a Division I national title in seven months. The Minuteman men s lacrosse team lost 15-7 to No. 1 Virginia in the championship game in Philadelphia on May 29, 2006 before close to 50,000 fans at Lincoln Financial Field football ROAD TO THE TITLE GAME The Atlantic 10 champion No. 3 UMass football team comes off a win at a raucous No. 2 Montana last Friday night. A-10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year senior tailback Steve Baylark picked up a total of 245 total yards with 169 rushing and a career-high 76 receiving. He scored both of UMass touchdowns in the game and now has 47 touchdowns, the third-most in UMass history. Baylark is now the career ac- 250 Boyden Gym Amherst, Mass Asst. A.D./Media: Jason Yellin Phone: (413) Fax: (413) jyellin@admin.umass.edu Originally Released: Dec. 11, 2006 FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Division I Football Championship #3 (13-1) vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE (13-1) FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, P.M. (ET) DAVENPORT FIELD AT FINLEY STADIUM CHATTANOOGA, TENN. (20,000/FieldTurf) TV: ESPN2 Radio: WRNX (100.9 FM - Flagship) WCRN (830 AM), WATD (95.9 FM) UMassAthletics.com A-10 Honors Co-Offensive Player of Year: TB Steve Baylark Coach of the Year: Don Brown A-10 First Team OL Matt Austin TB Steve Baylark DB Tracy Belton LB Jason Hatchell DB James Ihedigbo P Christian Koegel WR Brandon London C Alex Miller A-10 Second Team LB Brad Anderson DE David Burris OL Nick Diana DE John Hatchell K Chris Koepplin KR Courtney Robinson DB Sean Smalls OL David Thompson LB Charles Walker A-10 Third Team QB Liam Coen TE Brad Listorti PR J.J. Moore Top Tidbits UMass continues to wear its same color jerseys and pants, a playoff tradition started in the 1998 national championship season. UMass will be going for its second football NCAA title and fourth overall in school history in any sport. This is the first time UMass and App. State have played football. UMass has set a new school record for wins in a season with 13 and home wins in a year with a perfect 8-0 record. UMass senior class has a record, the most wins by a UMass four-year class. UMass had a league-record 20 players named to the All-Conference team. UMass is the first A-10 team to go undefeated in league play since Villanova in Steve Baylark now has 5,199 rushing yards, making him the active career rusher in all of Division I (including I-A/FBS) UMass has blanked all three of its playoff opponents in the second half, outscoring 29-0 in three games.

2 2 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP...in the polls SPORTS NETWORK (Nov. 20) Team (First-place ) Record Points Last Yr. 1. Appalachian State (73) , Montana (1) , MASSACHUSETTS (2) , North Dakota State (5) , Youngstown State 9-2 1, James Madison 9-2 1, Furman 8-3 1, Hampton , New Hampshire 8-3 1, Southern Illinois 8-3 1, Illinois State 8-3 1, Tennessee-Martin 9-2 1, Coastal Carolina Eastern Illinois Cal Poly San Diego Northern Iowa Montana State Princeton Portland State South Dakota State McNeese State NR 23. Wofford NR 24. Maine Central Arkansas NR Others receiving votes: Yale 120, Monmouth 103, Delaware State 84, Towson 65, Alabama A&M 52, Arkansas Pine-Bluff 28, Charleston Southern 27, UC Davis 23, Harvard 20, Lafayette 20, South Carolina State 15, Villanova 13, Northern Arizona 10, Sam Houston 10 DON HANSEN POLL (Nov. 20) 1 APPALACHIAN STATE MASSACHUSETTS NORTH DAKOTA STATE MONTANA YOUNGSTOWN STATE COASTAL CAROLINA JAMES MADISON ILLINOIS STATE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS FURMAN SAN DIEGO HAMPTON TENNESSEE-MARTIN SOUTH DAKOTA STATE MONTANA STATE CAL POLY PORTLAND STATE NORTHERN IOWA WOFFORD PRINCETON EASTERN ILLINOIS CENTRAL ARKANSAS MONMOUTH NJ McNEESE STATE NEW HAMPSHIRE DELAWARE STATE CHARLESTON SOUTH ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF YALE LAFAYETTE DRAKE MAINE WESTERN KENTUCKY SOUTH CAROLINA ST UC DAVIS RICHMOND HARVARD HOLY CROSS CENTRAL CONNECTICUT EASTERN KENTUCKY 6-5 IN THE POLLS Date Sports Net. Coaches Don Hansen Preseason 10 N/A 13 Sept Sept Sept Sept Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Nov Nov Nov tive leading rusher in all of Division I football with 5,199. The Minuteman defense was stellar in the second half, posting its third second-half shutout in three playoff games. UMass limited the powerful Griz to just 67 yards in the second half and 250 in the game. The Minutemen piled up 460 yards, 226 on the ground and 234 Liam Coen passing yards to demonstrate their balanced attack. The win was a school-record 12th in a row for UMass and set a schoolrecord for wins in a season with 13. The previous most wins in a season was the glorious 1998 year when they went In the quarterfinal, UMass posted a victory over arch-rival No. 9 New Hampshire last Saturday before a sold-out crowd of 17,000 at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Steve Baylark ran for 198 yards and became the second UMass back to go over 5,000-yard career mark. He also scored his 45th career touchdown on a 1-yard run to tie for third all-time in UMass history. Junior A-10 First Team linebacker Jason Hatchell imitated his senior brother John Hatchell as he knocked down a Ricky Santos pass on fourth-down in the final seconds to secure the win as the Wildcats were driving. Sophomore quarterback Liam Coen threw for two touchdowns. That included a sensational individual effort for by senior receiver Brandon London, who extended his body to the goal line to cap a 31-yard TD pass which gave UMass the lead for good at in the fourth quarter. UMass advanced to the second round by virtue of a win over Patriot League champion Lafayette in the first round on Nov. 25. The No. 1 Mountaineers come into the championship game as the defending titlists. In the NCAA playoffs, they have rolled over their opponents pounding No. 13 Coastal Carolina, in the first round, No. 18 Montana State, in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Youngstown State, in the semifinals. Appalachian State has not lost to Division I-AA/FCS team since SOUTHERN EXPOSURE The championship game marks UMass first game in Tennessee since the 1998 title win over Georgia Southern. UMass has never played Appalachian State in football. UMass last game against a team from North Carolina was a loss at I-A NC State on Sept. 28, App State s only loss this season came against NC State, in the season opener on Sept TEAM CONNECTIONS TO 1998 Looking back at UMass 1998 National Championship, there are several connections on the current 2006 team linking the teams. Head coach Don Brown was the defensive coordinator on that 1998 team, in his first season at UMass under then head coach Mark Whipple. Several current UMass assistant coaches were also on that 1998 staff. Keith Dudzinski, the current defensive coordinator and linebackers coach was a defensive line coach with the Minutemen. Current run-game coordinator and offensive line coach Brian Picucci was a graduate assistant with the offensive line in Wide receivers coach Brian Smith was a starting defensive back on the 1998 team. He went on a decorated career graduating cum laude from UMass. The football team s academic advisor Lance Overby was also defensive back in NCAA CHAMPIONS FROM THE A-10 In the final season of the Atlantic 10 football conference, UMass is seeking to become the fourth team in the league to win a title joining the 1998 UMass squad, the 2003 Delaware and 2004 James Madison. The A-10 will morph into the Colonial Athletic Association football conference nest season with the same 12 teams as half of the league members are full-time affiliates of the CAA. IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT This year, Division I-AA has been renamed the Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Prior to this year, UMass played in six previous playoffs under the I-AA name spanning 25 years from 1978 through The Minutemen captured the 1998 National Championship with four wins. They captured the title in epic fashion in a win over No. 1 Georgia Southern. UMass also advanced to the 1978 championship game where they lost to Florida A&M, With the opening-round win over Lafayette, UMass has a 9-5 record in 14 tournament games. They are 10-7 all-time the postseason including two bowl games. The No. 3 seed marks the first time UMass has been seeded in the NCAA Tournament. The Minutemen hosted a first-round playoff game UMass NCAA Games Date Round Score 11/26/77 D-II Quarter Lehigh 30, at UMass 23 12/9/78 Semi UMass 44, at Nevada-Reno 21 12/16/78 Final Florida A&M 35, UMass 28 11/26/88 1st Round at Eastern Kentucky 28, UMass 17 11/24/90 1st Round at William & Mary 38, UMass 0 11/28/98 1st Round #12 UMass 21, at #6 McNeese State 19 12/5/98 Quarter at #12 UMass 27, #13 Lehigh 21 12/12/98 Semi #12 UMass 41, at #2 Northwestern State 31 12/19/98 Final #12 UMass 55, Ga. Southern 43 11/27/99 1st Round #10 UMass 30, at #8 Furman 23 (OT) 12/4/99 Quarter at #2 Ga. Southern 38, #10 UMass 21 11/29/03 1st Round at #6 Colgate 19, #5 UMass 7 11/25/06 1st Round at #3 UMass 35, Lafayette 14 12/2/06 Quarters at #3 UMass 24, #9 New Hampshire 17 12/8/06 Semi #3 UMass 19, at #2 Montana 17

3 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP 3 for the first-time ever and just the second home I-AA or FCS playoff game ever (not including the D-II game in 1977). The only other home UMass tournament game came in the 1998 Quarterfinals, when UMass beat Lehigh, to reach the Semis. Prior to this year, UMass last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2003, when the Minutemen dropped a heart-breaking 19-7 decision at Colgate in a snowy blizzard. Before to that, UMass played in the 1999 tournament, winning a first-round game at No. 8 Furman, in overtime to run the Minutemen s post-season wins streak to five games. But UMass fell in the quarterfinals, at Georgia Southern in a re-match of the 1998 title game. On the way to the national championship in 1998, UMass defeated McNeese State (21-19) in the first round on the road, Lehigh (27-21) at home and Northwestern State (41-31) on the road again before beating and Georgia Southern (55-43) in the title game. The Minutemen advanced to the first ever Division I-AA championship game in 1978, defeating Nevada (44-21) in the semifinals before falling to Florida A&M (35-28) in the title game. UMass also took part in the tournament in 1988 (falling to Eastern Kentucky, 28-17) and in 1990 (losing to William & Mary, 38-0). The Minutemen played in the 1977 Division II playoffs, where they hosted Patriot League team Lehigh in a loss. As the Redmen, UMass won the 1972 Boardwalk Bowl, over UC Davis and lost the 1964 Tangerine Bowl to East Carolina, BROWN RETURNS TO NCAA S UMass head coach Don Brown is in the Division I-AA/FCS NCAA Tournament for the second time as a head coach. He led Northeastern to the NCAA s in 2002 when the Huskies captured the Atlantic 10 championship. Northeastern lost to Fordham, in the first round. Brown s greatest run in the NCAA Tournament came as the defensive coordinator with the 1998 and 1999 UMass teams. Brown headed up the defensive corps for those two seasons as UMass went 5-1 in the post season in capturing the 1998 title. Brown is now 8-1 while on the sidelines at UMass in NCAA Tournament games. He was the head coach at Plymouth State in leading the Panthers to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 1994, reaching the quarterfinals and in 1995, falling in the first round. Brown s son Zach also had a chance at a national championship this past season as he was the top assistant baseball coach at Wheaton College, located in Norton, Mass. The Lyons lost to Marietta College in the Division III final. Zach Brown is in his fifth season as an assistant at Wheaton. MAROON PLATOON Don