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Northeastern Drops Football

B

Bomber

From BU Band to Sct 12 to Sct 113
What, no thread on this!? 12 years ago BU dropped football and it was a very sad day for many of us in Terrier Nation. NU was smart and waited until the season was over to announce this. Of course they did miss out on getting more than 1k fans to their last game.

I feel for any NU football fans out there. (All three of you. :) ) Will BU fans now chant: "NU Football!" at hockey games?

Anyone care about this?

Story
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

Bomber said:
What, no thread on this!? 12 years ago BU dropped football and it was a very sad day for many of us in Terrier Nation. NU was smart and waited until the season was over to announce this. Of course they did miss out on getting more than 1k fans to their last game.

I feel for any NU football fans out there. (All three of you. :) ) Will BU fans now chant: "NU Football!" at hockey games?

Anyone care about this?

Story
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It had already been brought up in the College Football thread. Not happy to see any school to drop any sport, but in terms of dropping the program, this was probably about the best time to do it. HS kids looking to play football in college can look elsewhere with it being plenty of times to shop around their services. And the kids on NU's football team can now all find new schools to transfer too for next semester, so then they can get in for spring ball. Being that NU dropped football, those kids can transfer anywhere without penalty. So any football program in the greater Boston Area, from Boston College to Bentley could bring in those kids and have them starting next fall.
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

Maybe the Gophers should follow suit. And hockey too. Just become a bouncyball, wrestling and women's sports school.
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

I wouldn't be shocked if Maine dropped football.
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

So...BU was trendsetters? :eek: :eek: :eek: ;)

I don't know what the deal was at NU, but from the BU experience I have to wonder how much the school bothered to promote the program. When I was on campus, you wouldn't know there was a home game unless you walked by the football field. Now the school had a very indifferent administration towards sports, but still somebody could have tried to drum up support (pre game party for students, etc, etc). I know the argument always is "football loses money" but schools tend to spend money on a lot more foolish things than something that might build a little school spirit if properly managed.
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

Rover said:
So...BU was trendsetters? :eek: :eek: :eek: ;)

I don't know what the deal was at NU, but from the BU experience I have to wonder how much the school bothered to promote the program. When I was on campus, you wouldn't know there was a home game unless you walked by the football field. Now the school had a very indifferent administration towards sports, but still somebody could have tried to drum up support (pre game party for students, etc, etc). I know the argument always is "football loses money" but schools tend to spend money on a lot more foolish things than something that might build a little school spirit if properly managed.
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When I was at NU, I thought they did an adequate job of promoting the program. The biggest issue was the off-campus location of the stadium; it's a good half-hour walk from NU. It's a pleasant walk through the Fens and the Riverway, for the most part, but that's still a substantial commitment to go see the team play. Alternatively, I know they also ran shuttle buses, but still, when you compare to your average on-campus stadium (as, e.g. BU had), it's understandable that attendance would suffer, particularly when the team is bad.

Similarly, it's also not a particularly easy stadium for non-students to get to either. I don't recall there being any parking convenient to the stadium, so really the effective options are a somewhat lengthy walk (e.g. from the medical area on Longwood) or the T.
 
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Re: Northeastern Drops Football

Craig P. said:
The biggest issue was the off-campus location of the stadium; it's a good half-hour walk from ND.
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Well, that might be the problem right there. If they played home games in Boston instead of East Bum****, Indiana they might have higher attendance. :p
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

Will NU use the field for other sports or will they sell/develop the space figuring no other sport would need a stadium that big?

Also, somewhere in Africa there is a village that soon will be outfitted in NU football uniforms...but the blocking sleds and tackling dummies won't be much good.:D
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

pirate said:
Will NU use the field for other sports or will they sell/develop the space figuring no other sport would need a stadium that big?

Also, somewhere in Africa there is a village that soon will be outfitted in NU football uniforms...but the blocking sleds and tackling dummies won't be much good.:D
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That big a stadium? Either you are smoking a lot or that was sarcasm that I don't register on a message board. It is used for baseball, and men's and women's soccer. So football was not the only thing that was played there.
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

Not specific to Northeastern as I don't know the particulars of their program, but it seems to be with universities in general there's a lot of other wasteful expenditures they could cut before hacking sports programs. As has been said, if profitability is the standard you'd have about 12 football programs and several dozen hoops programs left and aside from maybe some hockey that would be it. Bloated administrations, huge bonuses university Presidents, building mansions for favored dean's etc. Cut all that crap in half and BU could have had a program to rival Florida's. :D :eek: ;)
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

The problems faced by the Northeastern football program were numerous and legendary. The lack of a facility was the primary problem NU has had historically. When your strategy for recruiting a player is to seduce them with the campus and the City of Boston first, and save a visit to Pretty Parsons Field for last, you are tacitly admitting that the facility conditions are substandard.

The challenges faced in just getting athletes to the field for practice were another hassle for the program. But the inability to regularly bring in quality FCS (formerly Division I-AA) opponents was a big handicap. In a four-year series with Harvard at the beginning of the decade, all four games were played at The Stadium - none at NU. It was a minor modern miracle that Georgia Southern consented to come to Boston, but rumor has it they really just came for the chowder. Not being able to host games against quality FCS rivals, except for those in your conferece who had to come to Parsons, meant that you would often play the balance of your games on the road. One season, NU hosted just four home games against conference rivals who were required to go to Parsons.

