AMHERST — UMass will send a bus with players and coaches from its football program to Maryland, Thursday night to allow them to attend the funeral of senior offensive lineman Michael Boland, who died suddenly on Saturday.
The NCAA now allows athletic programs to help their athletes get to funerals.
“We’re very thankful to be able to do that for them,” said UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford, who said the school is offering access to counseling to any one affected by his loss. “Through our division of student affairs we’ve set up some opportunities and done some outreach.
“There’s a grieving process for everybody,” he continued. “We want to respect the family and make we support them in every way. We want to be certain the 120 guys on the roster, who built a relationship with him in different ways have all the abilities to manage this moving forward.”
Bamford said Boland was an example of how the athletic department wants it athletes to represent it.
“This is a tough one. We feel so bad for his family. Obviously our deepest condolences to them,” Bamford said. “We had a lot of respect for the things he did here in the classroom, in the community and certainly in football. He represented the university in all the right ways. He will be missed.”
There will be calling hours at 10 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, 9200 Kentsdale Drive, Potomac, Maryland followed by a noon memorial mass on site.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael M. Boland, Jr. Scholarship Fund at Georgetown Preparatory School, 10900 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, Maryland 20852.
WALDRON MOURNING — Former UMass offensive line coach Shane Waldon, who helped recruit Boland to Amherst, paid tribute to him Tuesday.
“I can’t say enough positive things about him,” said Waldron, who now works for the Washington Redskins. “Mike was the type of player every coach would love to have, the type of friend everyone wanted and the type of son every parent would be proud of.”
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage