Colonel_Reb
Hall of Famer
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Two small schools have decided football isn't worth it. Wayne Chrebet shocked over Hofstra's decision. This is sad because both schools were fairly white friendly, but especially Hofstra.
Nov. 23, 2009
BOSTON (AP) -Northeastern University is dropping its football program after 74 years, saying it's too expensive to maintain.
President Joseph Aoun and the board of trustees endorsed the move
Friday after a two-year review of the Boston school's sports programs
by athletic director Peter Roby.
The program's 87 players and 10 coaches learned of the program's
demise Sunday night at a meeting on campus with Roby, a day after the
Football Championship Subdivision team won its final game 33-27 at
Rhode Island. The Huskies won their final two games to finish 3-8,
their sixth consecutive losing season.
The school made the announcement on its Web site Monday.
The school will honor team members' athletic scholarships.
Northeastern, which began playing football in 1933, had an all-time record of 289-364-17.
<div id="hn-line">Hofstra ends football; cites costs, weak interest</div>
By FRANK ELTMAN
(AP)
â€"
32 minutes ago</span>
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. â€" Hofstra University dropped football 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 school's founding in 1937.
"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.
"Given that,
along with the low level of interest, financial support and attendance
among our students, our alumni and the community, the choice was
painful, but clear."
Rabinowitz noted that even on the Hofstra
campus, there was little interest in the team. He said students were
offered free tickets to games, but an average of only 500 students
attended games at the 13,000-seat campus stadium, and that included
cheerleaders and a pep band. Hofstra has a student body of 12,500, but
only 4,200 live on campus. The average attendance this season â€"
students and nonstudents â€" was 4,260.
Rabinowitz said the stadium
would still be used for NCAA lacrosse matches, where crowds sometimes
top those at football games. It also will be used for high school
football playoff games and possibly outdoor concerts.
The
decision follows a two-year review of sports spending at Hofstra.
Rabinowitz said there are no plans to cut any other sports at the Long
Island school.
Last month, Northeastern University in Boston
dropped football after 74 years. Northeastern, like Hofstra, plays in
the Colonial Athletic Association. Four of the final eight teams left
in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs are from the league.
Hofstra was 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the league this season. Northeastern went 3-8, 3-5 in the CAA.
"We
know this is a difficult time for our football team members, their
dedicated coaches and loyal fans, and we will do everything we can to
help them navigate this transition as smoothly as possible," Rabinowitz
said.
He said the 84 players were told of the decision Thursday.
All players were told they can keep their scholarships if they remain
at the school. Those who transfer will be eligible to play immediately.
"It's
devastating," redshirt junior linebacker Rashad Swanson of San
Francisco said. "Football is pretty much our lives here. There's some
guys who are thinking about staying. But me, personally, I'm thinking
about leaving. I can't be here if I can't play football."
Keith Ferrara, a junior from Queens, said his teammates were shocked.
"It
was the last thing I was expecting them to say," he said. "I had no
idea it was coming. I want to play football, so I'm probably going to
transfer out."
Four former Hofstra players are now in the NFL:
Kyle Arrington of New England, Stephen Bowen of Dallas, Willie Colon of
Pittsburgh and Marques Colston of New Orleans. One of the best-known
Hofstra players to have played in the NFL was receiver Wayne Chrebet of
the New York Jets.
"I am both saddened and shocked to hear the
news that the Hofstra University football program has ceased," Colston
said. "I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to the university, my
coaches and my former teammates and I am sure that they share in my
disappointment."
While Hofstra and Northeastern are dropping the
sport, eight small schools have announced they will begin playing
football, including three next season.
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Former New York Jets receiver <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=WayneAChrebet&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date
:S:d1" target="_blank">Wayne
Chrebet</a> says he was shocked to learn that Hofstra University was
eliminating its intercollegiate football program because of its
cost and lack of fan support.
The Hofstra alumnus, who currently works for Morgan
Stanley, said in a telephone interview that he had a dozen text
messages about the school's decision when he landed in Toronto
in advance of tonight's National Football League game between
the Jets and the Buffalo Bills.