The stste of the current economy may have been the most recent factor in killing stadium construction plans at NU's campus. While the school invested heavily in refurbishing Matthews Arena, not a peep has come out of the Athletic Department in years about a stadium. mind you, there is still need for an on-campus playing field for other NU intermural, intramural, and club sports. However, football would have been the main draw. Not being able to raise funds before this crippling recession was bad enough. Trying to raise money with 9.5% unemployment, investments taking a nosedive, and inflation looming on the horizon would be impossible.

In the end, NU football had been doomed for several years because of all the deficiencies faced by the program historically. Two years ago a group of supporters were able to stave off the elimination of the program. those of us who are realists knew that they were only delaying the inevitable. It is sad, and I am disappointed to lose football. I understand and accept that this has been done for the overall health of the entire athletic program. It's just sad to know that I'll never again stand in another miserable rainstorm watching the Huskies get clobbered by a conference opponent.

One of the new challenges this may create is a possible inequity in Title IX. You just lost over 100 athletic opportunities, and 63 athletic scholarships, for men at Northeastern. Is there now a gender imbalance under Title IX? Usually this is a concern for women's sports not having enough positions, but now the she may be on the other foot. Frankly, I would like to see NU reinstate men's swimming and diving. That was once a very successful program for the school. The introduction of a new varsity sport such as lacrosse or wrestling might help to balance out lost athletic opportunities.

I don't think we will see any movement on the introduction of new sports at NU. I think that the university will use the demise of footbal to allow them to make smaller contributions to the athletic department. In the CAA, only Georgia State's athletic department has a larger contribution form the university than Northeastern's. I think the focus is now squarely on basketball and hockey, especially given the recent renovation of Matthews Arena.
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

The Boston Globe has given this story a LOT of attention the past couple of days. I'm not complaining (I've read every article. I know more about Northeastern football than I thought possible. :) ) just surprised.
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

Bomber said:
The Boston Globe has given this story a LOT of attention the past couple of days. I'm not complaining (I've read every article. I know more about Northeastern football than I thought possible. :) ) just surprised.
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Bob Ryan had a very good article about it today I think. He's really the only writer for that paper worth reading regularly. Shaunnessey had his usual stupidity going about the subject.
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

Maineiak said:
According to this article it doesn't sound like Maine will drop the football program anytime soon. Also sounds as though they're bound by the restriction placed on the gifts they received to support the program.
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We'll see, I expect we'll see a huge shortfall in the funding of UMS, when push comes to shove things are going to fall. Football takes alot of money.
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

Chickens@NU said:
That big a stadium? Either you are smoking a lot or that was sarcasm that I don't register on a message board. It is used for baseball, and men's and women's soccer. So football was not the only thing that was played there.
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I thought it seated 7k. Is that correct? I suspect if you added up all the fans that attend all the other games there it wouldn't add up to 7k, much less need a stadium of that size.

If that is the only field they have for games and practice for those other sports then it is moot. I assumed they have practice fields that could be an alternative.

If I were in the athletics admin I'd look at upgrading my soccer practice field (or converting the football practice field), adding some bleachers to make it game ready and playing baseball at elsewhere in order to sell the land. That is several square blocks of land in Boston, probably worth more to a developer than the baseball team or University. Sure the Brookline football team then needs a new place to play..they can play at Nickerson, another field that is way too big.
 
Re: Northeastern Drops Football

pirate said:
I thought it seated 7k. Is that correct? I suspect if you added up all the fans that attend all the other games there it wouldn't add up to 7k, much less need a stadium of that size.

If that is the only field they have for games and practice for those other sports then it is moot. I assumed they have practice fields that could be an alternative.

If I were in the athletics admin I'd look at upgrading my soccer practice field (or converting the football practice field), adding some bleachers to make it game ready and playing baseball at elsewhere in order to sell the land. That is several square blocks of land in Boston, probably worth more to a developer than the baseball team or University. Sure the Brookline football team then needs a new place to play..they can play at Nickerson, another field that is way too big.
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Pirate, Chickens probably thought you were more familiar with the lay of the land. Let me give you some context.

Parsons field serves as the only playing and practice field for football, soccer, baseball, club sports, and intramurals. It is located a mile from the campus as the crow flies. The field turf installed in 2001 or 2002 improved conditions on the field a great deal, but considering what they were starting with that might be damming praise.

The seating capacity is based on bleachers that are (were) erected along a side line that during baseball season is a line from first base pas second. 7000 for a game may have only ever been attained once or twice in the successful 2002 campaign that resulted in an Atlantic 10 co-championship. This season due to a poor record and dismal weather at 4 of 6 games, attendance probably never cracked 1500 a game. Of course the school may have used some funny math when calculating attendance such as counting season ticket holders regardless of attendance, or adding the number os residents who walked by and passed the playing field. ;)

Northeastern was never very aggresive in acquiring land due to limited finanical resources. The campus proper is hemmed in on all sides by the Roxbury community. The field is in tony little Brookline, Massachusetts. There would never be any kind of construction on that footprint as the school would never - and I cannot stress the word "never" enough - get building permits.

Northeastern has always faced the difficult task of doing the most it can with limited resources and historically limited prospects.

The really amusing part of all this is that Northeastern's track and field facility, located in Dedham, Mass about five miles as the same crow flies, is one of the best track facilities in all of New England. The problem is that it is located at a satellite campus.
 
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