Brown has continued the tradition started by former head coach and current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple of UMass wearing the same color jerseys and 1998 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 55, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 43 December 19, 1998 Finley Stadium, Chattanooga UMass won its first national championship with a victory over No. 1 Georgia Southern. Marcel Shipp rushed for 244 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries, while Todd Bankhead completed 17 of 25 passes for 152 yards. UMass jumped on top early, scoring three first quarter touchdowns on the way to a halftime lead. Shipp had a pair of scoring runs in the first half, while Bankhead scored on a sneak, Kole Ayi scored on a fumble recovery, and Adrian Zullo caught a scoring pass. Georgia Southern cut the lead to with a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, before the UMass running attack put the game out of reach. Kevin Quinlan and Shipp both scored touchdowns early in the fourth quarter to give the Minutemen an insurmountable lead. Scoring Summary 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total UMass Georgia Southern st 12:56 UM Shipp 25 run (Cherry kick) 8:29 UM Ayi 9 fumble return (Cherry kick) 7:25 GSU Hill 40 run (Chambers kick) 5:04 UM Zullo 7 pass from Holston (Cherry kick) 2nd 14:56 UM Cherry 22 field goal 10:54 GSU Joyner 6 pass from Hill (Chambers kick) 7:17 UM Bankhead 1 run (Cherry kick) 4:09 UM Shipp 4 run (Cherry kick) 2:01 GSU Peterson 1 run (Chambers kick) 3rd 8:54 GSU Peterson 5 run (Chambers kick failed) 0:41 GSU Hill 2 run (Jones run failed) 4th 13:42 UM Quinlan 2 run (Cherry kick) 11:51 UM Shipp 2 run (Cherry kick) 8:39 GSU Chambers 38 field goal 2:21 UM Cherry 25 field goal 1:04 GSU Revere 29 run (Chambers kick) Team Statistics UMass GSU First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Total Offense Passes Fumbles / Lost 3 / 2 6 / 6 Penalties / Yards 6 / 45 5 / 51 Punts / Average 4 / / 35.0 Time of Possession 29:12 30:48 Stat Leaders UMass Georgia Southern Rushing Shipp ( ) Hill ( ) Quinlan (5-32-1) Peterson ( ) Passing Bankhead ( ) Hill ( ) Receiving Moore (6-63-0) Joyner (6-94-1) Ayi led the defense with 16 tackles, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles, while Khari Samuel added 15 tackles and two forced fumbles football...in the polls CSN COACHES POLL (Nov. 20) Rank, School Rec Points Previous 1. Appalachian State (10) Montana (1) MASSACHUSETTS North Dakota State Youngstown State James Madison Furman New Hampshire Hampton Southern Illinois Illinois State Tennessee Martin Coastal Carolina Cal Poly Northern Iowa Eastern Illinois San Diego Princeton Montana State Portland State South Dakota State McNeese State NR 23. Monmouth NR 24. Wofford NR 25. Yale NR 2006 STANDINGS A-10 Overall North Division W-L PF PA W-L PF PA MASSACHUSETTS New Hampshire Maine Northeastern Rhode Island Hofstra A-10 Overall South Division W-L PF PA W-L PF PA James Madison Villanova Towson Delaware Richmond William & Mary RESULTS/SCHEDULE November 25 - NCAA First Round MASSACHUSETTS 35, LAFAYETTE 14 New Hampshire 41, Hampton 38 Youngstown State 35, James Madison 31 SCHEDULE November 25 - NCAA First Round #1 Appalachian St. (10-1) 45, Coastal Carolina (9-2) 28 Montana State (7-4) 31, Furman (8-3) 13 Youngstown State (9-2) 35, J. Madison (9-2) 31 Illinois State (8-3) 24, Eastern Illinois (8-4) 13 #3 MASSACHUSETTS (10-1) 35, LAFAYETTE (6-5) 14 New Hampshire (8-3) 41, Hampton (10-1) 38 Southern Illinois (8-3) 36, Tenn. Martin (9-2) 30 #2 Montana (10-1) 31, McNeese State (7-4) 6 December 2 - NCAA Quarterfinals #3 MASSACHUSETTS (11-1) 24, NEW HAMPSHIRE (9-3) 17 #2 Montana (11-1) 20, Southern Illinois (9-3) 3 #1 Appalachian St. (11-1) 38, Montana State 17 #4 Youngstown State (10-2) 28, Illinois State 21 December 8 - NCAA Semifinal #3 MASSACHUSETTS (12-1) 19, #2 MONTANA (12-1) 17 December 9 - NCAA Semifinal #1 APPALACHIAN STATE (12-1) 49, #4 YOUNGSTOWN STATE (11-2) 24 December 15 - NCAA Championship #1 APPALACHIAN STATE (13-1) vs. #3 MASSACHUSETTS (13-1)

4 4 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP comparison Minutemen Category Mountaineers 28.3 Points/ Game Opp. Points/ Game Rush Yds./ Game TD s Rushing Opp. Rush Yds./ Game Opp. TD s Rushing Pass Yds./ Game TD s Passing Opp. Passing Yds./ Game Opp. TD s Passing 14 9 Interceptions Thrown Opp. Interceptions Total Offense/ Game Opp. Total Offense/ Game Penalties Yds./-Game Opp. Penalties Yds./-Game Punts- Avg Opp. Punts- Avg /160, 38% 3 rd Down Conv. 75/174, 43% 61/188, 32% Opp. 3 rd Down Conv. 60/207, 29% 11/18, 61% 4 th Down Conv. 13/23, 57% Field Goals-Att Touchdowns Opp. Touchdowns 25...in the rankings TEAM RANKINGS Category Nat. Rank StatA-10 Rank Rushing Offense Passing Offense Total Offense Scoring Offense Rushing Defense Pass Efficiency Defense Total Defense Scoring Defense Net Punting Punt Returns Kickoff Returns Turnover Margin Pass Defense Pass Efficiency Sacks Tackles for Loss Sacks Allowed INDIV. RANKINGS Category Player Nat. StatA-10 Rushing Steve Baylark Passing Efficiency Liam Coen Total Offense Liam Coen Receptions Brandon London J.J. Moore Receiving Yards Brandon London J.J. Moore Interceptions Brandon Smith Tracy Belton Court. Robinson Punting None Qualify Punt Returns J.J. Moore Kickoff Returns C. Robinson Field Goals Chris Koepplin Scoring Steve Baylark Chris Koepplin Brandon London All-Purpose Runners Steve Baylark Sacks David Burris John Hatchell James Ihedigbo Tackles Jason Hatchell Charles Walker Brad Anderson T Tackles for a Loss David Burris John Hatchell pants in the playoffs after wearing alternating jerseys and pants in the regular-season. At home, UMass wore maroon tops and white pants until week one of the playoffs when the allmaroon look returned at home. Whipple started the look in the championship season of 1998, when UMass wore all white in three of its four games on the way to the title in Chattanooga. UMass donned the all-white last weekend at Montana. As the home team in Chattanooga, UMass will wear all maroon. UMass won a coin flip which determines the home team. SUPER SENIOR CLASS UMass honored the 15 seniors prior to the win over Hofstra on Nov. 18 in the regularseason finale. Linebacker Brad Anderson, tailback Steve Baylark, cornerback Tracy Belton, fullback Kyle Harrington, defensive end John Hatchell, safety James Ihedigbo, punter Christian Koegel, nose tackle Jason Leonard, wide receiver Brandon London, center Alex Miller, defensive back Domenique Milton, tailback Justin Montgomery, safety Brandon Smith, guard David Thompson and graduate student tailback Tim Washington were all recognized prior to the game. The UMass senior class has posted an overall record of (73.4 win percentage) since 2003, that goes down as the most wins by any four-year class in UMass history. Twice before UMass had 31 wins in a four-year span done from (31-16), (31-19). A group of UMass seniors will tie the all-time school record for games played of 50 when they step on Davenport Field in Chattanooga. The record of 50 games was set by four members of the 1998 title team: Kole Ayi, Dan Schneider, Chris Price and current wide receivers coach Brian Smith. On Friday, 2006 UMass seniors tailback Steve Baylark, punter Christian Koegel, center Alex Miller and guard David Thompson. For Koegel, Miller and Thompson, they have started every game at UMass to set a school record for games started. MAKING HISTORY UMass has captured its 21st conference championship this season, between the Yankee Conference (1960, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990) and Atlantic 10 Conference (1998, 1999, 2003 and 2006). UMass head coach Don Brown made history becoming just the second coach to lead two different teams to A-10 titles, as he coached Northeastern to the 2002 championship. He joined Jim Reid, who won three titles at UMass (1986, 1988 and 1990) and followed that with two titles at Richmond (1998 and 2000). With the win over Hofstra, UMass became the first team to post the first undefeated season in Atlantic 10 conference play since the 1997 Villanova team. Of note, UMass defensive backs coach Bob Shoop was the defensive coordinator on that team. UMass, posted just the fifth undefeated season in conference play since the recent era when the Yankee Conference/A-10 played eight league games. UMass joined: Boston University in 1993, New Hampshire in 1994, Delaware in 1995 and Villanova in This year s team posted UMass first undefeated season in conference play since 1978, when the Minutemen went 5-0 in the Yankee Conference. UMass has only gone undefeated in conference play nine times (1951, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1977 and 1978) with all of those with five of fewer wins. With 10 regular-season wins, UMass has equalled the school record for regular-season wins, set in 2003, when UMass was 10-2 before heading to the playoffs. This goes down the best regular-season since 1972 (when 11-game seasons started) with a 90.9 win percentage (10-1) as UMass played 12 regular-season games in Technically, the best regular-season record came in 1963 when UMass went (.944). UMass did go undefeated in 1889 at 2-0 and 1879 at 1-0. UMass has won a school-record 13 games this season. This is the third time in school history UMass has won 10 or more games in a season, winning a record-setting 12 in the title season of 1998 and 10 in UMass has a chance to set a new school-record for wins in a season at Montana on Friday, coming into the game at UMass is in the midst of a school-record 12-game win streak. With the win vs. Hofstra on Nov. 18, UMass set its longest win-streak of all-time, at nine games. The Minutemen had previously won eight games in a row numerous times, most recently in IHEDIGBO, MILLER NAMED ALL-AMERICANS UMass senior safety James Ihedigbo has been named a Walter Camp All-American and senior center Alex Miller has been named an AFCA All-American. Both outlets only select one All- American team. Ihedigbo has been UMass leader on defense all season was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in I-AA. He has 66 tackles, five sacks and 5.5 TFLs with two interceptions. Miller has started 49 consecutive games as center in lead-

