First season 1887 Playoff record 0-1 Seating capacity 2,000 | Stadium Alumni Stadium All-time record 346–535–29 (.396) Bowl record 0–2–0 (.000) Mascot Gompei the Goat | |
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Past conferences Independent (1887–1972)DIII Independent (1973–1991)Freedom Football Conference (1992–2003)Liberty League (2004-2016) Head coach Chris Robertson; 8th year, 27–41–0 (.397) Conference New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference | ||
The WPI Engineers football team represents Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the sport of American football. The Engineers compete in the Division III (DIII) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the NEWMAC. WPI's football program is one of the oldest in the world (i.e. North America). The team is currently coached by Chris Robertson.
WPI plays its home games at Alumni Stadium, located on the campus in Worcester, Massachusetts,with a capacity of 2,000.
History
Prior to competing in collegiate football, WPI played association football (now known as the sport of soccer) from 1874-1876 and American rugby from 1877-1881. Starting in 1882, WPI would attempt to play football as a sport. It was not until 1885 that the football team was taken seriously. The 1887 season was the first in which the team competed as a varsity sport. Following their outstanding performance in the 1888 season, the Engineers were invited to join a football league of small New England colleges, but the faculty refused the idea and barred the team from playing any away games. The Institute's opinion of football would improve by the turn of the century and give more support to the team.