The Flagship Pod

Rene and Christian back with a look back at UMass' spring game and spring practice overall, taking a look at the Minutemen's new additions and glancing ahead to the 2026 season.

Minuteman fans get to hear from the man who raised new UMass quarterback Pop Watson both on the field and off it as his father and former coach, Bill Watson joins the Flagship Pod. Bill Watson, the head football and basketball coach at Springfield Central High School, talks about his son’s initial recruiting process, the process that led Pop into the transfer portal and why UMass ultimately emerged as the right fit. Coach Watson talks about helping his son understand the value of challenges and even failures and how those lessons should help him as he takes on the challenge of helping turn UMass around. He offers his impressions of UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak, who he was impressed with long before his son was even in the portal. He also offers his thoughts on what UMass fans should expect from new offensive coordinator Max Warner, offering insight into Warner’s offensive approach and how Pop fits within it. Watson talks about how his son has been active recruiting other players in the transfer portal, leaning into the role of a leader within the program before he even arrives in Amherst. Watson also coached another one of UMass’ primary portal targets, receiver Joe Griffin. He offers a detailed evaluation of Griffin and what UMass would be getting if it were fortunate enough to land him in the portal.

Christian McCollum and Tommy Guy sit down to talk about Pop Watson, a top transfer QB target for UMass who Tommy has trained since Watson was 8 years old. They also break down 2026 UMass QB signee Aedan McCarthy in the Film Room.

Rene & Christian wrap up the regular season, preview National Signing Day & look ahead.

Rene & Christian take a quick look back at the Minutemen’s loss to Ohio earlier this week and peek ahead to the season finale against Bowling Green next Tuesday before chatting about UMass’ current recruiting class and more.

A special episode of the Flagship Pod as UMass’ new Senior Deputy AD Thorr Bjorn ‘90 joins the show. Bjorn explains why he’s so excited for his new role at his alma mater, why he was willing to leave after 18 years as the athletic director at Rhode Island, why he believes Joe Harasymiak is a great coach, why there is hope for UMass Football and much, much more.

Episode 29 of the Flagship Pod takes a look at UMass’ disappointing loss to Akron on Tuesday night. Rene Ingoglia tells Minuteman Command’s Christian McCollum why this is the lowest he’s felt in 35 years of bleeding Maroon & White.

Rene Ingoglia is joined by Minuteman Command’s Christian McCollum for the latest edition of The Flagship Pod. Rene and Christian look back at another disappointing week for the UMass Football team, take a look ahead to the start of MACtion on Tuesday and more.

Rene Ingoglia is joined by Minuteman Command's Christian McCollum for the latest edition of The Flagship Pod.  Rene and Christian break down the disastrous to Buffalo, including an in-depth breakdown of the late-game decisions and what went wrong. Rene also offers his thoughts on exactly where the buck stops when it comes to UMass Football.

UMass linebacker Tyler Martin joins the show to talk with Mike and Rene about the season thus far and a glimpse inside the program from a player’s perspective. Mike and Rene then talk about the disappointment of the 0-6 start and more.

Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia are back with their UMass podcast as the MAC play continues. They take a look back at the Western Michigan game a look forward to this week’s game against Kent State and more.

Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia are back with their UMass podcast as the calendar flips to October and conference play is set to begin. They take a look back at the Missouri game, which Rene called for ESPNU. They a look forward to this week’s game against Western Michigan, the uncertainty at the quarterback position going into MAC play and more.

Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia are joined by Massachusetts Collective Founder Patrick MacWilliams, who explains how he came to be in the space, the changes that have occurred since - and continue to occur now - and what the future may look like. Mike and Rene look ahead to this week's game against Missouri as well as the upcoming MAC schedule and comment on AD Ryan Bamford's Monday press conference.

Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia are back as UMass Football heads into its bye week. Mike and Rene take a look back at this past week's Iowa game, provide a small update on CB TJ Magee, but take an overall look at where things are now and where they need to go moving forward.

As he explains, this week's episode is a therapeutic experience for Rene Ingoglia and Mike Corey following the loss to Bryant. Rene offers passionate soliloquy at the top of the show regarding his thoughts on the program past, present & future while also explaining why this is personal to him.  Mike captures the emotion of a good chunk of the fan base while looking back at the game, especially one decision late that even head coach Joe Harasymiak has acknowledged he now regrets. 

UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak joins Rene and Mike to look back on the opener against Temple, preview this coming week’s game against Bryant and talk about his plans for bringing the Minutemen back. Harasymiak takes multiple opportunities to speak directly to the UMass faithful.

Game Week has arrived!!! Mike and Rene are joined by Jay Burnham, the Voice of the Minutemen, to preview Saturday's season-opener against Temple, the UMass depth chart, the overall vibes around the program under new coach Joe Harasymiak and more. Stick around to the end of the pod as the guys reveal next week's special guest. And be sure to check out MinutemanCommand.com for all of your UMass coverage leading up to and after this weekend's game.

