Oh, bye Hofstra football
Earth-shattering news struck the Hofstra community today: it’ll be harder to ignore the fact that we have a football team, because we won’t have one.Just look at the damning lede from the Associated Press:
With costs growing and few students even bothering to go to the games, Hofstra shut down its football team.
Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz’s letter to students and alumni wasn’t any less devastating:
However, at the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA) level, football could not attain significant national recognition, and it has had low student, community and media interest, attendance and financial support. In addition, the football program, the largest of the athletic programs, is by far the most expensive. In the end, we could not continue to justify the expense of football compared to the benefits it brought to the University.
In four years I never made it to a game, even though the tickets were free. I did know some people who regularly went to the games, but they mostly were involved in sports reporting.
A facebook group opposing the decision to move the $4.5 million spent yearly on an unpopular program towards scholarships and academics has already been started.
At the time of writing, the group has about 2,500 members (but growing quicker than I would expect), or a little more than half of the average attendance of a game this year, which is actually just about the number of students who live on campus, and about a third of the stadium’s capacity.
I only set foot in that stadium once, on graduation, and I haven’t been back to that school since. They plan to keep using the stadium for concerts (in my four years, these concerts included Three Doors Down, and Live), as well as lacrosse, which is popular, since Hofstra is a school located on Long Island.
Current and former members of the Pride (is that what they’re called?) have spoken out, including fellow 2006 graduate and current wideout for the Saints Marques Colston says he’s “saddened and shocked.”
Wayne Chrebet, the biggest name to graduate from Hofstra (ignoring Francis Ford Coppola, Bernie Madoff, Gov. David Paterson, Alan Colmes, and Madeline Kahn) told the New York Times, “Hofstra should have a football team. We’re not a huge school, but I’m sure kids who grew up in Long Island, dream of playing at Hofstra. We’re a good program.”
Ha! Long Island can be a sad place, but not sad enough that playing for Hofstra is somebody’s dream. It’s hard to spike your hair and show off your fake tan while wearing a football helmet.