5 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP 5 ing UMass offensive line which has allowed just 15 sacks in 14 games this season, the fewest in the A-10. Miller and O-Line have led UMass to the lead or tie for the conference lead in fewest sacks allowed over the last three seasons. 20 PLAYERS HONORED WITH A-10 HONORS The UMass football team was the most decorated team in Atlantic 10 history with an all-time league record 20 members of the All-Conference team, which was announced on Nov. 21. Senior tailback Steve Baylark was named the league s Co-Offensive Player of the Year with UNH s Ricky Santos. Baylark is UMass first Offensive Player of the Year honoree since Gary Wilkos in Head coach Don Brown earned his second A-10 Coach of the Year accolade as well. He was Coach of the Year at Northeastern in The first team included: senior tailback Steve Baylark, senior center Alex Miller, junior tackle Matt Austin, senior punter Christian Koegel, senior safety James Ihedigbo, senior cornerback Tracy Belton, senior wide receiver Brandon London, junior linebacker Jason Hatchell. The second team featured: senior guard David Thompson, junior guard Nick Diana, sophomore kick returner Courtney Robinson, junior kicker Chris Koepplin, sophomore cornerback Sean Smalls, junior linebacker Brad Anderson, junior linebacker Charles Walker, senior defensive end John Hatchell and junior defensive end David Burris. On the third team were: sophomore quarterback Liam Coen, junior punt returner J.J. Moore, junior tight end Brad Listorti. SIX NAMED ALL-NEW ENGLAND; BROWN HONORED UMass placed six players on the New England Football Writers All-Star team which was released on Nov. 30. The six doubles the amount of players any other squad in the region had on the all-star team. Junior offensive lineman Matt Austin, senior tailback Steve Baylark, senior cornerback Tracy Belton, junior linebacker Jason Hatchell, senior safety James Ihedigbo and senior center Alex Miller all earned positions on the team for the first time. Head Coach Don Brown was named the New England Coach of the Year in a unanimous vote of the writers. Brown was also named the AFCA Region 1 Football Coach of the Year. Austin and Miller lead the UMass offensive line as the Minutemen have allowed just 15 sacks in 14 games (1.1 per game), the best mark in the A-10 and 14th-fewest in the nation. They have led the way for Baylark, who has gained 1,827 yards and nine 100-yard games this season in leading the A-10 in rushing. On defense, Belton and Ihedigbo headline UMass secondary while Hatchell leads the team in tackles with 126. UMass leads the nation in scoring defense, giving up just 12.3 points per game. They are also ranked in the top 20 in the nation in total defense and rush defense. DURING 12-GAME WIN STREAK... The Minutemen have won 11 games in a row, their longest streak in school history. Over the run, UMass has outscored its opponents (28-12 average score). The streak includes two shutouts of A-10 opponents a 35-0 win at Towson on Oct. 14 and the 7-0 win at Northeastern on Oct. 28. The last time UMass had two conference shutouts in a season was UMass has posted a second-half shutout in each of the NCAA Tournament games, outscoring opponents, 29-0 in the last 30 minutes of each game. The Minutemen have three 40-point efforts in the win streak. The last time UMass scored more than 40 points in three games in a year came in 1998, when they did it six times on the way to the NCAA Championship. That streak includes back-to-back 48-7 wins over Stony Brook on Sept. 23 and William & Mary on Oct. 7, both at McGuirk Stadium. UMass a win over Rhode Island on Oct. 21. UMass had at least 450 yards of offense in each of the first five games of the win streak. UMass has outscored the 12 opponents in the first half alone (average 20-7). LOOKING AT THE LEADING STATS Scoring Defense The Minutemen are clicking on both offense and defense. 1. Massachusetts Monmouth They lead the Atlantic 10 in five statistical categories. They 3. San Diego lead the league and the nation in scoring defense (12.29 Pass Efficiency points per game), pass efficiency (163.53), net punting 1. San Diego (35.43), pass efficiency defense (107.53) and fewest sacks 2. Northern Arizona allowed (1.07). UMass ranks in the top 15 in the nation in 3. Arkansas-Pine Bluff Coastal Carolina five categories. That includes the nation s best scoring defense, fifth-best pass efficiency rating, ninth in rushing de- 5. Massachusetts fense (101.50), 14th in total defense (269.21) and 14th in fewest sacks allowed football 2006 Honors Brad Anderson Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team Matt Austin New England Football Writers All-Star Team Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team Steve Baylark PAYTON AWARD CANDIDATE (10th Place) New England Football Writers All-Star Team Atlantic 10 Co-Offensive Player Of The Year Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 8, Oct. 23) UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of Week (Oct. 23) Atlantic 10 Preseason First Team Tracy Belton New England Football Writers All-Star Team Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of Week (Nov. 13) David Burris Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team Liam Coen Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team Don Hansen Gazette National Players of Week (Oct. 18) I-AA.org Weekly All-Stars (Oct. 18) N.E. Football Writers Golden Helmet (Sept. 18, Oct. 17) UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of Week (Sept. 18) Atlantic 10 Off. Player of Week (Sept. 18, Oct. 17) Nick Diana Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team Jason Hatchell New England Football Writers All-Star Team Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of Week (Nov. 6) I-AA.org Weekly All-Stars (Nov. 6) Bill Knight Trophy (UNH Game MVP) (Nov. 6) Atlantic 10 Preseason First Team John Hatchell Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team James Ihedigbo BUCHANAN AWARD CANDIDATE Walter Camp All-American New England Football Writers All-Star Team Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of Week (Sept. 11) Atlantic 10 Co-Defensive Player of Week (Sept. 10) Christian Koegel Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team Don Hansen Gazette National Players of Week (Sept. 4) Atlantic 10 Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 3) Lindy s Preseason First Team All-American The Sports Network Preseason Second Team All-American Atlantic 10 Preseason First Team Chris Koepplin Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team Atlantic 10 Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 20) Brad Listorti Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team Brandon London Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of Week (Oct. 17) Atlantic 10 Preseason First Team Alex Miller AFCA All-American New England Football Writers All-Star Team Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of Week (Oct. 30) Street & Smith s Preseason First Team All-American I-AA.org Preseason First Team All-American Sports Network Preseason Second Team All-American Atlantic 10 Preseason First Team No. 2 Center by The Sports Network J.J. Moore Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team ESPN SportsCenter No. 7 Play of Day (Sept. 9) TD vs. Navy Tony Nelson Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie Player of the Week (Oct. 8) Courtney Robinson Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team Sean Smalls Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team David Thompson Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team Charles Walker Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team

6 6 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP YOU NEED TO KNOW THESE GUYS Senior Payton Award Candidate and Atlantic 10 Co- Offensive Player of the Year Steve Baylark reached an NCAA milestone on Oct. 28 as he became the ninth Division I player and third in I-AA with 1,000 career yards in four different seasons. He finished 10th in the balloting for the Walter Payton Award. In Ranked Games Since 2000 Dec. 8, 2006 #3 UMass 19, at #2 Montana 17 Dec. 2, 2006 at #3 UMass 24, #9 New Hampshire 17 Nov. 25, 2006 at #3 UMass 35, Lafayette 14 Nov. 18, 2006 at #3 UMass 22, Hofstra 16 Nov. 11, 2006 at #3 UMass 10, #19 Maine 9 Nov. 4, 2006 #3 UMass at #9 New Hampshire 20 Oct. 28, 2006 #4 UMass 7, at Northeastern 0 Oct. 21, 2006 at #6 UMass 41, Rhode Island 16 Oct. 14, 2006 #8 UMass 35, at #22 Towson 0 Oct. 7, 2006 at #10 UMass 48, William & Mary 7 Sept. 23, 2006 at #9 UMass 48, Stony Brook 7 Sept. 16, 2006 #9 UMass 31, at Villanova 21 Sept. 9, 2006 at Navy 21, #9 UMass 20 Sept. 2, 2006 at #10 UMass 28, RV Colgate 7 Nov. 19, 2005 at Hofstra 21, #7 UMass 10 Nov. 12, 2005 at Army 34, #5 UMass 27 Nov. 5, 2005 #8 UMass 35, at RV Delaware 7 Oct. 29, 2005 #4 New Hampshire 34, at #7 UMass 28 Oct. 22, 2005 #8 UMass 35, at Maine 14 Oct. 15, 2005 at #13 UMass 10, #4 James Madison 7 Oct. 8, 2005 #18 UMass 27, Northeastern 0 Sept. 24, 2005 at #24 UMass 14, #25 Rhode Island 6 Sept. 17, 2005 at #25 UMass 40, Albany 0 Sept. 10, 2005 at Colgate 17, #15 UMass 14 Sept. 1, 2005 #15 UMass 19, at Richmond 6 Oct. 30, 2004 at UMass 35, # 19 Maine 34 OT Oct. 16, 2004 UMass 38, at # 7 New Hampshire 21 Oct. 9, 2004 at #19 James Madison 28, UMass 7, Oct. 2, 2004 at Boston College 29, #19 UMass 7 Sept. 25, 2004 # 4 Delaware 21, at # 16 UMass 7 Sept. 18, 2004 Richmond 24, at # 9 UMass 14 Sept. 11, 2004 at # 14 UMass 30, # 4 Colgate 19 Sept. 4, 2004 # 19 UMass 51, at Delaware State 0 Nov. 29, 2003 at #6 Colgate 19, #5 UMass 7 Nov. 22, 2003 at # 7 UMass 31, Rhode Island 17 Nov. 15, 2003 at #6 Delaware 51, #3 UMass 45, 3OT Nov. 8, 2003 at # 4 UMass 30, Richmond 17 Nov. 1, 2003 at # 4 UMass 28, Northeastern 24 Oct. 25, 2003 # 5 UMass 19, at #2 Villanova 14 Oct. 18, 2003 at #6 UMass 27, Hofstra 22 Oct. 11, 2003 #7 UMass 24, at William & Mary 14 Oct. 4, 2003 at #9 UMass 44, New Hampshire 30 Sept. 27, 2003 at #10 UMass 31, RV James Madison 26 Sept. 20, 2003 #12 UMass 24, at #16 Maine 16 Sept. 13, 2003 #10 UMass 7, at #7 (I-A) Kansas State 38 Sept. 6, 2003 at #12 UMass 51, Central Connecticut 7 Nov. 16, 2002 Hofstra 31, at #19 UMass 28 Nov. 9, 2002 at New Hampshire 31, #12 UMass 15 Nov. 2, 2002 at #13 UMass 17, Delaware 7 Oct. 26, 2002 #16 UMass 14, at James Madison 7 Oct. 19, 2002 at #20 UMass 17, #4 Villanova 16 Oct. 12, 2002 at UMass 20, #2 Maine 10 Sept. 21, 2002 at #18 Northeastern 42, UMass 17 Nov. 17, 2001 at UMass 24, #15 Rhode Island 7 Nov. 10, 2001 at #20 Maine 37, UMass 7 Sept. 29, 2001 at #12 Hofstra 36, UMass 6 Sept. 22, 2001 at #23 Delaware 35, UMass 7 Sept. 1, 2001 William & Mary 31, at #21 UMass 10 Nov. 11, 2000 #4 Delaware 31, at #21 UMass 19 Nov. 4, 2000 at #22 UMass 38, #23 Villanova 17 Oct. 28, 2000 at New Hampshire 24, at #14 UMass 16 Oct. 21, 2000 at #15 UMass 21, American International 0 Oct. 14, 2000 at #16 UMass 33, Maine 10 Oct. 7, 2000 #19 UMass 21, at Northeastern 16 Sept. 30, 2000 #10 Hofstra 51, at #11 UMass 36 Sept. 23, 2000 at #11 UMass 39, New Haven 29 Sept. 16, 2000 at Richmond 31, #3 UMass 24 Aug. 31, 2000 at #4 UMass 36, at William & Mary 16 In Overtime 8 games - 3-5; 2-5 Away, 1-0 Home Sept. 19, 1987 at Richmond 52, UMass 51 4OT Oct. 14, 1989 at UConn 39, UMass 33 1OT Nov. 4, 1995 at Maine 24, UMass 21 1OT Sept. 21, 1996 UMass 23, at Richmond 17 1OT Oct. 17, 1998 at UConn 44, UMass 41 1OT Nov. 27, 1999 UMass 30, at Furman 23 1OT Nov. 15, 2003 at Delaware 51, UMass 45 3OT Oct. 30, 2004 at UMass 35, Maine 34 1OT - Baylark comes into the App State game with a 1,827 yards this season and 5,199 in his career. His career total makes him the leading active rusher in all of Division I (including I-A and I-AA). Baylark has been sensational of late, posting 100 yards or more in nine of the last 12 games and eight of the last Baylark has been over 100 yards in his last four games including the three NCAA Tournament. He is averaging yards in the three NCAA playoff games. That including a stellar 169 at No. 2 Montana in the semifinals. He had a 198-yard outburst vs. New Hampshire in the NCAA Quarterfinals. He opened the NCAA playoffs with 152 against Lafayette in Nov This is the second time this year Baylark has had a stretch of four games in a row with 100- plus yards. He averaged yards over four games from Oct That was keyed by his career-high 235 vs. Rhode Island on Oct. 21. He has risen to 10th in the nation this season with per game, which tops the A-10. He was honored as the A-10 Offensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row after the URI game. - He broke the 1,000 yard barrier with his 152 at Northeastern on Oct. 28. He surpassed the 5,000-yard mark vs. UNH in the NCAA Quarterfinals, joining Marcel Shipp as the only Minutemen to do so. He became the third player in UMass history with more than 4,000 career rushing yards as he racked up 102 at Towson on Oct With his nine 100-yard games this season, he now has 25 career 100-yard games -- including the last four in a row with 125 vs. Hofstra and 152 vs. Lafayette in the NCAA First Round. The Minutemen are 22-3 in his 100-yard games. - Baylark has at least one touchdown in 16 of the last 20 games, totaling 27 in those 20 games. In UMass all-time annals, is now third in career TDs with 47 and third in career