Emerging Trend? Hofstra Cancels Football Program.
Written by Matthew C. Keegan // 12/07/2009 // Collegiate Sports, NCAA Football // 13 Comments
Long Island, New York’s Hofstra University isn’t exactly a powerhouse when it comes to college football. The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program – formerly known as 1-AA – hasn’t lit up the field in years. Still, the Flying Dutchmen program was large enough program to produce some decent athletes including most recently the New York Jet’s one time wide receiver, Wayne Chrebet.
Alas, this season was the final one for the football team. Its eleven coaches and the eighty-four students on scholarship did not know that when they knocked off UMass 52-38 on November 21st,, effectively ending Hofstra’s string of fielding football teams since 1937.
Financial Decision
The decision to cancel the seven decade old Hofstra gridiron program boiled down to one thing: money. Costing the school $4.5 million annually to operate, the school’s board believed that the money could be best used elsewhere.
“As we continue to improve our academic programs and reputation, and plan the University’s future, we have to consider the investment we make in all of the University’s programs,” university president Stuart Rabinowitz said. “The cost of the football program, now and in the future, far exceeds the return possible from an FCS program, which does not generate significant national interest. 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.”
“In the long run,” Rabinowitz said, “we can touch and improve the lives of more students by investing in new and enhanced academic initiatives and increasing funds for need-based scholarships.”
Transfer or Stay
Affected student athletes will be able to finish their time at Hofstra on scholarship or they can transfer to another school and play immediately instead of sitting out the customary one year under NCAA rules.
By ending the football program, Hofstra has promised to keep its other 17 programs active and will remain part of the Colonial Athletic Association, its varsity league. The university says that the savings generated by canceling football will be redirected to fund new faculty lines, academic programs and need-based scholarships.
Will other schools follow Hofstra’s lead? On the FCS level and lower, look for that to happen, but for healthy BCS schools, it’ll be business as usual.
However, some schools may abandon one level of playing and drop down to Division III where costly athletic scholarships are not offered. This trend is likely to become all the more common as colleges redirect their resources to cover academic programs.
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13 Comments on "Emerging Trend? Hofstra Cancels Football Program."
Wayne Chrebet was great, but some more recent products attest to the quality of Hofstra’s program: Marques Colston, star WR of undefeated NO Saints; Willie Colon, o-line of Super Bowl champ Steelers; Raheem Morris head coach TB Bucs.
Thanks, Bob. No doubt, Hofstra has sent a number of noteworthy football players to the NFL; they just haven’t been able to put together a fan attracting team in some years.
On a similar note, I see that Northeastern has also discontinued their football program. Two fewer teams for the CAA next year, though Old Dominion and Georgia State will join in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
How much will it cost to keep the other varsity sports, and how much revenue do they produce? The money will be used for faculty and academics and need based scholarships? Most football players make great sacrifices to play because they need the scholarship. No athelete at Hofstra should be feeling too confident right now. Money spent on football and the numbers of male students with scholarships have been used to require schools to offer scholarships to female atheletes and other programs. Seems like a pretty drastic decision.
Cathy, Hofstra hasn’t outlined what their athletic programs are costing the school, besides football.
Agreed, other programs may be vulnerable notwithstanding assurances made by the administration that these programs won’t be cut.
When you take down sports programs in order to preserve money for academic programs, then you know that this may be the first shot offered by the school.
As it was already noted, Hofstra has turned out several NFL players, add on to the list Lance Schulters an 11 year veteran and pro bowl safety as well as Kyle Arrington on the Pats. Two other offensive lineman, Demingo Graham and Dave Fiore, both retired but started in the NFL.
Bottom line, the program has never had tremendous support in marketing it to students and fans, but it used to have the support of President Shuart. When Stuart Rabinowitz came in, he never had an interest in football and many felt he would ultimately be responsible for its demise. The U did a two year study and showed a lack of student interest, if the move to drop was not financial as Rabinowitz indicated in his statement, why not be a true leader and put in an effort to fix the problem. This was a calculated plan by Rabinowitz who stood by and used this program to dupe his minions (i.e. the board of trustees) into going along and dropping the sport. If he wanted to have football, the university would have it.
Good points, Uncle Buck.
Clearly, if *any* school wants to maintain their football program, then they would take whatever steps necessary to improve it. One way would be to tap Hofstra’s vast alumni base, telling grads that the program is threatened and how it could be helped.
Unfortunately, not too many 1-AA programs can make money unless they have a strong fan base. But with the football program gone, I imagine that other sports programs will be vulnerable, particularly since a sport for male athletes has been cut.
Matt,
I wouldn’t feel comfortable if i were a student-athlete at Hofstra. As a Pride Club donor myself, I know the chatter about Rabinowitz from day one was that unlike Shuart, he is just not an athletics guy. He pushed out many of the old guard and donors for football and he did the same to Joe Gardi who really built a winning program.
Again, you spend the time to do a two year study, you have your info, but then you don’t do anything to remedy the situation? I think alumni, especially former players like myself we angry that we didn’t have a chance to help or save it. Then again, i think the way this was carried out is a clear indication that Rabinowitz did not want to save it. Hofstra is notorious for closed door decisions, this is the same way the forced a change in name from Flying Dutchmen to the Pride. No student or alumni feedback, it just came from the top and people were told to deal with it.
Now that your school cut the largest sport that offers scholarships to athletes – I think it was 84?-what is that going to do with the other womens sports? Are they going to add more mens sports to offset the imbalance?I am not a big fan of Title IX because of the very reason why they put football-the largest team of people in any sport with the most staff- into the equation of title IX. Unless we see womens football, the imbalance of sports programs in college athletics has been severly scewed. Because of title IX, our local university has 9 womens sports and only 5 mens. I understand the “equity” part, but it seems from a non football athletes point of view, very unfair. Now this happens and I am curious of the fallout/outcome.
Guy
@ Uncle Buck — I just realized that the Flying Dutchmen are now the Hofstra Pride. This speaks to the problem of the university — political correctness has set in. What does that have to do with football? Perhaps much as football is the programs that administrators love or hate depending on whether the program is a winner or loser especially when it comes to making the school money.
@ Guy — Personally, I don’t care all that much for Title IX. It doesn’t present quite the level field that some claim that it does. Don’t think for a moment that Hofstra will deep six additional program at this point. That would be too controversial of a move for the administration.
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