UMass Hockey Coach Greg Carvel Has Been Extended Through the 2025-26 Season

AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts hockey head coach Greg Carvel has been extended through the 2025-26 season, Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford announced on

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Friday. The new five-year rolling contract for the reigning USCHO and College Hockey News Coach of the Year comes on the heels of the Minutemen’s first NCAA and Hockey East Tournament Championships in 2020-21.

“We are very pleased to grow our investment in Greg Carvel and the national championship hockey program he has built in Amherst,” said Bamford. “Coach Carvel’s outstanding leadership has produced remarkable results in the classroom, in competition and in the community. This new contract affirms our strong commitment to keep Greg and his family in maroon and white for years to come. Under Greg’s continued charge, we believe our nationally renowned program will remain a significant point of pride on campus and around the Commonwealth.”

“I want to thank Ryan Bamford, Chancellor Subbaswamy and President Meehan for displaying their trust in me and their continued support for our hockey program through this contract extension,” said Carvel. “I have tremendous pride in the accomplishments of our hockey team over the past five years and I look forward to the continual elevation of our program over the life of this contract. I came to UMass because I believed the leadership and resources were in place to continually achieve national success. UMass has been a great fit for me and my family is excited that this contract will allow us to call Amherst our home for many years to come.”

The new contract (April 11, 2021 – April 10, 2026), which will automatically add an additional year to the agreement on April 11 of each contract year (unless Carvel is provided notice by the university), includes a substantially increased annual compensation package, salary increases based on team performance, new or increased academic and competitive performance bonuses and a new supplemental retirement contribution plan.

Carvel guided the Minutemen to the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey National Championship, the first in program history, as the squad defeated St. Cloud State, 5-0, on April 10, 2021. En route to the title, UMass outscored its opponents 27-6 in the 2020-21 postseason, and 17-3 in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s imperative that I thank my outstanding staff, as well as the many extraordinary young men who have made the sacrifices off of the ice and won the battles on the ice that ultimately earned a National Championship,” Carvel added. “I feel genuinely grateful for all of this and am honored to serve our university and it’s exceptional student-athletes.”

Additionally in 2020-21, Carvel led UMass to the No. 3 seed in the Hockey East Tournament and the squad won three games on home ice to secure the Minutemen’s first Hockey East Tournament Championship. Five Minutemen garnered Hockey East All-Star honors, the second highest total in program history, while Bobby Trivigno was named the program's first-ever winner of the Walter Brown Award as the best American-born player in New England.

Trivigno earned a First Team All-America nod, as well, and defenseman Zac Jones was tabbed a Second Team All-American. UMass ended the 2020-21 campaign on a 14-game unbeaten streak, the longest unbeaten streak in program history, going 11-0-3 since January 22 and the Minutemen finished with a 20-5-4 record, the fewest losses for an NCAA Champion since Maine's 40-1-2 season in 1992-93.

Over the past five years, Massachusetts hockey has reached new heights under Carvel's guidance, including four of the top-10 winningest seasons in UMass' 91-season history, the program's first NCAA title, first NCAA Runner-Up finish, first Hockey East regular season and tournament titles and first Hobey Baker winner. On his watch, the Minutemen posted their third-straight 20-win season in 2020-21. In addition to his USCHO and College Hockey News accolades in 2021, Carvel was tabbed the Spencer Penrose winner in 2019 as National Coach of the Year, the 2019 Clark Hodder Award winner (New England Coach of the Year) and the Hockey East Bob Kullen Coach of the Year. He was also the 2021 Spencer Penrose runner-up.

During Carvel’s tenure at UMass, the Minutemen have had two Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalists, five All-Americans, the program’s first Hockey East Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, a Hockey East Scoring Champion, a Leonard Fowle Award Winner (New England MVP), a Bob Monahan Award Winner (New England's Best Defenseman), two Herb Gallagher Award Winners (New England's Best Forward), a George C. Carens Award Winner (New England Rookie of the Year), four New England All-Stars, 14 Hockey East All-Stars and eight players signed to NHL contracts.

For continued coverage of UMass hockey, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@UMassHockey) and on Facebook at facebook.com/UMassHockey.