rushing TDs with 42. He leads the A-10 in touchdowns with 18 and scoring lead (7.71 points per game). Baylark leads the A-10 in all-purpose yards at He had his biggest allaround game at Montana with 245 total yards including a career-high 76 receiving yards. Sophomore quarterback, a 2006 Atlantic 10 Third-Team selection, Liam Coen led the nation in pass efficiency for virtually all season. This week his now fifth with a mark. He has completed an amazing 65.4 percent of his passes (197-of-301) and has 25 TD passes and just eight interceptions. He has 2,795 yards this season after posting 2,175 as a freshman. Until a second-quarter interception vs. Lafayette in the First Round, he had not thrown an interception in five games from Oct. 14 at Towson through the Hofstra game on Nov. 18. He ranks among the all-time greats at UMass in passing with the best career pass efficiency rating (152.17) and completion percentage (64.7). He is also fourth in career completions (372), fifth in passing yards (4,970), fourth in passing TDs (35) and fifth in pass attempts (575). - Among all active I-AA players, Coen is fifth in career pass efficiency and sixth in completion percentage. Coen played one of the best games by a UMass signal caller in history at Towson on Oct. 14. In the win over the Tigers, he threw a school-record tying five touchdown passes and 303 yards as he completed 21-of-27. Coen was bestowed with numerous honors in the wake of his performance. He was honored for the second time this season with the Golden Helmet, presented by the New England Football Writers of New England, as the week s top player in the region. He was also named the A-10 s Offensive Player of the week for the second time in Additionally, he was one of four named to I-AA.org s Weekly All-Stars in the nation after the Towson game. Coen plays under senior center and A-10 First-Teammer Alex Miller, who has been named an AFCA All-American in On the line, Miller, along with guard Second-Team A-10er David Thompson set the UMass record for career games started vs. New Hampshire with 48. They will both start their 50th career games on Friday night. Punter Christian Koegel also started his 48th game vs. UNH. Miller and Thompson head up an offensive line that has allowed just 15 sacks in 14 games this season, 1.07 per game (which leads the A-10 and is 14th nationally). UMass has led or tied for the lead in the A-10 in fewest sacks allowed in each of the last three seasons, giving up less than one per game over past three campaigns. Senior wide receiver and A-10 First Team selection, Brandon London leads the team in catches (46) with and receiving yards with 750. His receiving yards of 57.7 ranks ninth in the league. London is now second in career catches (146) and is third career receiving yards at UMass (1,991). He will be just the third receiver at UMass with 2,000 yards receiving. He had his 15th career receiving TD against New Hampshire in the NCAA Quarterfinal and is now tied for fourth all-time in UMass history. Also in the Towson game, London tied the school record for touchdown catches in a game with four. He was named the UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of the Week for his showing. He finished with seven catches for 100 yards with the TDs from 3, 20, 34 and 8 yards out. It was his fifth career 100-yard game. Four 1,000-Yard Years In Div. I/I-AA Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh (I-A) Amos Lawrence, North Carolina (I-A) Denvis Manns, N. Mexico State (I-A) Jerry Azumah, New Hampshire (I-AA) Ron Dayne, Wisconsin (I-A) Adrian Peterson, Ga. Southern (I-AA) Cedric Benson, Texas (I-A) DonTrell Moore, New Mexico (I-A) STEVE BAYLARK, UMass (I-AA) Clifton Dawson, Harvard (I-AA) Alonzo Coleman, Hampton (I-AA)

7 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP 7 The defense has been equally awesome as the offense. Buchanan Award Candidate and A-10 First Teammer James Ihedigbo is the senior captain on the defensive side. He is vying for the national defensive player of the year award, following in the footsteps of two-time All-American Shannon James, who was in Baltimore Ravens camp in 2006 and has been starring with the CFL s Calgary Stampeders. Ihedigbo has 66 tackles this season along with two interception, 5.5 TFLs, 5.0 sacks, five pass break-ups and an A-10 leading four forced fumbles. Ihedigbo was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Week back on Sept. 10 after UMass narrow loss at I-A Navy. Ihedigbo s performance in the fourth quarter at Northeastern on Oct. 28 sealed the UMass win. He tackled NU s Maurice Murray for no gain on a 4th-and-1 at UMass 8-yard line in the fourth. Then with 1:40 left in regulation he picked up his interception of the season to secure the win. A-10 All-Conference linebackers Jason Hatchell, Charles Walker and Brad Anderson are the top tacklers at 126, 120 and 108, respectively. Hatchell has lead of tied for the team lead in tackles in 16 of the last 25 games. He posted a career-high 18 tackles at New Hampshire on Nov. 4 as he was named the Bill Knight MVP of the game. Over the last seven games, Hatchell has 70 tackles for 10.0 per game. Walker has 60 over the last six games (10.0) and Anderson has 67 over the last five games (11.1) with more than 10 in three of those games. Over the last six games, the trio has combined for 187 tackles. The trio all tied for the team-lead with eight tackles apiece in the NCAA First Round win over Lafayette. TEAM CAPSULE UMass is 13-1 after a 28-7 season-opening win over Colgate on Sept. 2, a narrow loss at Navy on Sept. 9, a solid win at Villanova to open the Atlantic 10 schedule on Sept. 16 and back-to-back 48-7 poundings of Stony Brook on Sept. 23 and William & Mary on Oct. 7, the 35-0 whitewash of Towson on Oct. 14, a win over Rhode Island on Oct. 21, the 7-0 rain-soaked win at Northeastern, the win at No. 9 New Hampshire and the 10-9 win over No. 19 Maine which helped clinch the Atlantic 10 championship. UMass closed the regular season with a win over Hofstra on Nov. 18. The Minutemen are ranked No. 3 in the final regular-season polls by the Sports Network and CSN Coaches Poll. The Minutemen are No. 2 in the Don Hansen poll. UMass has been ranked in the Top 5 since Oct. 23. UMass has been in the top 25 every week since the start of the 2005 season. UMass had been ranked No. 9 in the Sports Network poll for four weeks in a row (from Sept. 4-25). UMass was No. 10 in preseason poll of the Sports Network. In the annual magazines, UMass was ranked the following: No. 6 by Athlon, No. 12 by I-AA.org Consolidated, No. 14 by AnyGivenSaturday.com, No. 16 by Lindy s and No. 23 by Street & Smith s. The Minutemen finished the 2005 season with a 7-4 overall record, 6-2 in the Atlantic 10 good for second in the North Division. UMass was ranked as high as No. 5 last season after beating handing Delaware its worst home loss in two decades on Nov. 5. But UMass lost its final two games to fall to No. 19 in the final poll and miss out on the NCAA playoffs for the second year in a row. UMass defeated two ranked teams last season, beating No. 25 Rhode Island on Sept. 24 and No. 4 James Madison on Oct. 15. In the 2006 preseason poll, UMass was picked second to defending champ New Hampshire in the Atlantic 10 North Division. Don Brown leads UMass into his third season at the helm of the Minutemen. The defensive coordinator of the 1998 National Championship team is at UMass and overall as a head coach, now in his 10th season as a head man. He has a an 72.2 win percentage at UMass -- the best win percentage of any UMass coach with more than one year of coaching. He coached his 100th career game in the 2005 finale at Hofstra. This is the 124th season of UMass football. UMass now has an all-time record of in 1,065 all-time games. The Minutemen won the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Championship with a win over Georgia Southern. The Minutemen have won 21 conference championships including this season. UMass has played in seven NCAA Tournaments with this year s berth football VS. RANKED TEAMS Friday s game will be UMass sixth against a ranked team this season and the highest at No. 1. UMass knocked off No. 2 Montana last weekend, The Minutemen have twice beaten New Hampshire when they were ranked No. 9 this season including the NCAA Quarterfinal. UMass Against No. 1 Nov. 12, 1994 #1 Youngstown State 28, UMass 9 Dec. 19, 1998 #12 UMass 55, #1 Georgia Southern 43 Recent Top 10 Match-Ups UMass last game against Nov. 21, 1998 #9 UConn 28, at #7 UMass 27 the No. 1 team in the nation came in the 1998 title Dec. 4, 1999 #10 UMass 21, at #2 Ga. Southern 38 Nov. 27, 1999 #10 UMass 30, at #8 Furman 23 (ot) Oct. 25, 2003 #5 UMass 19, at #2 Villanova 14 game, when the No. 12 Nov. 15, 2003 at #6 Delaware 51, #3 UMass 45 (3ot) Minutemen beat No. 1 Nov. 29, 2003 at #6 Colgate 19, #5 UMass 7 Georgia Southerm Oct. 29, 2005 #4 N. Hampshire 34, at #7 UMass 28 Since 1990, UMass has only Nov. 4, 2006 #3 UMass 28, at #9 N. Hampshire 20 Dec. 2, 2006 at #3 UMass 24, #9 New Hampshire 17 played the No. 1 team one Dec. 8, 2006 #3 UMass 19, at #2 Montana 17 other time, a Nov. 12, 1994 loss to No. 1 Youngstown State, Prior to the NCAA Semifinal game at Montana, last time UMass played a game which featured both teams in the top five was on Oct. 25, 2003, when No. 5 UMass won at No. 2 Villanova, That was also the last time UMass played the No. 2 team in the nation. The Dec. 2nd win over No. 9 New Hampshire in the NCAA Quarterfinals was UMass fourth this season over a ranked team. Back on Nov. 11, UMass posted a 10-9 win over No. 19 Maine was UMass third win against a ranked team this season. UMass downed No. 9 New Hampshire on Nov. 4, The Minutemen blanked No. 22 Towson back on Oct. 14, UMass has won seven of its last eight games against ranked teams, with the lone loss coming to New Hampshire last season, In the last 17 games against ranked teams, UMass is 12-5 going back to mid-way through the 2002 season. The Minutemen have now won eight of their last 12 games against top-10 teams. UMass is 6-2 in its last eight games against a Top 5 team. It last lost to No. 4 New Hampshire last year on Oct. 29, Earlier in the 2005 season, UMass beat No. 4 James Madison, 10-7, on Oct. 15. The Minutemen were 2-1 against ranked teams last season, also beating No. 25 Rhode Island on Sept. 24. In 2004, UMass had three wins over Top 20 teams after beating No. 4 Colgate, on Sept. 11 and No. 7 New Hampshire on Oct. 16 along with No. 19 Maine on Oct. 30. The Minutemen went 3-2 last season against ranked teams. UMass faced four ranked opponents in 2003 going on the road for all four games. The Minutemen earned victories in the first two games against ranked foes that season. In 2003, they downed No. 16 Maine, on Sept. 20, then defeated No. 2 Villanova on Oct. 25, The squad then lost a triple overtime affair at No. 6 Delaware and the NCAA Playoff contest at No. 6 Colgate. LOOK BACK AT THE SATURDAY SPECIAL AT Saturday Dec. 2nd s football game at UMass was the centerpiece of what was the greatest sports day on the campus in Amherst, ever. A sell-out crowd of 17,000 came to the football game, marking the first sell out for UMass football in 33 years. The last sell-out, or crowd of 17,000 was on Sept. 8, 1973, when 18,100 shoehorned into McGuirk for a game against rival Holy Cross. The day kicked off with a noon women s basketball game at the Mullins Center beating Northeastern, 58-50, to move to 7-1 overall. Following the football game, the UMass basketball team hosted in-state rival Boston College before the first sell-out basketball game since 2001 as BC beat UMass, With the sell-outs at football and basketball, close to 30,000 fans were in attendance for UMass sporting events on the same day, which set a school record.