"We just built something that we thought was special,"Â
said the 36-year-old Chrebet, noting that the football program
started in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's
Division III before climbing to Division I-AA, one level below
top programs such as the University of Florida. "We got to be a
ranked team. We got a couple of guys in the pros. Hofstra got to
be a well-known school."Â
Hofstra's board voted unanimously to discontinue the
program to "redirect those resources toward academic
initiatives and need-based scholarships,"Â according to a letter
from Stuart Rabinowitz, the Hempstead, New York, university's
president, posted on its Web site.
Chrebet, who works for Morgan Stanley's Moldaver Group, a
wealth management team with six investment professionals at its
Red Bank, New Jersey, office, said he understood the university
was trying to cut costs and he was concerned about the players
currently on the team.
"You really feel for the guys there now,"Â he said. "What
do they do?"Â
Keeping Scholarships
Hofstra says that all former players who remain at the
school will keep their scholarships. If they transfer, they
would be eligible to play for their new schools immediately. The
program had 84 athletes, 11 coaches and cost $4.5 million a
year, the school said.
New Orleans Saints receiver Marques Colston, 26, also said
he was surprised at the school's decision and concerned about
the players currently on the team and wished them success.
"I don't know all of the different reasons behind the
decision but I will always fondly remember my collegiate days
playing for the Hofstra Pride,"Â he said in a statement.
Chrebet, a member of Hofstra's Athletic Hall of Fame,
became the first receiver in school history to gain 1,000 yards
in a season and holds the record for most touchdowns in a game,
with five. He retired from the Jets in 2006 after ll seasons in
the NFL, in which he caught more passes than any player in team
history except Don Maynard.
"I'm more shocked than anything,"Â said Chrebet. "I guess
this was a long time coming, but you just hoped it would keep
going."Â
To contact the reporter on this story:
Aaron Kuriloff in New York at
akuriloff@bloomberg.net. </div>
Two small schools have decided football isn't worth it. Wayne Chrebet shocked over Hofstra's decision. This is sad because both schools were fairly white friendly, but especially Hofstra.
Nov. 23, 2009
BOSTON (AP) -Northeastern University is dropping its football program after 74 years, saying it's too expensive to maintain.
President Joseph Aoun and the board of trustees endorsed the move
Friday after a two-year review of the Boston school's sports programs
by athletic director Peter Roby.
The program's 87 players and 10 coaches learned of the program's
demise Sunday night at a meeting on campus with Roby, a day after the
Football Championship Subdivision team won its final game 33-27 at
Rhode Island. The Huskies won their final two games to finish 3-8,
their sixth consecutive losing season.
The school made the announcement on its Web site Monday.
The school will honor team members' athletic scholarships.
Northeastern, which began playing football in 1933, had an all-time record of 289-364-17.
<div id="hn-line">Hofstra ends football; cites costs, weak interest</div>
By FRANK ELTMAN
(AP)
â€"
32 minutes ago</span>
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. â€" Hofstra University dropped football 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 school's founding in 1937.
"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.
"Given that,
along with the low level of interest, financial support and attendance
among our students, our alumni and the community, the choice was
painful, but clear."
Rabinowitz noted that even on the Hofstra
campus, there was little interest in the team. He said students were
offered free tickets to games, but an average of only 500 students
attended games at the 13,000-seat campus stadium, and that included
cheerleaders and a pep band. Hofstra has a student body of 12,500, but
only 4,200 live on campus. The average attendance this season â€"
students and nonstudents â€" was 4,260.
Rabinowitz said the stadium
would still be used for NCAA lacrosse matches, where crowds sometimes
top those at football games. It also will be used for high school
football playoff games and possibly outdoor concerts.
The
decision follows a two-year review of sports spending at Hofstra.
Rabinowitz said there are no plans to cut any other sports at the Long
Island school.
