On Sept. 1, the Holy Cross football team will begin their 2011 campaign with a home opener against UMass Amherst. Kick off will be at 8 p.m. on Fitton Field. Tickets can be purchased online.
Here are five things you need to know about the upcoming game.
1. It will be first-ever evening home game in the history of Holy Cross football. Musco Lighting, the same company providing lights for the 2011 Little League Baseball World Series, will illuminate the evening game.
2. The Holy Cross Goodtime Marching Band will don new uniforms and be led by a new director. Nicholas McKenzie, who has served as a consultant for high school marching bands throughout Massachusetts, was named new marching band director last winter. “I am very excited to have the unique opportunity this season of working with 40 motivated, talented musicians that understand the true spirit of the marching arts,” he says. This season the band will perform their production, “Operation: Goodtime,” which will include music from “Mission: Impossible” and “The Pink Panther,” as well as selections from the Austin Powers and James Bond movies. Says McKenzie: “Believe me when I say you will not want to leave your seats at halftime!”
3. This will be the 50th game against UMass. The classic rivalry between these two Commonwealth teams goes back to their first game at Amherst on Sept. 25, 1897. The game ended in a 4-0 victory for the Crusaders. Since then, the Crusaders have an all-time record against the Minutemen of 21-23-5, with their most recent victory at UMass’ McGuirk Alumni Stadium in the 1991 season. Coming off a 31-7 loss in their 2010 game, the Crusaders hope this game under the lights will end their losing streak against the Minutemen, who have won each of the teams’ past meetings since 1992.
4. The Crusaders show promise in capturing the Patriot League Conference Title. In their preseason poll, the Patriot League picked Holy Cross to place third in the conference this season, behind Lehigh University and Colgate University. Last year the Crusaders finished second in the conference with a 4-2 record against their Patriot League opponents and a 6-5 record overall. This year, 12 starters return to the roster, three of whom have been named preseason All-Americans by the FCS Senior Scout Bowl. They are Chandler Fenner ’12 of Virginia Beach, Va., Ricky Otis ’12 of Cleves, Ohio, and C.J. Martin ’12 of Plano, Texas.
5. CBS Sports will televise the game live from Fitton Field. Of the 42 college football games the station will air this season, the Holy Cross-UMass contest will be the first CBS Sports Network will cover.
Related Information:
- Visit Holy Cross Athletics on GoHolyCross.com
- Holy Cross-UMass Football Game Day Information
- Telegram & Gazette, Aug. 28: "Crusaders measure success in championships"