8 8 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP STEVIE WONDER UMass senior captain Steve Baylark will be playing his final college football game, his 50th, but it will be the first game he plays in front of his parents Steve and Loraine Baylark. His parents and 10-year old sister Crystal will make the 555 mile drive from Apopka, Fla. (near Orlando). The last game they watched Steve play in person was the Florida State Championship, which he led the Blue Darters to the title with a victory for Apopka High School. A-10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year and three-time Atlantic 10 First-Team tailback Steve Baylark is one of the most prolific rushers in history. In his final season in Amherst, he has made NCAA history. He became the third player in I-AA history to gain more than 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons. Jerry Azumah (New Hampshire ) and Adrian Peterson (Georgia Southern, ) were the only ones to accomplish the feat in I-AA prior to this season. Three others have joined the group this season in I-AA/FCS. Six players have done it in Division I- A: Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh, ), Amos Lawrence (North Carolina, ), Denvis Manns (New Mexico State, ), Ron Dayne (Wisconsin, ) Cedric Benson (Texas, ), DonTrell Moore (New Mexico, ). He has been on fire in the NCAA playoffs with three 100-yard rushing games, giving him a average in the games including 169 last weekend at Montana. Baylark gained 1,177 as a freshman, 1,138 as a sophomore and 1,057 last season as a junior. He has 1,827 in his senior season, his best season total with one more football game to come -- the national championship. His mark this season is the third-best in a season at UMass. With his 198 vs. UNH in the NCAA Quarterfinals, he moved up passing Garry Pearson (1,631 in 1982), Jerome Bledsoe (1,545 in 1991) and Rene Ingoglia (1,505 in 1994). He is just 19 yards from the second-best season in UMass history as Marcel Shipp rushed for 1,846 in He broke the 1,000-yard barrier at Northeastern on Oct. 28 as he gained 152 yards. He went over 1,000 on a 16-yard run with 10:09 left in the fourth quarter. Baylark Career Rush Yards 1. Marcel Shipp ( ) 6, Steve Baylark (2003-pre.) 5, Rene Ingoglia ( ) 4,624 Career Carries 1. Marcel Shipp ( ) 1, Steve Baylark (2003-pres.) 1,080 Career Rush TDs 1. Marcel Shipp ( ) Rene Ingoglia ( ) Steve Baylark (2003-pres.) 42 Career TDs 1. Marcel Shipp ( ) Rene Ingoglia ( ) Lou Bush ( ) 45 Steve Baylark (2003-pres.) 47 Career All-Purpose 1. Marcel Shipp ( ) 7, Steve Baylark (2003-pres.) 5, Garry Pearson ( ) 5,277 UMass Season Yards 1. Marcel Shipp, , Marcel Shipp, , Steve Baylark, , Garry Pearson, ,631 UMass Season Avg. 1. Marcel Shipp, Garry Pearson, Marcel Shipp, Jerome Bledsoe, Rene Ingoglia, Steve Baylark, Rene Ingoglia, I-AA Active Rush Yds 1. Steve Baylark, UMass 5, Clifton Dawson, Harvard 4, Scott Phaydavong, Drake 4,702 All D-I Active Rush Yds 1. Steve Baylark, UMass 5, Garrett Wolfe, Northern Ill. 5, Clifton Dawson, Harvard 4,841 I-AA Active Carries 1. Steve Baylark, UMass Clifton Dawson, Harvard 958 I-AA Active All-Purp 1. Clifton Dawson, Harvard 6, Steve Baylark, UMass 5,941 I-AA Active Plays 1. Steve Baylark, UMass 1, Clifton Dawson, Harvard 1,061 He has joined current Arizona Cardinal Marcel Shipp (6,250) and Rene Ingoglia (4,624) as the only UMass players with 4,000 career rushing yards, standing with 5,199 and second in UMass history. That makes him the nation s leading active rusher in all of Division I football. In UMass history, he ranks second in career rushing (passing Garry Pearson vs. William & Mary and Rene Ingoglia in the Hofstra game) and second in career carries with 1,080 (he broke a tie with Pearson at Villanova). He is also third in career rushing touchdowns with 42 after two rushing scoring vs. Stony Brook (9/23), William & Mary (10/7), Rhode Island (10/21), at New Hampshire (11/4), against Lafayette (11/25) in the NCAA First Round and at No. 2 Montana (12/8) in the NCAA Semifinals. He has single TD scores against Colgate (9/2), at Villanova (9/16) and vs. UNH (12/2) in the quarterfinals. On UMass all-time touchdown and scoring lists, Baylark is third alltime 47. With his two scores at Montana, he broke a tie with Lou Bush ( ). He has scored a league-high 18 this season (three vs. Stony Brook, two vs. Colgate, William & Mary, URI, UNH, Lafayette and Montana; and one at Villanova, Towson and vs. UNH in the NCAA Quarterfinals). With his three-td game vs. the Seawolves, he passed Adrian Zullo ( ), who had 33 scores. Baylark is also third in career scoring with 284, passing Pearson with two scores vs. Rhode Island and Bush, who had 277 points in the 30s, in the Montana win. Baylark had his fourth-career three-td game vs. Stony Brook. UMass is 4-0 in those games. He had his 14th career two-td game at Montana. UMass is 13-1 in those games. Baylark has 25 career 100-yard games, including two four-week stretches in a row (Oct. 7-28) and his current run from Nov. 18-Dec. 8. He has been over the century mark in nine of the last 12 weeks - - for all nine of his century-mark games this season. The first this year came at Villanova (9/16) with 104, followed by 187 yards vs. William & Mary, 102 at Towson and his career-high 235 vs. Rhode Island. He had 125 in his regular-season finale against Hofstra on Nov. 18 and followed that up with 152 against Lafayette (11/25) in the NCAAs. He busted out for 198 against New Hampshire in the NCAA Quarterfinals, the second-most in a game in his career. He picked up 169 yards at Montana. Last year he had five centuryrunning games. UMass is 22-3 in his 100-yard games and when he doesn t gain 100. Baylark has touchdowns in 16 of UMass last 20 games. Prior to the Navy game, when he was blanked, Baylark had scored at least one rushing touchdown in seven games in a row dating back to last season when he had at least one in the final six games of the year. In the last 20 games, he has 22 rushing scores along with five receiving TDs for 27 total. He has scored five TDs in the NCAA Tournament over the last three weeks. The only games this season he did not score were at Northeastern (10/28) vs. Maine (11/11) and against Hofstra (11/18). On the active career rushing list in Division I-AA, Baylark No. 1, passing Harvard s Clifton Dawson (4,841) in the UNH playoff game, with his 5,199. In all of Division I-A and I-AA, Baylark is now first after the Montana game, passing Northern Illinois Garrett Wolfe who was first with 5,136. Baylark is now second all-time at UMass in all-purpose yards as well with 5,941. He passed Pearson at 5,277 in the Hofstra game and Ingoglia at 4,941 in the Northeastern game. Baylark s number is second among all active players to Harvard s Dawson (6,138). Baylark is first among all active players in career plays with 1,159 and carries with 1,080. Off the field, Baylark is an Art major and is an avid artist both with charcoal, pastels as well as with PhotoShop. This summer he did an internship with the UMass Video Services and helped produce and design a commemorate video for the Minuteman lacrosse team which made the 2006 NCAA championship. He also worked on the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame video for He has his own website and was featured nationally in USA Today prior to UMass NCAA Semifinal. COEN MANAGING TO BE NO. 1 Sophomore Liam Coen has been solid since taking over as the starting quarterback in the third game of last season vs. Albany (Sept. 17, 2005). He has managed the game well according to coach Don Brown. He managed to place himself atop the nation in passing efficiency in 2006 for nearly the entire season. He stands fifth this week with a mark of He was first or second for the previous 11 weeks prior to the Montana game.

9 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP 9 WHAT A DEFENSE! UMass had the nation s top defense last season in terms of scoring defense, giving up just 13.3 points per game. In 2006, UMass once again best in the nation, allowing just points per game. UMass blanked Towson, 35-0, on Oct. 14, for the first shutout by the Minutemen in over a year, when they beat Northeastern on Oct. 8, UMass Coen posted a 7-0 win at Northeastern on Oct. 28 for their second whitewash of the season. It is This year, Coen is 197-of-301 for 2795 yards with 25 touchdowns and just eight interceptions in 14 games. He has a sparkling 65.4 completion percentage. His season marks rank on the UMass alltime single-bests as follows: completions (fourth), yards (fourth), touchdowns (tied for third). In just his second season, Coen is ranked among some all-time leaders in UMass history. He is first in pass efficiency (152.17), completion percentage (64.7) while he is fourth in both passing yards (4,970), fourth completions (372) and fourth in TD passes (35). Until the Lafayette game, Coen had not thrown an interception in five weeks, spanning the Towson (Oct. 14) game to Hofstra on (Nov. 18). With 24 career games, Coen is now listed among the active career leaders in Division I-AA. He is fifth in passing efficiency (152.17), sixth in completion percentage (64.7) and 11th in passing yards per game (207.1). In the NCAA Tournament games, he has thrown for 616 yards on 49- of-76 (64.5 pct.) with five TDs in the three wins over Lafayette, UNH and Montana. Coen tied the UMass record for TD passes in a game with five at Towson (10/14). He completed 21- of-27 for 303 yards. His huge game led to numerous honors: New England Football Writers Golden Helmet, A-10 Offensive Player of the Week and the I-AA.org Weekly All- Stars of the four best players in the nation. In first-half action vs. Stony Brook (9/23), Coen was 6-of-8 for 177 yards. The highlight came as he hit Rasheed Rancher from 89 yards out, the second-longest play in UMass history. Coen also hooked up with Rancher for the third-longest play, 84 yards at Delaware (11/5/05). Coen had perhaps his finest game at Villanova (9/16) in the third week of this season. He completed 21- of-28 for 350 yards and two touchdowns. His great day earned him numerous honors: the New England Football Writers Golden Helmet, Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week and UMass Athlete of the Week all for the week ending September 18. Career Comp. Pct. 1. Liam Coen (2004-pre.) Todd Bankhead ( ) 60.3 Career Pass Yards 1. Todd Bankhead ( ) 7, Dave Palazzi ( ) 5, Jeff Krohn ( ) 4, Liam Coen (2005-pres.) 4, Peil Pennington ( ) 4,687 Career Completion 1. Todd Bankhead ( ) Dave Palazzi ( ) Jeff Krohn ( ) Liam Coen (2005-pres.) 372 Career TD Passes 1. Todd Bankhead ( ) Jeff Krohn ( ) Peil Pennington ( ) Liam Coen (2005-pres.) 35 Season Yards 1. Todd Bankhead (1998) Todd Bankhead (1999) Jeff Krohn (2003) Liam Coen (2006) Tim Day (2004) Matt Guice (2001) Liam Coen (2005) 2175 Season Comp. 1. Todd Bankhead (1998) Todd Bankhead (1999) Jeff Krohn (2003) Liam Coen (2006) Tim Day (2004) Matt Guice (2001) Liam Coen (2005) 175 Season TD Passes 1. Todd Bankhead (1998) Jeff Krohn (2002) Liam Coen (2006) Tim Day (2004) 23 Active Comp. Pct. 1. Josh Johnson, San Diego Ricky Santos, New Hamp Justin Rascati, J. Madison Eric Sanders, Northern Iowa Sean Schaefer, Towson Liam Coen, UMass Active Pass Effic. 1. Josh Johnson, San Diego Eric Sanders, Northern Iowa Ricky Santos, New Hamp Justin Rascati, J. Madison Liam Coen, UMass Last season, he completed 63.9 of his passes to rank second among all freshmen in the nation. The three-time A-10 Rookie of the Week in 2005 threw for 2,175 yards -- sixth-most in UMass history. His pass efficiency rating of ranked third in the league and 19th nationally. He was named the Atlantic 10 s Rookie of the Week each week from Oct. 22-Nov. 5, Coen captured the Golden Helmet as the top player in all of New England College football on Nov. 8, 2005 after his performance against Delaware. He threw for 318 yards on 21-of- 26 passing and one touchdown in leading UMass to a 35-7 win at Delaware, the Blue Hens worst loss at home since the first time since 1979 that UMass had shutouts of two conference games during the season. The Minutemen have allowed 2006 football Ihedigbo just seven points in three games this season, against Colgate (9/2), Stony Brook (9/23) and William & Mary (10/7). Overall six of UMass 14 opponent have been held to single-digits, most recently allowing nine against Maine (11/11). UMass has not allowed any team to score more than 21 points in a game this season. Navy and Villanova scored 21 in back-to-back weeks in September. Since then only New Hampshire in the regular-season on Nov. 4 scored 20 points. The Minutemen have dominated their last 12 opponents in the win streak, winning by a combined score of (an average score of 28-12). That streak includes back-to-back 48-7 wins over Stony Brook on Sept. 23 and William & Mary on Oct. 7, both at McGuirk Stadium. UMass has outscored its last 12 opponents in the first half alone (average 20-7). UMass has shutout all three of the its NCAA Tournament opponents in the second half, by the score of UMass held New Hampshire to just 17 points -- all in the first half - - on Dec. 2 in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Most impressively, quarterback A-10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year Ricky Santos was limited to just 129 yards. All-American receiver David Ball had just six catches for 54 yards. They started off on the right foot against Colgate and Navy, giving up just seven points to the Raiders and 21 to the Mids. That 21-point defensive showing vs. Navy was equal to the fewest Navy had scored in more than a year. Last season Notre Dame held them to 21 points in October, but the last time they had less than 21 points was when they had 20 against Maryland on Sept. 3, UMass led the Atlantic 10 and finished in the top five in the nation in several defensive stats last season. In addition to the top scoring defense, UMass is again in the top part of the nation in the season in several defensive stats. Notably, the Minutemen are ninth in rushing defense, allowing just yards per game. That number was aided by holding Hofstra to just minus- 1 yard rushing in the regular-season finale. That was the lowest mark for the UMass defense since holding Albany to minus-37 last Sept. 17, The Minutemen are 16th in total defense (270.69), and 25th in pass efficiency defense (109.69). Junior linebacker Jason Hatchell has picked up where he left off this season with a team-best 126 tackles (9.0 per game). He ranks fifth in the A-10 in tackles and 43rd in the nation. He has led UMass in tackles in 16 of the last 25 games. He also has 10-career 10-tackle games and UMass is 7-3 in those games. Over the last seven games, he has 70 tackles (10.0 per game). He had 12 vs. Maine (11/11) after he posted a career-high 18 at New Hampshire (11/4) Ja. Hatchell and 12 at Northeastern (10/28). He had the game-saving play similar to his brother (in the regular season at UNH) against the Wildcats in the NCAA Quarterfinal batting down a Ricky Santos fourth-down pass in the final seconds to secure the win. Hatchell was named the Bill Knight MVP after his huge game at New Hampshire. In 2005, Hatchell led UMass in tackles with 107 (9.7 per game) in his first season as a starter. Behind Hatchell is junior Charles Walker who has 120 tackles in his return to action, 8.6 per game to rank seventh in the A-10. Walker

