It took a little longer than expected to officially announce but the school confirmed on Wednesday evening that Mark Whipple is “stepping down” as head coach at UMass.
News of the school letting him go first surfaced on Tuesday after the team wrapped up a 4-8 campaign over the weekend with a 66-27 loss to Georgia.
“I want to thank Mark for his commitment to our football program for 11 years. He came back to UMass when this program needed a strong leader and respected mentor,” AD Ryan Bamford said in a statement. “Mark provided the steady hand we needed in our early years as an FBS program and leaves our program in much better standing than when he came back in 2014. His legacy is not only cemented in his 65 wins and our 1998 FCS national championship, but in the way he positively impacted hundreds of young men in his program.”
“I want to thank the UMass family for the opportunity of being the head football coach for 11 seasons,” said Whipple in a statement. “I especially want to thank our coaches, players, support staff and football alumni for their tireless efforts and support. I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to help foster the growth of our student-athletes during these 11 years!”
Terms of Whipple’s departure were not announced but The Daily Hampshire Gazette notes that some $200,000 could have been saved had the program waited another week based on how his buyout is worded:
We typically see schools announce firings only a few hours after the news becomes public, but the delay in any official announcement could have been the result of that negotiation between the two parties. Either way, Whipple is now free to pursue other jobs and the Minutemen can embark on their coaching search after weeks of speculation.
