Winless College Football Team Sets Records with 0-12 Season
The Massachusetts Minutemen made history with a second consecutive winless season, concluding a challenging 2025 campaign.
A college football program known for its difficulties hit a new milestone on Tuesday.
The Massachusetts team marked its worst season in history with a 45-14 defeat against Bowling Green, finishing 0-12 throughout the year. This loss placed the Minutemen among the 23rd teams in the FBS since the century’s beginning to end the season without a win (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season).
This defeat completed the sixth winless season for the program, but unlike prior instances, this one featured a schedule with more than eight games. According to CBS Sports, UMass has gone winless in the past years of 2020 (0-4), 1927 (0-7-1), 1896 (0-4-1), 1882 (0-2), and 1880 (0-1-1). Having joined FBS play in 2012, the Minutemen also endured five 1-11 seasons; however, the 2025 campaign was the first time they finished 0-12.
With this year’s performance, it marks the second straight 0-12 season for a MAC program, as Kent State faced a similar fate last season. Prior to 2020, numerous teams from the same FBS conference finishing without wins in back-to-back years was uncommon since the late 1990s. The MAC saw Northern Illinois finish at 0-11 in 1997, followed by Kent State and teams like Ball State and Buffalo (both 0-11) in 1999.
UMass, now led by coach Joe Harasymiak, started with a 42-10 loss to Temple and nearly clinched its first victory against Bryant but fell short after leading by 17 points, losing 27-26 due to a last-minute field goal.
Winless FBS seasons since 2010
| Year | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | UMass | 0–12 |
| 2024 | Kent State | 0–12 |
| 2019 | Akron | 0–12 |
| 2017 | UTEP | 0–12 |
| 2015 | UCF | 0–12 |
| 2015 | Kansas | 0–12 |
| 2013 | Miami (OH) | 0–12 |
| 2013 | Georgia State | 0–12 |
| 2012 | Southern Miss | 0–12 |
This effectively was the closest UMass had to a win, losing by double-digits in ten of the twelve. Among those losses, eight were by 20 or more points with an average margin of defeat recorded at 27.2 points. UMass almost secured a first victory against Buffalo but lost 28-21 after being penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct while leading late in the game.
This year underwent numerous changes for UMass, returning to the MAC after nine seasons as an independent FBS team. The Minutemen let go of their previous coach Don Brown after a 6-28 record, appointing Harasymiak, who had a record of 20-15 as head coach of Maine from 2016-2018, alongside three seasons at Rutgers as the defensive coordinator.
The Minutemen will approach the offseason needing to revamp their roster to prevent another bleak season. Since their last MAC exit in 2016, they have managed to reach four wins only twice, with their last four-win season back in 2018 during Mark Whipple’s final tenure.
