Change Has Come To UMass
It may not be obvious to everybody just yet, but things have already begun to change in Amherst.
If we’re right, the improvements will be obvious.
They may not be immediate and you may need to look beyond the win-loss column to see them, but if you’re truly an interested UMass fan - and if you’re reading this, odds are you are - we’re confident you’ll easily recognize those improvements three months from now.
Even before Joe Harasymiak was hired as the Minutemen’s next head coach, we became aware of UMass’ grand vision for the football program.
It was multi-layered and sound. In fact, it sounded almost too good to be true. Still, we were extremely intrigued.
We also knew we wouldn’t have to wait long to find out if the plan was actually legit. If it was, the head coaching vacancy would attract some impressive names. Soon, we were told the job had indeed attracted such interest.
Well, if that were truly the case, the group in charge of the process would surely be able to make an impressive hire.
For multiple reasons, we were already quite familiar with Harasymiak and regarded him as the best potential hire despite a group of candidates that included at least one name that was surely more recognizable.
Not only did we view Harasymiak as the best fit, we realized his hiring would provide further proof that the plan laid out for us was indeed legit. The sport’s most promising young coaches cannot afford to even consider opportunities where they won’t be set up for success.
And make no mistake, Harasymiak is absolutely considered one of the game’s most promising young coaches.
In today’s college football, being set up for success means having total buy-in from the university’s shot-callers. And that means financial support for the entire coaching staff, NIL cash and in the case of UMass, dollars to upgrade the program from the inside out.
We’d been told UMass was ready to do all of that and just in time to position the Minutemen atop their new home in the MAC in terms of financial support.
For us, it was simple.
If that were all true, they’d hire a coach of Harasymiak’s ilk. If it weren’t, they wouldn’t.
So, when Harasymiak was hired, we were encouraged on multiple levels.
From his introductory press conference until today, Harasymiak has impressed us with virtually everything he’s done.
His hiring of his staff showed that he was truly evaluating people over resumes; leaning heavily on coaches he’d worked with at previous stops and staff members he had some connection to while also recognizing the need to stretch those circles for key positions.
The way he assembled his staff screamed immense self-confidence on Harasymiak’s part.
The pace with which Harasymiak and his new staff attacked the Transfer Portal in the winter was dizzying and showed extreme urgency in upgrading the roster.
At the same time, he said again and again that the culture he’s trying to build in Amherst would be based on kids currently in high school, so he had his staff make their presence felt in the top schools in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and beyond, the exact footprint we would have recommended.
UMass goes into the fall with 20 verbal commits in the Class of 2026. It’s difficult to know the last time the Minutemen had that many pledges at this point in the calendar, but it’s safe to say it was a very long time ago.
They will likely need to fend off some Power-4 schools when some of those prospects turn in stellar senior seasons, but that’s the position the Minutemen need to be in.
“That class is the foundation of this program,” said Harasymiak. “It is so important. We've got some really, really good players that now we’ve got to fight for, but we're really excited.
“Coach Zoom (general manager Jared Osumah), (Director of High School Recruiting) Caleb (Holfoth), all those guys, the staff, what we did over the summer to put us in position to now take this next step, it's going to be huge.”
In talking with high school recruits and their parents and coaches, we learned the construction of that culture is well underway with dozens of outside sources commenting about the family atmosphere within the program.
Spring practice and preseason training camp provided peeks into how things would be run on the field.
Once again, a sense of urgency was obvious. And, it was a sense of urgency coupled with attention to detail. It wasn’t the crazed, manic style that is often served up by new coaching staffs trying to snap the players’ attention. Those can come across as inauthentic - or worse, authentic.
One thing is certain, this staff isn’t faking it. The coaches truly believe in themselves, each other and the program they are building.
But many UMass alumni, students and fans don’t have the time to sift through the weeds to uncover nuggets that symbolize change. That isn’t the world we live in. Peoples’ lives are torn in several different directions and for most, that means the best way for them to assess what has changed will come in the product on the field.
Harasymiak understands that, but he’s also cautioned against judging the build too quickly.
“I like what I see from the foundation of things,” Harasymiak told reporters last week, noting that half the roster and 90 percent of the staff is new.
“I'm excited. I'm expecting to win, but you've got to do the right things in terms of your culture and your foundation because the adversity is coming. It's like anything, if you build a house and you rush the foundation, it doesn't matter what you stack up on top of that, when that bad weather comes, it's going to knock it all down. You have to start again. And that's what we don't want to do.”
Harasymiak pointed to coaches he’s been around and is around now who have accomplished what he’s attempting to do, including UMass hockey coach Greg Carvel, who led the Minutemen to the 2021 National Championship in his fifth season in Amherst.
“Look at what Coach Carvel did Year One,” Harasymiak said. “They won five games and look what he did. So I'm sure there was a foundation to go from five, I think he went to 17 the second year.”
He also pointed to the coaches he worked for prior to coming to UMass, PJ Fleck at Minnesota and Greg Schiano at Rutgers.
“They all had to put in the foundation,” he said. “That's the thing that I've learned. Any great coach and any great staff understands that you’ve got to do the right things first and you've just got to keep going.
“I give you guys the analogy, go in the weight room for a day, you take off your shirt, you look, 'Uh, nothing's changed. Am I going to give up? Or am I going to keep going?' So we've just got to make sure we prepare the right way.”
In the end, win or lose, Saturday’s game against Temple could very well be relegated to a minor detail of Harasymiak’s tenure at UMass.
But in terms of Year One, it is difficult to overstate its importance. It’s odd to call the opener a “pivotal” game, but that’s exactly what this feels like.
Win and the Minutemen will be set up for momentum throughout the Fall.
Lose and a schedule that includes a couple Power-4 opponents in September and only two home games between Sept. 7th and Nov. 11th will make it extremely difficult to grab any momentum for a long time.
And as much as Harasymiak is correct to take a long-term approach to building the foundation, everybody within the program understands the importance of the opener.
We can’t tell you how many questions we’ve asked of sources that have nothing to do with Temple - or the 2025 season for that matter - which have been answered with, “I don’t know. Just beat Temple. Just beat Temple.”
The outcome of Saturday’s game will provide plenty of insight on what to expect from the Minutemen in 2025. But ironically, probably none on what to expect beyond.
Still, we’re confident that UMass fans will recognize the improvements by the end of 2025 because they’ve been staring us in the face since the beginning of 2025.
Your one-stop-shop for all your sports marketing needs… Owned and Operated by UMASS Grads.
We specialize in providing top-quality marketing & printing services for coaches, athletic directors, and sports marketing professionals.
Get Fan Ready!
This did age well after watching today’s game…
Hope Springs Eternal!