10 10 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP has been a monster of late with 60 tackles in the last six games including a season-high 17 vs. Maine (11/11). He was UMass top tackles at Montana with nine. Senior linebacker Brad Anderson has also emerged with 67 total tackles in the last six games. He is third on the team with 108 total tackles, 8.3 per game. He had a career-high 15 at New Hampshire and 14 vs. Maine and led the team with 12 against Hofstra for three straight games with 10 or more stops. He has more than 10 in four of the last six games after a team-high 10 against UNH in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Senior captain and Buchanan Award Candidate James Ihedigbo is a leader on defense. Last season he broke out with a career-year. He was among the national leaders in tackles for a loss (12.5) and sacks (7.5), playing from a safety position. With great blitzing Ihedigbo was constantly in opponents backfield. He continued to dominate in the 2006 with 66 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 5.5 TFLs, five pass break-ups, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. His forced fumbles mark is first in the A-10. The defensive line has received great play from seniors John Hatchell and Jason Leonard along with junior David Burris. Burris has 72 total tackles to rank fifth on the team. He also has a team-high 15 TFLs and 8.5 sacks. Burris was an animal in the regular-season finale against Hofstra as he tied his career high with eight tackles including 4.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks. Burris had a career-high nine tackles and career-best two sacks vs. UNH in the NCAA Quarterfinal. Hatchell also has 8.5 TFLs of his 36 tackles. Leonard a force at the line as five pass deflections and 29 total tackles. Last year, UMass finished third in the nation in total defense giving up just yards per game. The Minutemen gave up just passing yards per game in 2005, fifth-best in the country. In 2005, UMass held two opponents to fewer than 100 yards of offense. The Minutemen set the school record for fewest yards allowed in a game holding Albany to just 31. Against Northeastern, UMass held the Huskies to just 72 yards matching the best performance by the Minutemen against an A-10 team in 1982, when they held New Hampshire to just 67 yards. 5 STRONG, THE LINE OF PROTECTION UMass has one of the best offensive lines in Division I-AA led by a pair of seniors who have started every game in their careers art UMass. Captain center Alex Miller and left guard David Thompson have started both games this season to have 49 straight starts in a row. That sets the school record for career starts. The former record of 47 was done three times, most recent was Shannon James, who finished in Miller The duo will tie the program record for total games played with 50 in the NCAA final along with punter Christian Koegel and tailback Steve Baylark. For Miller, Thompson and Koegel, every game has been a start. This season has seen UMass continue a trend of the last two seasons, as the Minuteman line has allowed just 15 total sacks (only 14 of quarterback Liam Coen) in Thompson 14 games (1.07 per game). UMass is 14th in the nation in fewest sacks allowed this year and first in the A-10. Last season, UMass was eighth in the nation in fewest sacks allowed with just 11 in 11 games (1.0). Dating back to the start of the 2004 season, UMass has allowed just 35 sacks in 35 games (1.0 per game). UMass has led or tied for the league lead in fewest sacks allowed in each of the last three seasons. UMass has allowed just one sack every 28 pass attempt over the last three seasons (36 in 984 pass attempts). In 2004, UMass led the nation in fewest sacks per pass attempt with just one every 38 attempts in giving up just nine sacks all year. UMass offense has clicked all season. In five games from Sept. 16- Oct.21, UMass picked up more than 450 yards of offense in each game. Miller and Thompson are joined by junior A-10 First Teammer Matt Austin, who is starting at left tackle this year after playing left guard last year. Sophomore Sean Calicchio was the starter at right tackle after being inserted into the line-up last season, but was injured in the season-opener vs. Colgate. Calicchio made a triumphant return in the NCAA Quarterfinals against New Hampshire after missing 11 weeks. He played minutes at Montana as well. Calicchio was been replaced by a group including A-10 Second Team honoree Nick Diana, a junior college transfer; junior Chris Hopkins and sophomore Biff Gottehrer. Diana has started the last 13 games in a row at left tackle while Hopkins has been stable at right tackle, also starting the last 13 games. The line has been solid in leading the way for Steve Baylark has 25 career 100-yard rushing games, including nine this season. He had a career-high 235 yards against Rhode Island on Oct. 21. The line has led for all three of his 100-yard games in the playoffs. GO KOEGEL GO Senior All-American punter Christian Koegel is UMass all-time leading punter. He continues to add to his legacy at the school. With his 40.5 average this season, Koegel increased his school record average to 40.9 in his four seasons. He would rank 25th in the nation this year, but does not have the requisite 3.6 punts per game, he only has 3.5 per game (49 in 14 games). Koegel is also tied with Alex Miller and David Thompson for most career games started with 49. He set the new mark with his teammates on Saturday against New Hampshire. In 2005, he was named the Atlantic 10 Special Teams Player of the Year in earning numerous accolades. He finished third in the nation in punting average with a mark of Koegel Career Leader Avg. 1. Christian Koegel (2003-pre) David Sanger ( ) 40.6 NCAA Active Career 1. Mike Dragosavich, ND St David Simonhoff, SE MO Rhian Madrid, Northern Ariz Dan Zeidman, Idaho State Neal Banbridge, SD State Jon Mahan, Tenn. Tech Tyson Johnson, Montana Christian Koegel, UMass ESPN s NFL Draft Expert Mel Kiper Jr., has Koegel ranked among his top 10 punting prospects heading into the 2007 NFL Draft. That list includes all of Division I-A. Koegel was named the Atlantic 10 s Special Teams Player of the Week on Sunday, Sept. 3. The All-American punted four balls for a 46.8 average in UMass 28-7 win over Colgate. In the win over Colgate, he had a long of 55 yards which was his one punt inside the 20-yard line that punt landed at the Colgate 3-yard line. Over his last 33 games, he has at least one punt of 50 or more yards in 20 of those games. Led by Koegel and great kick coverage, UMass led the nation in net punting average last season with a mark of Again this season, the Minutemen have showed their great prowess on punt coverage with a net punting mark to rank 11th in the nation and first in the A-10. Koegel was named a I-AA.org Weekly All-Star after his huge game at Montana in the NCAA Semifinals on Dec. 8. He punted five times for a 42.4 average. Most importantly, he pinned the Grizzlies inside their 20-yard line on four occasions including three inside the 10- yard line.

11 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP 11 Koegel had his longest punt of the season against New Hampshire in the NCAA Quarterfinals, for 66 yards which put the Wildcats back in their own end after they anticipated good field position. The all-time A-10 record holder for punt yardage in the game (set vs. Boston College in 2004), Koegel has 55 career punts inside the 20- yard line. He opened the season with a punt that landed at the Colgate 3-yard line for his first such kick this season. He has three this year. UMass has had a long line of great punters who have been fourperformers. Koegel is just the third punter for the Minutemen since 1995, starting with Andrew Maclay from , then David Sanger from Among active punters in Division I-AA, Koegel has the 11th-highest career average with Mike Dragosavich of North Dakota State (44.27) leading the way. Off the field, Koegel has a tremendous personality and is an aspiring model. He has an electric wardrobe featuring a white and teal suit with tails which he wore to the team s end-of-year banquet this past spring. MANY MAKING CATCHES UMass receiving corps returns its top three from last season in senior Brandon London and juniors J.J. Moore and Rasheed Rancher. This season, London leads the team with 46 catches and 750 receiving yards. Moore is right behind with 42 catches for 533 yards. Rancher has 21 catches for 356 yards and leads in average at 17.0 per catch. London became the seventh UMass player with 100 career catches this season. He has 146 to date to stand second all-time at UMass. He passed Marcel Shipp (126) vs. Maine and passed Jason Peebler (123) with four catches at New Hampshire. He had his fifth career 100-yard game at Towson. He had his fourth career 100-yard game at Villanova (9/16) with 104 yards on five catches. J.J. Moore is currently tied for sixth on the all-time list with 101 catches. He is also third on the all-time yards list with 1,991. He will be the third UMass player with 2,000 career receiving yards after he gets nine yards against App. State. He passed Chip Mitchell (1680) with 89 yards at New Hampshire. With 55 yards vs. Rhode Island, he passed Bob Simeone (1,571). In the Towson game, he passed Jimmy Moore (1, all in 1998) and Tim Berra (1, Yogi s son). London passed 2006 UMass Hall of Fame inductee Steve Schubert who had 1,435 from in the William & Mary game on Oct. 7, the night after Schubert went into the UMass Hall of Fame. Moore is 10th all-time in career receiving yards with 1,259. London Career Receptions 1. Adrian Zullo ( ) Brandon London (2003-pres.) Marcel Shipp ( ) Jason Peebler ( ) Bob Simeone ( ) Chip Mitchell ( ) 101 J.J. Moore (2004-pres.) 101 Career Rec. Yards 1. Adrian Zullo ( ) Jason Peebler ( ) Brandon London (2003-pres.) Chip Mitchell ( ) Bob Simeone ( ) Jimmy Moore (1988) Tim Berra ( ) Steve Schubert ( ) DeShon Hardy ( ) J.J. Moore (2004-pres.) 1259 Career Rec. TDs 1. Adrian Zullo ( ) Jason Peebler ( ) Jimmy Moore (1998) Tim Berra ( ) 15 Lou Bush ( ) 15 Brandon London (2003-pres.) 15 Season Rec. TDs 1. Jimmy Moore (1998) Jason Peebler (2003) Tim Berra (1973) Jason Peebler (2004) Adrian Zullo (1998) 9 Adrian Zullo (1999) 9 Brandon London (2006) 9 London took over as the top receiver once Moore went down last season with an injury and racked up 60 catches and earned All-A- 10 Third Team honors. He led the team in catches as well as yards (774) and TD receptions (3). London tied Moore s single-game reception record of 13 in the 2005 finale vs. Hofstra. He had his second 100-yard game in that game with a career-high 122 yards football London is also rising the career receiving touchdowns charts. With 15, he ranks tied for fifth with Tim Berra and Lou Bush. With his next TD catch he will rise to a tie for third. With nine TD catches this season, London is also tied for the fifthbest single-season in UMass history. London has at least one catch in the last 19 games he has played in. Moore posted his biggest game of the season vs. William & Mary (10/ 7) with five catches for 118 yards and a spectacular 29-yard TD. He had a season-best six catches in the NCAA Quarterfinal win over New Hampshire (12/2). He equaled that catch mark with six more at Montana (12/8). In his three NCAA Tournament games, he has 14 catches for 118 yards. Moore returned to action this season after fracturing his left ankle vs. Northeastern on Oct. 8, He missed the remainder of the season. He was ranked among the top five in the nation in catches and catches per game in the first few weeks. Despite playing in just five games a season ago, he was still second on UMass with 27 catches and third in 337 receiving yards. Moore Moore set a UMass record when he caught 13 passes in the loss at Colgate in Moore broke the record of 11 set by Tim Berra (Yogi s son) in 1973 and later tied by Jimmy Moore in 1998 and twice by Adrian Zullo in Moore has been the top punt return man this season earning A-10 All-Third Team honors. for UMass as well with 27 returns for 245 yards and a 9.1 average per return, that ranks third in the A-10. Rancher s total is aided by his 89-yard reception from Liam Coen against Stony Brook (9/23), the second-longest play in UMass history. Rancher was the biggest surprise of last season. After barely playing in his first season in 2004, he had 27 catches for 425 yards becoming a vital receiver for Liam Coen. Rancher had a career-high 126 receiving yards including an 84-yard scoring pass from Liam Coen at Delaware. That play was the thirdlongest in UMass history. Rancher had a career-high six catches for his first 100-yard game, with 108 against New Hampshire. He broke out for his first real action in the game at Colgate, when he made four catches for 39 yards. Junior college transfer Michael Omar has blended in nicely and had five catches after a big game at Villanova. He had a knee injury and missed four games and had not made a catch until the NCAA First Round against Lafayette (11/25), when he caught a 33-yard TD. It was even more special as his parents from California were at the game. THE RIGHT TIGHT END In addition to the top-level receivers, UMass has received outstanding play from transfer Brad Listorti. After two seasons at Rutgers where he did not catch a pass, Listorti has emerged as a weapon, starting every game at tight end this season. He has 33 catches for 526 yards for a 15.9 per catch average. He is third on the team in catches and yards and yards per catch. Listorti He has at least one catch in each of the last 13 games in a row. Listorti had his first-career touchdown with a 1-yard grab at Villanova (9/16). In that game, he had a career-high four catches for 49 yards as well. He had a career-best 54 receiving yards at Towson (10/14). He had a career-long 44-yard catch vs. Rhode Island. In the rain at Northeastern (10/28), Listorti was Liam Coen s top target making a career-high tying four catches for 29 yards. He had a career-high 70 receiving yards on three catches at New Hampshire on Nov. 4.

