WPI Engineers football  The WPI Engineers football team represents Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the sport of American football. The Engineers compete in Division III (DIII) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the NEWMAC. WPI's football program is one of the oldest in the country. The team has been coached by Chris Robertson since the 2010 season. WPI plays its home games at Alumni Stadium, located on the campus in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a capacity of 2,000. Prior to competing in collegiate football, WPI played association football (now known as the sport of soccer) from 1874–1876 and American rugby from 1877–1881. Starting in 1882, WPI would attempt to play football as a sport. It was not until 1885 that the football team was taken seriously. The 1887 season was the first in which the team competed as a varsity sport. Following their outstanding performance in the 1888 season, the Engineers were invited to join a football league of small New England colleges, but the faculty refused the idea and barred the team from playing any away games. The Institute's opinion of football would improve by the turn of the century and give more support to the team. WPI has appeared in 4 bowl games and have a 2–2 record.