Hofstra Drops Football
by John B on Dec 5, 2009 1:07 PM EST
Email
PrintThis was from a few days ago but still news worthy. Hofstra University has decided to drop its football program.
Hofstra University, which has fielded a football team for the past 69 years, is dropping the sport.
The school said it cut the program because of costs and fading interest and will use the $4.5 million spent annually on the team on scholarships and other priorities.
The board of trustees voted unanimously Wednesday night to shut the program, which had been in existence since the Long Island school's founding in 1937. The coaching staff was told Thursday morning, sources told ESPN.com.
Hofstra, which has competed in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA) since 1991, is the second member of the Colonial Athletic Association to drop its football program in the past 10 days. Northeastern University, in Boston, announced Nov. 23 it was dropping its program after 74 seasons.
"The cost of the football program, now and in the future, far exceeds the return possible," Hofstra president Stuart Rabinowitz said Thursday. He added that despite Hofstra having sent several players to the NFL, the program does not attract enough national attention.
Hofstra was home to Jets training camp for years prior to 2009 and housed their practices before the team moved into its state of the art facility in Florham Park last year. It was this partnership that led the Jets to give a tryout to an unknown and undrafted wide receiver named Wayne Chrebet in 1995. Maybe losing the Jets as a tenant hurt.
It's very sad to see this happen. Football programs do a lot for schools in term of pride and exposure. In these economic times, we see casualties like this. I think Hofstra will regret this decision.
5 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
As an alum i can say that...
Despite all the hub-bub and airing of discontent, nobody cares about the football program there. Nobody ever went to any games. Nobody ever talked about the team. The only positive for the program is having a few players succeed in the NFL. High School teams had far better attendance.
The Hoftra football program will not be missed, since nobody gave a damn about it when it was here to begin with.
Nobody may miss it, but football teams represent a major opportunities for universities to grow. Look at the way places like Penn State have grown as a result. There are plenty of schools that have invested in their programs to join the ranks of the big time recently like UConn and South Florida.
Editor-In-Chief
Gang Green Nation
SB Nation's Jets Blog
http://www.ganggreennation.com
But its all for naught...
if nobody, i mean NOBODY, goes to ANY of the games. The program was a drain on the budget for years.
If anybody other than local players’ parents attended games, and the program at least covered its cost, i’d say keep it. But that just wasnt the case, and hasn’t been for years.
Now that I think about it
I don’t even remember seeing any highlights of Hofstra football on the news. Ever. I can’t ever recall knowing what kind of season they were having, good or bad.
I just know Hofstra for Wayne Chrebet and the Jets practice facility.
and the home of the... JETS!!!
I go to hofstra....
I’m a senior at hofstra and the reason for dropping it is b/c our team is mediocre. If the university would have advised us about the need for funds, students would have went. Rabinowitz wants to focus on education, so that after the medical school is built; hofstra can build prestige and possibly become an ivy league school 5 years or so from now.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