12 12 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RETURN TO BIG KICK RETURNS a season and career-long 48-yarder UMass got off to a sensational start in the kickoff return game. against Stony Brook. That was the UMass is returning kickoffs 21.3 per return, which ranks 23rd in the third-longest in UMass history and nation. UMass was in the top 10 all season until the UNH Playoff longest since 1978 at UMass. game. Last season, UMass was 95th in the nation out of 116 teams at 17.3 per return. Leading the way is UConn transfer and A-10 Second Team kick return man Courtney Robinson, who is third in the A-10 and is 22nd nationally in average return at 23.3 per run back. UMass had two returns of more than 55 yards this season in the first three games after the season long for all of 2005 was just 28 yards. Robinson had a 57-yard return at Villanova (9/16) while Matt Lawrence had a 65-yard run back against Colgate in week one. That 65-yarder was the longest by any UMass player since Jerome Bledsoe had a 66-yarder on Sept. 23, BALL HAWKS IN THE SECONDARY UMass has had one of the top secondaries in the nation over the past three seasons. Last year UMass ranked among the nation s best with 18 interceptions, which ranked third in the A-10. UMass graduated its all-time interception leader and two-time All-American Shannon James, who had 20 interceptions in his four years in Amherst. James 20 picks were the most by an player in all over college football over a four-year span from James signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens and is now starring for the CFL s Calgary Stampeders. Even with James gone, the Minutemen have a sensational corps of Ball Hawks as they call themselves. Seniors strong safety James Ihedigbo and cornerback Tracy Belton lead the way. Ihedigbo has made his name with a blitzing style that racked him up 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks last season. Belton is among the national leaders in career interceptions, now in his senior year. After his interception at Navy (9/9) and vs. Maine (11/11), he has 13 picks, he ranks tied for fourth in the nation in I-AA among all players behind Ken Chicoine of Cal Poly (18), who tops the list. In the secondary, senior Brandon Smith has taken over for James as free safety while true sophomore Sean Smalls is manning the other corner. Smith has played in many packages over the last two seasons and was the A-10 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3, Smalls is a versatile player who was an impressive freshman last season playing on both sides of the ball as a receivers as well. Smith has been in the right place at the right time twice. He has two fumble returns for touchdowns, the first two scores of his career. He had a 3-yard TD return vs. Stony Brook on Sept. 23 and a 21-yard run back vs. Rhode Island on Oct. 21. KOEPPLIN, A KEEPER AT KICKER Junior college transfer Chris Koepplin has been a tremendous addition for the Minutemen. The kicker is already on the all-time charts at UMass in career field goals made with 15 this season, tied for sixth. He is also second in single-season field goals. He passed Eric Oke (1993) with his game-winning 43-yard kick at Montana in the NCAA Semifinals. He holds the all-time record for single-season extra points, as he is 49-of-50. Active Career Intercept Leaders 1. Ken Chicoine, Cal Poly Dre Dokes, Northern Iowa 17 Quinton Teal, Coastal Carolina TRACY BELTON, 13 David Jiles, Monmouth 13 Noel Williams, Morehead State 13 Bobbie Williams, Beth-Cookman 13 Mike Niklos, Robert Morris 13 Koepplin Koepplin was named the A-10 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week on Nov. 20 after he kicked three field goals in the win over Hofstra (11/18) from 34, 19 and 31 yards. He was the first UMass kicker with three field goals in a game since Eric Oke in Koepplin has four field goals of 40 or more yards this season including Koepplin is third behind Steve Baylark in the A-10 in scoring with 6.7 points per game on 94 points with 15-of-22 on field goals. He is second in the A-10 in field goals made per game with 1.1 per game. MCGUIRK MAGIC Season Field Goals 1. Sandro Vitiello (1978) Chris Koepplin (2006) Eric Oke (1993) 14 Season Extra Pts. 1. Chris Koepplin (2006) Michael Torres (2003) 40 Career Field Goals 1. Silvio Bonvini ( ) Sandro Vitiello ( ) George Papoutsidis ( ) Jason Cherry ( ) 15 Chris Koepplin (2006) 15 The Minutemen hosted their third all-time home playoff game on Dec. 2 and are now 3-0 in those post-season games. UMass went a perfect 8-0 at home in 2006, setting the school-record for best record at home, set in UMass has been tough to beat in the friendly confines of McGuirk Alumni Stadium since the start of the 1998 season. The Minutemen have gone (.796) at home over the last six years, improving their all-time record at McGuirk to (.673). Since 1992, UMass has had a losing record at home only once, while posting a home mark of (.733) during that span. In 2003, UMass went 7-0 at home to set the former record for most home victories in the 40-year history of McGuirk Stadium. UMass has a chance to tie that record on Saturday in the NCAA Playoff game against Lafayette. The 2003 squad also became the first UMass team to go undefeated at home since 1993, when it posted a 5-0 mark at McGuirk Stadium. UMass has won 12 of its last 13 games at home after dropping the 2005 home regular-season finale to New Hampshire on Oct. 29. They have won 19 of the last 22 dating to , 48-7: ARE YOU KIDDING? With its 48-7 win over William & Mary on Oct. 6, UMass won consecutive games by the same score for the first time since What makes it amazing is that UMass won both of the those games by the same score of 48-7; and those games were separated by a bye week which is also the case in Back on Nov. 1 and No. 15, 1969, UMass beat Vermont and New Hampshire. If you were wondering, UMass has never played three games in a row with the same score. With the back-to-back 48-point efforts, its the first time since those games in 1969, that UMass has scored 48 or more points in consecutive games. PILES UP I-A TRANSFERS UMass roster features 15 transfers from Division I-A including 10 new ones for the 2006 season: FB E.J. Barthel (Rutgers), OL Carlos Feliciano (Rutgers), TE Rob Getek (UConn), OL Heath Heekin (UNLV), DE Andrew Krevis (Eastern Michigan), TE Brad Listorti (Rutgers), DB Courtney Robinson (UConn), LB Anthony Rouzier (UConn), QB Joe Sanford (Virginia) and TB Tim Washington (Syracuse). They join OL Jon Carnes (Rutgers), TB Matt Lawrence (UConn), DB Michael Meggett (West Virginia -- also, cousin of former NFL returnman Dave Meggett), DL Patrick Powell (Maryland), and LB Brad Anderson (Vanderbilt). UMass has four transfers from both Rutgers and UConn along with one from Syracuse, one from and West Virginia forming a mini-big East connection in Amherst. Syracuse transfer Tim Washington is actually a graduate student at UMass after earning his Bachelor s Degree from Syracuse in May 2006 in information management and technology. He is pursuing a Mater s in Sports Management at UMass. He earned numerous academic awards while with the Orange as well. PAIR RETURN TO ACTION IN 2006 Two Minutemen made triumphant returns to the line-up in the opener vs. Colgate after missing most of the 2005 season and taking redshirt years with injuries. Junior linebacker Charles Walker played in just three games a season ago but redshirted with a knee injury. Junior tailback Matt Lawrence was injured on his first carry as a Minuteman, a 9-yard gain at Richmond and did not play again all year with a knee injury.

13 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP 13 MEDIA POLICIES/INFORMATION THE WEEK AHEAD (SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE) Sunday, Dec. 10 Monday, Dec. 11 Tuesday, Dec. 12 Wed., Dec. 13 Thursday, Dec. 14 Friday, Dec. 15 Saturday, Dec. 16 Film, 3:30 Practice 3-4 p.m. MEDIA 4:30-5:15 Open Practice in SEASON OVER... TBA MEDIA at 4 p.m. Chatt., 4-6 p.m. DON BROWN CONFERENCE CALL 5:30 p.m. Practice, 5:15 pm INTERVIEWS Interviews with head coach Don Brown, his staff and UMass players can be set up by contacting Jason Yellin in the UMass Media Relations Office at (413) or (413) Players and coaches are available in person and for phone interviews Tuesday through Friday afternoons outside the locker room at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Arrangements for interviews must be made by 1:00 p.m. the day prior to the interview so that it can be posted for the players and coaches (example: call by 1:00 p.m. Monday for a Tuesday interview). This will include both personal and phone interview requests. A representative from the UMass Media Relations Office will be on hand to assist you. Home phone numbers will not be given out. WEEKLY SPORTS LUNCHEON Head coach Don Brown will be in attendance and available to the media at the weekly UMass Sports Luncheon, held each Wednesday at 12 Noon, normally in the UMass Campus Center in Room 1009 (unless noted below). In addition, the Dinn Brothers UMass Athlete of the Week and his or her coach will be available to the media. Lunch for the media is provided free of charge. Please contact the UMass Media Relations Office by Tuesday if you will be attending the luncheon so we can make the necessary reservations. BROWN ON A-10 CONFERENCE CALL Every Monday morning through November 21, the Atlantic 10 Conference conducted a teleconference with each of its head coaches. The teleconference will start at 10:00 a.m. with a brief recap of the weekend s action, the week s honor roll, and other pertinent information. Following that, each head coach has an assigned 10-minute slot to discuss his team and its upcoming opponent, and field any questions from the media. UMass head coach Don Brown will be on from 11:10-11:20 a.m. For numbers and codes to access the call, please contact Steve Haug in the Atlantic 10 Office at (215) POSTGAME PROCEDURES The UMass football locker room is closed to the media. Members of the media should submit player interview requests to Jason Yellin of UMass by the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter. At home games, all postgame interviews will be held in the conference room of the UMass football locker room complex behind the south end zone. Following a 10-minute cooling off period, the visiting head coach and selected players will be escorted to the interview area. After the visiting team has finished its session, head coach Don Brown and requested UMass players will be available in the interview area. There is one community telephone in the main working press area of the press box at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. This phone is on a first-come, first-served basis. Dial 9 for an outside line. Please contact a member of the UMass Media Relations Office for any additional needs. ON THE RADIO All University of Massachusetts football games can be heard live on the UMass Football Sports Network, with WRNX FM (Holyoke) serving CHARTER FLIGHT to Chattanooga, leaves 7 a.m. MEDIA in Chatt., 3:30 Practice 4-6 (CLOSED) RADIO SHOW FROM CHATT., 7 pm (Airs on FM & UMassAthletics.com) as the flagship station. Bob Behler is in his eighth season as the play-by-play announcer, while former UMass placekicker Matt Goldstein is in his second year as color analyst.nick DiFelice is the sideline reporter. Here is the list of this year s affiliates on the UMass Sports Network: WRNX FM (Holyoke) WATD 95.9 FM (Marshfield / Boston) WCRN 830 AM (Worcester/Boston) All games will be streamed with live audio on UMassAthletics.com though SportsJuice.com. In addition, WMUA 91.1 FM, the UMass student station, will carry most Minuteman home football games during the 2006 season. THE DON BROWN RADIO SHOW Head coach Don Brown s weekly radio show, The Don Brown Show, airs live from The Hangar Pub & Grill in Amherst each Thursday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. during the season on WRNX FM. Bob Behler serves as the show s host. The show is open to the general public. COACH S CORNER WITH DON BROWN Every Sunday night at 11:30 p.m., the Coach s Corner with Don Brown can be seen on WGGB TV, channel 40 in Springfield. The short segment, which runs at the tale end of the Sunday night news, features highlights from Saturday s game and a look ahead to the next week s opponent. The show will run through the end of UMass season. It will be streamed on UMassAthletics.com later in the week after airing. MINUTEMEN ON THE TUBE UMass played a regular-season league-high five regional or nationallybroadcast television games starting with the CSTV telecast of the Navy game on Sept. 9. The game at New Hampshire will also be a national broadcast on CSTV on Oct. 4. In addition to the Villanova game on Sept. 16, the road tilt at Northeastern will be on CN8 on Oct. 28. UMass home game vs. Rhode Island on Oct. 21 will be televised by the A-10 Network from McGuirk Stadium, shown locally on NESN. The NCAA First Round game against Lafayette was aired on CN8 and the Lafayette Sports Network. The Quarterfinal vs. New Hampshire was part of the ESPN Syndication package including ESPN s Game Plan, the payper-view pack. It aired on NESN in New England. The NCAA Semifinal and Championship air on ESPN 2 in HD. Prior to this season s win at Montana, UMass last game on ESPN2 was the 1998 National Championship victory over Georgia Southern in The Minutemen have a record of in televised games since the beginning of the 1998 season, including a 17-7 mark vs. Atlantic 10 foes. WATCH HOME GAMES ONLINE UMassAthletics.com is proud to present live streaming video broadcasts of its five games which are not televised. Let UMass fans know if they can t make it to McGuirk Stadium a video feed along with the broadcast from Bob Behler and Matt Goldstein will be available on the Internet. ON THE INTERNET Information on Minuteman football and all 23 UMass varsity sports is available through the UMass Athletics home page at In addition, links to UMass football radio broadcasts can be found on the UMass Athletics home page football CHAMPIONSHIP GAME vs. Appalachian State in Chattanooga, 8:07 p.m. Kickoff CHARTER FLIGHT after game to UMass

