Mark Robichaud
| Position: | Head Coach |
Mark Robichaud is entering his fifth season as
head football coach at UMass Dartmouth as the third coach in school
history and the coach with the second longest tenure. Robichaud
succeeded long-time Head Coach Bill Kavanaugh four seasons ago. His
teams have posted a 14-26 record during his first four seasons. The
six wins in 2008 marked the Corsairs' highest victory total since
they won seven games in 2004. This year, Robichaud is looking for
continued improvement that will translate into success. Robichaud
joined the UMass Dartmouth staff after a long career as an
assistant coach in the collegiate ranks, followed by a year as an
assistant coach at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth.
Most of his staff has been on board since he started at UMD, which
is a plus. "We have a very good staff," said Robichaud. "We added a
new coach this fall, but most of our staff is back. This will be
the fifth year that they are together." Prior to coaching at Stang,
Robichaud spent nine years as an assistant at Shepherd College, an
NCAA Division II power in West Virginia. A Springfield College
graduate, Robichaud served two different stints as an assistant
coach at his alma mater, sandwiched around a stint at Milford
Academy. He then served as the inside linebackers coach at
Wesleyan, and was the defensive coordinator while teaching physical
education at the University of Chicago. In 1992, he began his stint
at Shepherd, where he served as defensive line coach, recruiting
coordinator and athletic-academic advisor. During his tenure, the
Rams went 54-31, posted eight winning seasons, were the champions
of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference five
times, and advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs three times,
twice reaching the second round. He served under Monte Cater, whose
teams won 140 games in 20 seasons, ranking him as the all-time
leader at Shepherd in both victories and conference championships
with 10. Robichaud served as an assistant at Brown during the
spring of 2000. Since that time, he has assisted both at Portsmouth
High School in Rhode Island and at Stang while teaching physical
education at Westport Middle School. "I'm very optimistic about the
season, this has been our best opening of camp so far," said
Robichaud. "Practices have been really good, there's a lot of
enthusiasm, the team is starting to understand what we expect from
them, and it's really been fun." Robichaud and his wife, Tricia,
have two children, Erik and Kara, and reside in Little Compton, RI.
Erik is now in his fourth year at the United States Military
Academy after graduating from Bishop Stang HS. Kara is a recent
high school graduate.
