| Tufts Jumbos football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First season | 1875 |
| Athletic director | John Morris |
| Head coach | Jay Civetti 13th season, 51–54 (.486) |
| Stadium | Ellis Oval (capacity: 4,000) |
| Field | Zimman Field |
| Location | Medford, Massachusetts |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | New England Small College Athletic Conference |
| Past conferences | Northern Intercollegiate Football Association (1885–1886)[1] Independent (1887–1970) |
| Colors | Tufts blue and brown[2] |
| Website | gotuftsjumbos.com |
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).[3] The team's head coach is Jay Civetti, who has led the Jumbos since 2011.[4]
The 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]
Tufts plays its home game at Ellis Oval, located on the campus in Medford, Massachusetts. One Tufts player, William Grinnell, has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
- ^ "Tufts Digital Library". dl.tufts.edu.
- ^ Tufts University Visual Identity Standards Quick Guide (PDF). Retrieved June 30, 2016.
- ^ "NCAA Directory - Directory - Member Listing". web3.ncaa.org. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
- ^ "Jay Civetti". Tufts. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
- ^ "Tufts Journal: Features: Gridiron history".
- ^ "The Tufts Daily". 21 October 2004.
- ^ "Tufts".
- ^ Dupont, Kevin Paul (September 23, 2004). "Gridiron gridlock: Citing research, Tufts claims football history is on its side". The Boston Globe.