Bamford has often answered questions about the football program 's move from the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) to FBS and leaving the Mid-American Conference for FBS Independent status in 2016 , a decision that was made in 2013 . After only four years , The Boston Globe published an article on the University 's lack of progress as a Football Bowl Subdivision member school with Bamford saying , " I did n't come here to fail . " Bamford has been widely recognized for his ability to schedule football opponents for UMass as they start independent status in 2016 . When Bamford arrived at UMass in April 2015 , the Minutemen had only one FBS home game scheduled for the 2016 season . By August , UMass announced 5 home games and in November the addition of a sixth home game ( Boston College ) . Perhaps one of his greatest accomplishments is producing eight football games in eight years ( from 2016-2024 ) with regional rivals Boston College and University of Connecticut
FBS Independent
NCAA Division I FBS independent schools
Ryan Bamford