14 14 FOOTBALL NOTES #3 vs. #1 APPALACHIAN STATE, Dec. 15, 2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP 1 J.J. MOORE Head Coach WR RJr St. Petersburg, Fla. ATLANTIC 10 THIRD-TEAM PUNT RETURNER Don BROWN Speedy receiver who was the team s top receiver in 2005 before suffering a fractured left ankle vs. Northeastern (10/ Third Year as UMass Head Coach (26-10 Record) 8/05), which ended his season after five games. 10th Year as Head Coach (78-36 Record) Has made a complete recovery for 2006 and is a starting receiver and team s top punt returnman. Became eighth player in UMass history with 100 catches. 101 career catches ranks tied for sixth all-time at UMass. Stands ninth in career receiving yards with 1,259. Second on team lead in catches with 42 and second in receiving yards with 533. Has four TD catches and 12.7 yards per catch. Leads team in punt returns with 29 for 242 yards (8.3 avg) - - ranks third in the A-10, 43rd in nation. Has 12 catches in last two NCAA games and 14 total catches in three NCAA Tournament games for 118 yards. For second week in a row, had game-high and season-best six catches at #2 Montana (12/8) for 51 yards in NCAA Semi. Game-high and personal season-best six catches vs. #9 UNH (12/2) in NCAA Quarterfinals for 60 yards. Also returned a punt for 13 yards. Grabbed two ball for 17 yards vs. Lafayette (11/25) in NCAA First Round. Hauled in a 22-yard TD pass from Liam Coen as he made three catches for 42 yards vs. Hofstra (11/18). Made three catches for 22 yards vs. #19 Maine (11/11). Caught a 15-yard TD pass from Liam Coen, after he escaped numerous tacklers at #9 New Hampshire (11/4). Did not make a catch, but had the key 47-yard punt return at Northeastern (10/28) to set up game s only score in second. Had two catches for five yards vs. Rhode Island (10/21). Went over 1,000 career receiving yards at Towson (10/ 14) with four catches for 74 yards. Third career 100-yard receiving game with 118 yards on five catches vs. William & Mary (10/7). Hauled in a spectacular 29-yard TD from Liam Coen in the third quarter. Ran for 11-yard touchdown, first career-rushing TD vs. Stony Brook (9/23). Only player with more than one catch, making two for 36 yards. Also had two punt returns for 68 yards. His career-best 59-yard return was the longest by a UMass player since Kory Blackwell in Topped team with five catches for 62 yards at I-A Navy (9/9). His sensational full-extension 37-yard touchdown reception was featured as the No. 7 Play of the Day on ESPN s SportsCenter. Made three catches for team-best 31 yards vs. Colgate (9/2). Also brought back three punts for 33 yards. In 2005, finished second on UMass in receptions with 27, receptions was top per game at 5.4 in just five games. His receiving yards (337) was third on the team that season. Also on UMass track team competing in the long jump, with a career best of 21-feet 3.25 inches, which was season-best. COMPLETE BIO ON MEDIA GUIDE PAGE 68. Norwich 77 The 2006 AFCA Region I Coach of the Year, 2006 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, 2006 New England Football Coach of the Year and architect of the defense that led UMass to the 1998 national championship, Don Brown was named the 27th head coach in the 124-year history of the UMass football program on February 9, Brown returned to UMass after four seasons as the head coach at Northeastern University. Recognized as one of the top defensive minds in Division I-AA football, he previously served as defensive coordinator for the Minutemen during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Brown has a (.684) including a (.722) mark in his three seasons at the helm of UMass. He coached his 100 th career game in the 2005 regularseason finale at Hofstra. In leading UMas to the 2006 A-10 crown, Brown became the second coach to win the A-10 title with two teams leading the Minutemen to the crown this year after his title at Northeastern in Jim Reid was the first coach to do so at UMass and Richmond. In 2005, Brown led the Minutemen to the nation s top scoring defense as UMass allowed just points per game. As UMass posted a 7-4 overall record and 6-2 in the A-10 North. The Minutemen led the Atlantic 10 in five defensive categories including scoring defense. They also led in net punting (38.35) which led the nation; total yardage defense (261.18) which ranked third nationally; passing defense (145.09) which ranked fifth nationally and pass efficiency defense (106.83). On the offensive side, UMass line allowed the fewest sacks in the A-10, just 1.0 per game, which was eighth in the nation. The Minutemen jumped out to a 7-2 start in 2005 and were ranked as high as fifth in the nation, finishing the year 19th in polls. UMass best win came over No. 4 James Madison and catapulted UMass to a No. 5 national ranking. The Minutemen also beat ranked Rhode Island and Delaware teams. The win at the Blue Hens, was their worst home loss in 20 years, a 35-7 Minuteman win. UMass featured two All-Americans and 10 All-Atlantic 10 players. Punter Christian Koegel was named the A-10 Special Teams Player of the Year as well as a Walter Camp first-team All-American. Safety Shannon James was named a consensus first-team All- American for the second year in a row as well as being a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in Division I-AA for the second year in a row. Joining Koegel and James on the A-10 First Team were tailback Steve Baylark, center Alex Miller and defensive end Keron Williams. James, Williams and the versatile R.J. Cobbs were all invited to NFL training camps in In his first season back with UMass as head coach in 2004, Brown led the Minutemen to a 6-5 record winning four of the last five games. UMass late-season run elevated them to a second place finish in the Atlantic 10 s North Division. Included in the 4-1 stretch to close out the season was a win at Northeastern, which was an emotional game for Brown, as he had recruited nearly every player on the Huskies roster. The Minutemen knocked off three teams ranked in the top 20 during the season including No. 4 Colgate, No. 7 New Hampshire and No. 19 Maine. The win over UNH, was the 500 th win in UMass football history Under Brown s guidance, James was named a consensus firstteam All-American and Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of Year as well as being a finalist for the Buchanan Award. James led the nation in interceptions as a junior and finished his career in 2005 with more interceptions than any player in the nation at the time. The Minutemen led the Atlantic 10 in pass efficiency defense while the offensive line led the country in fewest sacks allowed per pass attempt (giving up nine on 344 pass attempts) as Baylark led the conference in rushing. COACHING STAFF Head Coach: Don Brown (Norwich 77), Third Year as UMass Head Coach Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks: Kevin Morris (Williams 86), Third Year at UMass Over his four seasons at Northeastern ( ), Brown led a total transformation of the Huskies program. After taking over a team coming off a 2-9 record, with just two winning seasons in the previous 12 before his arrival, Brown led Northeastern to a mark during his four seasons. The Huskies posted winning records each of his last two seasons, going a combined 18-7 during that two-year span, and made the program s first-ever NCAA playoff appearance. Prior to his time at Northeastern, Brown served as UMass defensive coordinator under Mark Whipple during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. He helped UMass to two of the best seasons in school history, as the 1998 team posted an overall record of 12-3 and won the Division I-AA national championship. The 1999 season was also a successful one, as the Minutemen went 9-4 overall, claimed a share of the Atlantic 10 title with a 7-1 mark in league games, and made a second straight trip to the Division I-AA playoffs. UMass 21 victories during Brown s two years as defensive coordinator set a school record for most wins during any two year-span. During the 1996 and 1997 seasons, Brown served as Whipple s defensive coordinator at Brown University. In 1997, the Bears posted an overall record of 7-3, matching the school s best record in 20 years. In addition, Brown s 1997 defense led the nation with a school record 28 interceptions, while ranking second in the country in takeaways (36) and holding opponents to just 19.4 points per game. From , Brown spent three seasons as the head coach at Plymouth State (N.H.) College. He led the Panthers to a pair of Freedom Conference titles in 1994 and 1995, while posting an overall record of 25-6 (6-4 in 1993, 10-1 in 1994 and 9-1 in 1995). Brown was named Freedom Conference Coach of the Year during each of his three seasons, and led Plymouth State to a pair of Division III playoff appearances in 1994 and In addition, he was named the American Football Coaches Association District I Coach of the Year in A native of Spencer, Mass., Brown began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Dartmouth in 1982, helping the Big Green to the Ivy League title. He moved on to Mansfield (Pa.) University as an assistant coach in 1983, before returning to Dartmouth as defensive coordinator from Brown then served as defensive coordinator at Yale from , helping lead the Elis to the 1989 Ivy League crown. His coaching career started at Hartford High School in White River Junction, Vt., where he served as an assistant football coach and physical education instructor from The 51-year old Brown (born July 31, 1955) is a 1977 graduate of Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., where he starred as a running back for the Cadets football team. He went on to earn a master s degree from Plymouth State College in Brown and his wife, Deborah, reside in South Hadley. The couple has four children: Echo, Zachariah, Rana and Chelsea. Brown became a grandfather for the first time as his oldest daughter gave birth to Lola on Nov. 4, 2004 (8 lbs, 3 oz, 21 inches). Brown s Career Record Year School Rec. Conf. Accomplishments 1993 Plymouth State Plymouth State Freedom Champ/D-III QF 1995 Plymouth State Freedom Champ/D-III 1stR 2000 Northeastern Northeastern Northeastern A-10 Champs/I-AA 1stR 2003 Northeastern UMass UMass No. 1 Defense in NCAA 2006 UMass A-10 Champs/NCAA Final Career 10 Years Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers: Keith Dudzinski (New Haven 90), Seventh Year at UMass Special Teams Coordinator/Def. Line/Admin. Asst. Head Coach: Steve Tirrell (Plymouth State 89), Third Year at UMass Run-Game Coordinator/Offensive Line: Brian Picucci (Syracuse 94), Fifth Year at UMass Recruiting Coordinator/Running Backs: Guido Falbo (Central Connecticut 97), Third Year at UMass Defensive Backs: Bob Shoop (Yale 88), First Year at UMass Tight Ends: Mike Wood (McDaniel 01), First Year at UMass Wide Receivers: Brian Smith (UMass 01), Second Year at UMass Assistant Defensive Line: Stephen Militello (Northeastern 05), Second Year at UMass Assistant Linebackers: Damian Mincey (New Haven 02), First Year at UMass Strength & Conditioning: Bob Otrando (Northeastern 79), 14th Year at UMass Director of Football Operations: Mike Hodges (Maine 76), 29th Year at UMass Head Athletic Trainer: Jeff Smith (UCLA 91), Sixth Year at UMass Video Coordinator: Bill Sisler (James Madison 95), Seventh Year at UMass Academic Counselor: Lance Overby (UMass 01), Fourth Year at UMass Media Relations: Jason Yellin (Stony Brook 96), Third Year at UMass Equipment Manager: Paul Bys, 11th Year at UMass CAREER STATISTICS (Receiving) / / / Totals 30/ CAREER STATISTICS (Punt Returns) / Receptions: 13 at Colgate (9/10/05) T-School Record Receiving Yards: 128 at Colgate (9/10/05) Long Reception: 44 vs. William & Mary (10/7/06) Receiving Touchdowns: 2 vs. Maine (10/30/04) 100-Yard Games: 3 (last vs. William & Mary, 10/7/06) Punt Return Yardage: 68 vs. Stony Brook (9/23/06) Long Punt Return: 59 vs. Stony Brook (9/23/06) Rushing Touchdown: 1 vs. Stony Brook (9/23/06) 2 Brad ANDERSON LB RSr Ijamsville, Md. ATLANTIC 10 SECOND-TEAM LINEBACKER Starting weakside WILL linebacker who has started since his sophomore season. Plays in honor of the late Billy Gaines, his childhood friend and high school teammate who died in June 2003 after beginning his college football career at Pittsburgh. Switched to Gaines high school No. 2 as a senior to honor his late friend. Has racked up 108 tackles this season, third on team and 10th in A-10 in tackles per game (8.3 per game). 68 assisted tackles this year is eight-most in a season at UM. Has 67 tackles in the last six games (11.1 per game) with double-figures in four of six games. In three NCAA Tournament games has 26 tackles.