Last month, Northeastern University in Boston
dropped football after 74 years. Northeastern, like Hofstra, plays in
the Colonial Athletic Association. Four of the final eight teams left
in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs are from the league.
Hofstra was 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the league this season. Northeastern went 3-8, 3-5 in the CAA.
"We
know this is a difficult time for our football team members, their
dedicated coaches and loyal fans, and we will do everything we can to
help them navigate this transition as smoothly as possible," Rabinowitz
said.
He said the 84 players were told of the decision Thursday.
All players were told they can keep their scholarships if they remain
at the school. Those who transfer will be eligible to play immediately.
"It's
devastating," redshirt junior linebacker Rashad Swanson of San
Francisco said. "Football is pretty much our lives here. There's some
guys who are thinking about staying. But me, personally, I'm thinking
about leaving. I can't be here if I can't play football."
Keith Ferrara, a junior from Queens, said his teammates were shocked.
"It
was the last thing I was expecting them to say," he said. "I had no
idea it was coming. I want to play football, so I'm probably going to
transfer out."
Four former Hofstra players are now in the NFL:
Kyle Arrington of New England, Stephen Bowen of Dallas, Willie Colon of
Pittsburgh and Marques Colston of New Orleans. One of the best-known
Hofstra players to have played in the NFL was receiver Wayne Chrebet of
the New York Jets.
"I am both saddened and shocked to hear the
news that the Hofstra University football program has ceased," Colston
said. "I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to the university, my
coaches and my former teammates and I am sure that they share in my
disappointment."
While Hofstra and Northeastern are dropping the
sport, eight small schools have announced they will begin playing
football, including three next season.
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Former New York Jets receiver <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=WayneAChrebet&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date
:S:d1" target="_blank">WayneChrebet</a> says he was shocked to learn that Hofstra University was
eliminating its intercollegiate football program because of its
cost and lack of fan support.
The Hofstra alumnus, who currently works for Morgan
Stanley, said in a telephone interview that he had a dozen text
messages about the school's decision when he landed in Toronto
in advance of tonight's National Football League game between
the Jets and the Buffalo Bills.
"We just built something that we thought was special,"Â
said the 36-year-old Chrebet, noting that the football program
started in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's
Division III before climbing to Division I-AA, one level below
top programs such as the University of Florida. "We got to be a
ranked team. We got a couple of guys in the pros. Hofstra got to
be a well-known school."Â
Hofstra's board voted unanimously to discontinue the
program to "redirect those resources toward academic
initiatives and need-based scholarships,"Â according to a letter
from Stuart Rabinowitz, the Hempstead, New York, university's
president, posted on its Web site.
Chrebet, who works for Morgan Stanley's Moldaver Group, a
wealth management team with six investment professionals at its
Red Bank, New Jersey, office, said he understood the university
was trying to cut costs and he was concerned about the players
currently on the team.
"You really feel for the guys there now,"Â he said. "What
do they do?"Â
Keeping Scholarships
Hofstra says that all former players who remain at the
school will keep their scholarships. If they transfer, they
would be eligible to play for their new schools immediately. The
program had 84 athletes, 11 coaches and cost $4.5 million a
year, the school said.
New Orleans Saints receiver Marques Colston, 26, also said
he was surprised at the school's decision and concerned about
the players currently on the team and wished them success.
"I don't know all of the different reasons behind the
decision but I will always fondly remember my collegiate days
playing for the Hofstra Pride,"Â he said in a statement.
Chrebet, a member of Hofstra's Athletic Hall of Fame,
became the first receiver in school history to gain 1,000 yards
in a season and holds the record for most touchdowns in a game,
with five. He retired from the Jets in 2006 after ll seasons in
the NFL, in which he caught more passes than any player in team
history except Don Maynard.
"I'm more shocked than anything,"Â said Chrebet. "I guess
this was a long time coming, but you just hoped it would keep
going."Â
To contact the reporter on this story:
Aaron Kuriloff in New York at
akuriloff@bloomberg.net. </div>
