The men's basketball program has a history of over 100 years. The Minutemen, as they have been called since 1972, celebrated their 100th season in
2008–09. Though the program's first game was played on January 10, 1900, there were several years in which no team was assembled. at UMass. The program's first coach was
Harold M. Gore, who in 11 seasons compiled a record of 85–53 (.616 win percentage), highlighted by a 12–2 season in 1925–26. In 1933–34, Massachusetts was the only undefeated team in men's college basketball, going 12–0. For the 1948–49 season, Massachusetts joined the
Yankee Conference to mark the first time they participated in conference play. UMass would go on to be 10-time champions of the Yankee Conference. The 1960s and 1970s were prosperous for the program. The 1961–62 team went 15–9 and participated in the
NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. They would go on to win 4 Yankee Conference titles in the 1960s, and played in the
NIT at the end of the 1969–70 season. Though not a nationally recognized name, the program's coach with the most wins was
Jack Leaman. Leaman guided Massachusetts to 217 wins, and coached players including
Julius Erving,
Al Skinner,
Rick Pitino and
Tom McLaughlin. The program compiled a record of 142–103 (.580) in the 1960s. The 1969–70 team featured Julius Erving. In his first game with the varsity team, a 90–85 win over Providence College, Erving scored 27 points and grabbed 28 rebounds. In the first eight seasons of the 1970s, the Redmen/Minutemen compiled a record of 152–65 (.700). They won 5 Yankee Conference titles, and played in 5 NITs (the Yankee Conference did not have an NCAA tournament automatic bid). The early 1970s teams featured players such as Erving,
Al Skinner, and
Rick Pitino. Jack Leaman, who coached the team for 13 seasons, hung it up after the 1978–79 season, with a record of 217–126 (.632). Though Leaman's last season as coach of the men's team was 1978–79, he remained a key part of the UMass Athletic Department until he died in 2004.
John Calipari era 1988–1996 The Minutemen fell on hard times in the late 1970s and 1980s, but would rebound under the direction of rookie coach
John Calipari, perhaps the school's most recognizable coach, who took the head coaching job in 1988. Calipari took over a program that was on a streak of 10-straight losing seasons and had not been to the NCAA tournament since 1962. Calipari led UMass to the
NIT in his second season as head coach. In his fourth season, UMass won both the A-10 regular season and tournament championships. Over the next few seasons, Calipari took the team to new heights and frequent #1 rankings in the
AP weekly poll. In 1996, the Minutemen reached the Final Four for the first time. After the 1995–96 season, Calipari left UMass for the
NBA as the new head coach of the
New Jersey Nets. The 1990s were the defining decade for UMass basketball. Calipari helped the Minutemen become
A-10 Tournament Champs five consecutive times (
1992,
1993,
1994,
1995,
1996), and appeared in the NCAA tournament seven times, including two appearances in the
Elite Eight (
1995,
1996) and a
Final Four appearance (1996), the only appearance ever for the Minutemen. However, NCAA sanctions stripped the Minutemen of their 1996 NCAA tournament victories. The sanctions, based on star
Marcus Camby admitting he took money, clothes, and jewelry from an agent during the season, removed the Final Four from the record books. Additionally, 45% of tournament revenue had to be returned to the NCAA. Camby reimbursed the school for the $151,617 in lost revenue. (1988–1996) After Calipari resigned in 1996, his associate
Bruiser Flint coached from 1996–2001, and
Steve Lappas coached from 2001–2005.
Travis Ford era 2005–2008 In 2005,
Travis Ford replaced Lappas. Though the Minutemen struggled with a 13–15 record in Ford's first season of 2005–06, he quickly improved the team in the next two seasons. In
2006–07, the Minutemen were co-champions of the Atlantic 10 (along with
Xavier), reached the second round of the
NIT, and finished with a record of 24–9. In
2007–08, the Minutemen reached the
NIT championship game where they lost to
Ohio State 92–85 and finished with a record of 25–11. Following the
2007–08 season, his third with the Minutemen, he left to take the head coaching vacancy at
Oklahoma State.
Derek Kellogg era 2008–2017 On April 23, 2008, former Minutemen player
Derek Kellogg returned to Amherst and became the 21st coach of the program. In
2011–12 the Minutemen appeared in the
NIT after a successful season with a 22–11 record, reaching the semifinals, where they lost to
Stanford. The Minutemen were again invited to the
NIT in following the
2012–13. The
2013–14 season was a success as the Minutemen qualified for the
NCAA tournament for the first time in 16 years. The team started off the season 10–0 and then 16–1, while reaching as high as #13 in the AP poll, and #12 in the Coaches poll. However, the Minutemen, a #6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, were defeated in their first game against #11 seeded
Tennessee. In the
2014–15 season, the Minutemen regressed, finishing with a 17–15 overall record, and an eighth place finish in conference. The team also had sub-.500 seasons in each of the next two, and Kellogg was fired on March 9, 2017.
Matt McCall era 2017–2022 Shortly after Kellogg was fired, the school announced that
Winthrop head coach
Pat Kelsey had been hired as the new head coach at UMass. However, shortly before the press conference to announce his hiring, Kelsey announced he would not accept the position. On March 31, the school announced they had hired
Chattanooga head coach
Matt McCall. McCall's five-year tenure at the school was not successful, and he was fired just before the end of the 2022 season. His overall record at UMass finished at 61–82, and the team failed to advance past the conference tournament's quarterfinal round in each of the five seasons.
Frank Martin era 2022–present UMass announced it had hired former
University of South Carolina head coach
Frank Martin on March 25, 2022. In Martin's first season at the helm, the Minutemen finished 15–16 with a 6–12 mark in conference play, but the team improved in his second, finishing with a 20–11 overall record, and a fourth-place conference finish at 11–7. Prior to the
2025-26 season, UMass left the Atlantic 10 conference and rejoined the Mid-American Conference (MAC) as a full member. ==Rivalries==