Tufts Jumbos football

The Tufts Jumbos football program represents Tufts University in the sport of college football. The team competes in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).^[3] Tufts plays its home games at Ellis Oval, located on the campus in Medford, Massachusetts. The team's head coach is Jay Civetti, who has led the Jumbos since 2011.^[4]

Tufts Jumbos football
First season	1874; 151 years ago
Athletic director	John Morris
Head coach	Jay Civetti 14th season, 56–55 (.505)
Stadium	Ellis Oval (capacity: 4,000)
Field	Zimman Field
Location	Medford, Massachusetts
NCAA division	Division III
Conference	NESCAC
Past conferences	Northern Intercollegiate Football Association (1885–1886)[1] Independent (1887–1970)
Colors	Tufts blue and brown[2]
Website	gotuftsjumbos.com

History

1875 Tufts team

A Tufts football team has played since the 1874–75 season.^[5][6][7] The Tufts football team played its first game on June 4, 1875, against Harvard, which Tufts won by a score of 1–0. This game is considered the first game of American football between two American colleges, with each team fielding 11 men, the ball being advanced by kicking or carrying it, and tackles of the ball carrier stopping play.^[8] During the 1875–76 season, Tufts played Bates on the Bates campus in Lewiston, Maine, for the first organized intercollegiate football game played in Maine.^[9]

In one of the largest shutout wins in team history, Tufts defeated the 1914 New Hampshire football team by a score of 83–0.^[10]

One Tufts player, William Grinnell (1909–1997), a varsity member during the 1930s, has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.^[11]

The 1,000th game in team history was played during the 2006 season.^[12]

Seasons

Tufts vs. Harvard at College Hill, October 1875

Original ball from the Tufts–Brown game played in November 1892

Season	Head coach	Conference	Finished	Wins	Losses	Ties
1875	Luman Aldrich	Independent	—	2	1	0
1876–77			—	1	0	1
1877	Scott Campbell		—	0	3	0
1884	Dwight Griswold		—	2	4	1
1885	Fred P. Chapman	NIFA	2nd	2	3[a]	0
1886	James Gallety		2nd	0	8	0
1887	Frank W. Durkee	Independent	—	4	6	0
1889	Martin		—	3	1	0
1890	Charles Stover		—	2	3	0
1891	Wilfred Russ		—	7	1	0
1892	A. G. Baillet		—	8	2	0
1893	Haskell		—	4	7	0
1894	H. W. Hamlin		—	6	5	0
1895	Marshall Newell		—	8	5	0
1896			—	2	6	1
1897	Joshua Damon Upton		—	6	7	0
1898			—	1	9	0
1899	E. A. Locke		—	7	4	0
1900	Hopkins		—	3	6	1
1901	J. C. Pearson		—	6	6	1
1902			—	4	6	1
1903	Charles Whelan		—	5	8	0
1904			—	2	9	1
1905			—	5	3	0
1906			—	6	2	0
1907			—	3	4	1
1908	Nate Pulsifer		—	1	6	1
1909	Edward N. Robinson[13]		—	2	6	0
1910	Vin H. Sheehy		—	1	7	1
1911	Clark Tobin		—	3	4	0
1912	Charles Whelan		—	5	4	0
1913			—	7	1	0
1914			—	5	3	0
1915			—	5	1	2
1916			—	5	3	0
1917			—	3	3	0
1918	Al Pierotti[14]		—	2	3	0
1919	Charles Whelan		—	2	5	0
1920	William Parks		—	2	6	0
1921			—	1	5	2
1922	Eddie Casey		—	5	4	0
1923			—	6	2	0
1924			—	3	4	2
1925			—	1	6	0
1926	Arthur Sampson		—	4	4	0
1927			—	8	0	0
1928			—	5	2	1
1929			—	5	1	2
1930	Lewis Manly		—	5	2	0
1931			—	3	2	2
1932			—	5	1	2
1933			—	6	2	0
1934			—	8	0	0
1935			—	1	5	2
1936			—	3	3	1
1937			—	3	4	1
1938			—	1	6	1
1939			—	3	4	1
1940			—	4	4	0
1941			—	5	3	0
1942			—	2	5	1
1943			—	6	2	0
1944			—	1	4	1
1945			—	4	1	0
1946	Frederick M. Ellis		—	1	6	0
1947			—	5	3	0
1948			—	3	4	1
1949			—	5	3	1
1950			—	4	4	1
1951			—	0	7	2
1952		—	3	4	1
1953		—	4	3	0
1954	Harry Arlanson	—	6	2	0
1955		—	5	2	0
1956		—	6	1	0
1957		—	6	1	1
1958		—	6	2	0
1959		—	5	2	1
1960		—	7	1	0
1961		—	5	3	0
1962		—	5	3	0
1963		—	2	6	0
1964		—	3	5	0
1965		—	1	7	0
1966	Rocco J. Carzo	—	1	7	0
1967		—	1	6	1
1968		—	5	3	0
1969		—	6	2	0
1970		—	1	7	0
1971		NESCAC	—	3	5	0
1972			—	4	4	0
1973			—	1	7	0
1974	Paul Pawlak		—	3	5	0
1975			—	2	6	0
1976			—	6	2	0
1977			—	3	5	0
1978	Vic Gatto		—	5	3	0
1979			—	8	0	0
1980			—	6	2	0
1981			—	5	2	1
1982			—	6	2	0
1983			—	4	3	1
1984			—	0	7	1
1985	Duane Ford		—	3	4	1
1986			—	7	1	0
1987			—	4	4	0
1988			—	4	3	1
1989			—	6	2	0
1990			—	6	2	0
1991			—	5	3	0
1992			—	3	4	1
1993			—	1	7	0
1994	Bill Samko		—	2	6	0
1995			—	4	4	0
1996			—	1	7	0
1997			—	3	5	0
1998			—	7	1	0
1999			—	4	4	0
2000			T–7th	2	6	0
2001			3rd	6	2	0
2002			T-6th	3	5	0
2003			T–3rd	5	3	0
2004			T–7th	2	6	0
2005			T–7th	2	6	0
2006			5th	4	4	0
2007			4th	5	3	0
2008			T–5th	4	4	0
2009			T–8th	2	6	0
2010			T–9th	1	7	0
2011	Jay Civetti		10th	0	8	0
2012			10th	0	8	0
2013			T–9th	0	8	0
2014			6th	4	4	0
2015			3rd	6	2	0
2016			2nd	7	1	0
2017			6th	5	4	0
2018			3rd	7	2	0
2019			T–5th	4	5	0
2020			Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021			6th	4	5	0
2022			T–3rd	6	3	0
2023			T–3rd	6	3	0
2024			T–2nd	7	2	0

^[15][16][17]

Individual accomplishments

College Football Hall of Fame inductees

In 1951, the College Football Hall of Fame opened in South Bend, Indiana. Since then, Tufts has had 1 player inducted into the Hall of Fame.^[18]

Player	Pos.	Tenure	Inducted
William Grinnell	End	1932–1934	1997

Notes

1. Alternative sources indicate a 2–4 record for the 1885 season.^[1]