AMHERST – UMass Hockey, as coached for the past eight seasons by Greg Carvel, has found great success. The two Hockey East Conference championships and one national championship during Carvel’s tenure are the driving force that has put athletics at UMass on the map again.
This success has not gone unnoticed. Between national attention, local fan and student support, and perhaps even a noticeable increase in undergraduate applications to the university since the team’s 2021 national title, UMass has reaped the benefits that come with any successful athletic team in college sports.
“When you win a national title in any sport, I think it gives you that exposure nationally,” said Deputy Athletic Director for External Operations Jeff Smith. “Especially up here in the northeast region. I think it’s really a hockey region up here, so I think that helps us in terms of tracking students to the university.”
According to a university-released report that details admissions numbers from 2014 to 2023, undergraduate applications to UMass have risen from 40,253 in 2020 to 50,345 in 2023.
Whether the success of the university’s hockey team has anything to do with that can only be speculated. However, Smith said that he feels the success of the hockey team, specifically its 2021 national title, did have a small but positive effect on the rise of the number of applications that UMass has seen since 2020.
Noah Glickman, a UMass student whose freshman year began in 2022, said that hockey played a role in his decisions when applying to college. “I always wanted [to go to] a school with good college sports,” he said. “That was a huge factor in my applications. Hockey was kind of just the cherry on top. I love [college] hockey. It was a decent part of my decision [to attend UMass].”
Glickman, a native of Long Island, N.Y., attends every single UMass hockey game he can go to. Not only does he attend most games, he also, along with many others, arrives at the Mullins Center over an hour early to be among the first students that get into the building when the doors are opened. This is to ensure he gets a seat in the front row of the student section.
“I would go to every game if I could, just because I love showing off my school spirit,” said Glickman. “It shows the passion of these students who get there early and want to have front-row seats.”
The fans in the front rows really get into the action. They are on their feet the whole game, bring signs and are very loud throughout.
“We have a great fan base,” said Smith. “In terms of our students, we average anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 students a game. It’s a great energy there, and it’s fantastic.”
“It’s a great scene,” said Glickman. “Everybody kind of comes together and really shows off school spirit. I think [going to the hockey games] is a great experience overall.”
In this hockey season, UMass broke its non-conference attendance record with 15,773 fans across two games against Michigan. In that same weekend, the team matched its single-game attendance record with 8,412 people attending the second game of the series.
UMass Hockey Captain Aaron Bohlinger described what it is like as a player having such a large number of fans. “They’ve been awesome,” he said. “We know how lucky we are and how good we have it. The fans have been super special. They bring the energy every night. They make it fun.”
“[Massachusetts is] a hockey state and so we should be a hockey school,” Carvel said. “We’ve had great support from the administration and great support from our student body. It makes a huge difference when we get 2,000 to 3,000 students in the building cheering us on.”
Carvel accepted the job of head coach to start the 2016-17 hockey season. The Minutemen went 5-29-1 in that first season. Since then, the former NHL assistant coach has built one of the most successful college hockey programs in the country.
“I came here with visions of building,” said Carvel. “I don’t consider myself a head coach; I consider myself a program builder.”
Not only has Carvel built a successful team, but he has built what he and others describe as a “culture.”
“[Carvel] came in here and he created a culture,” said Smith. “He has a standard that he expects his players and staff to uphold. He’s been consistent.”
Carvel talked about that same standard. “I’ve always told the team that I want to be the gold standard of athletic teams, a team that other programs on campus point to and say, ‘We need to be like the hockey team,’” he said. “We win on the ice more than we lose and so that’s the type of program that our whole university and our alumni can be proud of, and when I got here that was one of my goals, to have that type of reputation.”
This also holds true off the ice as, according to Carvel, his players do plenty of community service and the team has a high GPA in the classroom.
This past summer, for example, a couple players from the team were photographed volunteering at the Amherst Survival Center.
As for the high GPA, 26 UMass players were on last year’s Hockey East All-Academic Team. Players with a 3.0 GPA or higher throughout both semesters of the season are given the honor. UMass was tied for first for most players that made the list.
“We truly do try to embody just being the highest character and highest standard on campus,” said Bohlinger. “There’s times when we don’t and we make sure we hold each other accountable. … It gives you a sense of purpose. You’re on this team, you have to set the standard and be the standard.”
“I want this university to be proud of our program,” said Carvel. “I want our athletes to be proud of our program and protect [it].”
UMass has 13 NHL draft picks on the team this year. This is tied for second among all of college hockey, solidifying UMass as one of the top developmental college programs in the country.
“The more success you have, I think you have access to recruit higher-level players,” said Carvel. “Players want to go to places where there’s success, but ultimately you want the kids to come to UMass because of our culture.”
On the administration side, support is the name of the game. “I really think it comes to us to support [Carvel] and support how he goes about running his program,” said Smith. “That’s really what we as administration are focused on.”
Chancellor Javier Reyes, while new to the school, has been one of the top supporters of not only hockey but university athletics in general.
According to Smith, Reyes attended almost all athletics events in this fall semester.
“[Reyes] wants to create this school spirit,” said Smith. “It’s about all of our sports. He’s supporting all of our student athletes, and it is very important to him.”
The same goes on the athletics side. “Our athletic director Ryan Bamford, he talks all the time about how athletics is really kind of the front porch to the university,” said Smith. “We get a lot of that national exposure … and [it] kind of puts Massachusetts on the map.”
“[Carvel] loves being a part of this community,” said Smith. “He really enjoys the engagement with the community. … It’s a big deal to Coach Carvel that he and his staff and his student athletes are a part of this community.”
This is echoed by the coach himself. “I’m very happy here,” said Carvel. “I came here not exactly knowing what I was getting into, and obviously it’s been the best decision of my life.”
