Colleges: UMass hockey No. 1

The UMass men’s hockey program is ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time in schoo history. The Minutemen (12-1-0) earned the top spot in the latest USCHO Division 1 poll released yesterday.

UMass, which was No. 3 last week, received 26 of the 50 first-place votes and a a total of 964 points, just five ahead of No. 2 St. Cloud State. The Minutemen played only once last week, a 7-4 rout of UConn. The play a home-and-home set with No. 8 Quinnipiac on Friday and Saturday, the latter game at home.

Providence is ranked No. 10 in the poll, while Northeastern is No. 13. BC and BU both are unranked . ...

UMass hired Florida State offensive coordinator Walt Bell as its new head coach. The 34-year-old Bell has been a fast riser in college coaching, going from a graduate assistant at Southern Mississippi to offensive coordinator at two Power Five schools . ...

Louisville has reached an agreement with Appalachian State’s Scott Satterfield to be the Cardinals’ next head football coach . ...

East Carolina hired Mike Houston as its next football coach. Houston led James Madison to a 37-6 mark and a national title in the past three years . ...

Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray andOhioState’s Dwayne Haskins are the finalists for the Heisman Trophy, ensuring a quarterback will win the award for the 16th time in the past 19 years .. ...

UConn is back as the No. 1 team in the women’s basketball poll after its 18-point win Sunday against the previous top-ranked team, Notre Dame.