Minutemen Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford joins the 18th episode of Rene & Mike's UMass podcast.  Bamford opens up about the move to the MAC, UMass' positioning within the conference with regard to NIL and House Settlement, future football schedules, conference realignment, the ongoing process of upgrading the Stadium, ScriptU and much more, including how the changes impact men's basketball, women's basketball, ice hockey & more.  This is one Flagship Pod🚩you will not want to miss. 

Mike Corey & Rene Ingoglia are back together for Episode 17 of their UMass Athletics podcast. This week, they are joined by UMass Director of High Performance/Head Football Sports Performance Coach George Greene.  You will not want to miss the insight Greene offers on what his job entails, the technology involved and how detail-oriented the Minutemen are when it comes to making sure their players reach their physical peaks. 

Mike Corey & Rene Ingoglia are back together for Episode 16 of their UMass Athletics podcast. This week, they're joined by the Command's Christian McCollum.  The crew talk about the first week of Fall Camp and go over the Minutemen's roster position-by-position, including the three-man quarterback battle. 

Mike Corey & Rene Ingoglia are back together for Episode 15 of their UMass Athletics podcast.   This week, they welcome ESPN's Dustin Fox, who hosted MAC Football Media Day last week.    Fox offers his thoughts on the MAC this year, the addition of UMass and runs down the Minutemen's schedule predicting each game.

Mike Corey & Rene Ingoglia are back together for Episode 14 of their UMass Athletics podcast. This week, the guys talk about some national stories, including Heisman Trophy odds for the upcoming season.

Mike Corey & Rene Ingoglia are back together for Episode 13 of their UMass Athletics podcast. This week, the guys are joined by the Voice of the Houston Texans and former UMass play-by-play guy, Marc Vandermeer. 

Mike Corey is joined by Christian McCollum, filling in for Rene Ingoglia this week.    They talk about Mike's birdie on the famous Island Green, EA Sports' College Football '26 video game and how realistic it is for UMass and McGuirk Alumni Stadium. They also talk about the Minutemen's current 2026 recruiting efforts and how the class is really a microcosm of what Joe Harasymiak is trying to build in Amherst.

The day UMass officially became members of the MAC, Christian McCollum fills in for Mike Corey as guest host, joining Rene Ingoglia to talk about conference realignment, the dominoes that have already fallen and could fall in the future.

Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia are back for their 10th episode of their UMass Athletics podcast.

For the ninth episode of their Minuteman Athletics podcast, UMass grads Mike Corey & Rene Ingoglia are joined by UMass Executive Director of Student-Athlete Marketing, Recruitment and Retention Jay Bermant. Bermant takes us through the recent House Settlement, what it means for UMass and much more. The guys also hit on the insane success UMass had with this past weekend's official visits for the 2026 recruiting class and more.

On the eighth episode of the pod, fellow UMass grad and Minuteman Command co-founder Christian McCollum fills in for Rene Ingoglia and joins Mike Corey.  Mike & Christian talk about the Minuteman Command origin story, Mike's trip to the ScriptU Golf Outing earlier this week, the recent House Settlement, June official visits, the upcoming UMass QB battle and more.  

The seventh episode of UMass grads Rene Ingoglia and Mike Corey's new podcast focused on Minutemen Football & Basketball. This week, Rene and Mike are joined by ESPN Senior Writer and 1994 UMass grad Dan Wetzel.

The sixth episode of UMass grads Rene Ingoglia and Mike Corey's new podcast focused on Minutemen Football & Basketball. This week, the guys talk about last week's in-depth feature on UMass from The Athletic and more.

The fifth episode of UMass grads Rene Ingoglia and Mike Corey's new podcast focused on Minutemen Football & Basketball. This week, the guys talk about last week's in-depth feature on UMass from The Athletic, which Rene was featured in along with interviews with new UMass special teams coordinator Joe Castellitto as well as Keegan Andrews, the Minutemen's new Australian punter.

The fourth episode of UMass grads Rene Ingoglia and Mike Corey's new podcast focused on Minutemen Football & Basketball. This week, hear interviews with new UMass defensive coordinator Jared Keyte as well as safety transfer Malcolm Greene, who was at Clemson and Virginia before he made the move to Amherst. Subscribe to all things MinutemanCommand.com now for FREE. 

UMass grads Rene Ingoglia and Mike Corey are back with the third episode of their new podcast. They have interviews with UMass super donor Marty Jacobson along with UMass grad Brad Davidson, who is working with Corey on an upcoming documentary about UMass Hoops' run to greatness. Head to 283productions.com for more info on the doc, including a sizzle reel.

UMass grads Rene Ingoglia and Mike Corey are back with Episode 2 of their new podcast. They have interviews with new Minuteman offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian and UMass receiver T.Y. Harding. They also hit on the NFL Draft, UMass Basketball's newest commit and more.

UMass grads Rene Ingoglia and Mike Corey debut their new podcast from UMass' spring game in Amherst. The introduce themselves, offering backgrounds on their time at UMass, their careers, their relationship and the outlook for the program under new head coach Joe Harasymiak.  They run down the schedule and give you their broad outlook for the season.