Paul Harrison remembers back before UMass Dartmouth had a Division III football team. Back then, the club football players had to use a tape measurer to paint the lines on the field themselves. He said they were up until 8:30 at night painting lines and collapsed around the 50-yard mark when they finished.

During UMass Dartmouth’s Alumni Weekend event, members of the 1985 Corsair Club Football Team were honored at a Corsair Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and at a football game the following night.

The team started with a student-led movement to get a club football program on campus. The first three years were on a trial basis, and, after great success, the program paved the way for Division III football at UMass Dartmouth.

“They used to have intramural flag football, and the kids thought, ‘Why can’t we have our own football team? Everybody else does.’ So they formed a board and brought it to student government,” said Paul Harrison, the head coach of the 1885 club football team.

“There were 4,000 votes, and only 100 said no. It was the students that wanted the program, and that’s why we had great crowds,” he said.

Harrison said the student government not only supported club football, but they also instituted a $15 activity fee, which enabled the school to start the program. The athletic fee would also be used to fund bleachers, goal posts and a fence for the football field. Back in 1985, those amenities were not available to the players and fans.

“It was a dirt field with patches of grass all over the place. They’ve come a long way,” said Jeff McKay, a player from the 1985 team.

McKay, who went by the nickname Mad Dog, said the original practice field had a few rows of benches that were used in place of bleachers. He said that, because their practice space was so primitive, the team had to host home games at local high schools such as New Bedford High School.

“When we started, people said that we wouldn’t even win a game. We did way better than anybody thought,” said McKay.

McKay attributes their success to the newness of the team. Because no one had previously played together before, everyone had to befriend one another to gel as a team.

“The first scrimmage we had was the naval academy in Newport,” said Harrison. “We got killed. The second scrimmage, we improved. We told the kids, ‘Trust us. We’re going to do the very best we can for you. We know you’re trying.’”

During the team’s first game, they were up against Providence College, a team that Harrison said was predicted to win. They not only bested Providence – the first football game in Umass Dartmouth’s history – but they went on to finish the season 5-2 as Co-New England Collegiate Football Conference Champions.

“That’s the beauty of this. You got a school here where a Division III athlete can play the game,” said Christopher O’Neil, a member of the 1985 team. “If you want to play football and go to a state school, back in that day the only place you could go was UMass Amherst, which was Division I. Division III football players didn’t have an option.”

The 1985 team was honored at halftime during a Homecoming game against Plymouth State. As the 1985 team looked on from the sidelines, the Corsairs handily defeated the Panthers, 29-13.

“It was a wonderful time for all of us,” said Harrison.