# Tufts Jumbos football

The Tufts Jumbos football program represents Tufts University in the sport of American football. The team competes in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Tufts plays its home game 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.

## History

A Tufts football team has played since the 1874–75 season. 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. 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.
In one of the largest shutout wins in team history, Tufts defeated the 1914 New Hampshire football team by a score of 83–0.
One Tufts player, William Grinnell (1909–1997), a varsity member during the 1930s, has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
The 1,000th game in team history was played during the 2006 season.

### Seasons

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

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