Northeastern University in November discontinued its football program for cost reasons after an extensive two-year review of its athletics.
Director of Northeastern Athletics Peter Roby made the original suggestion to cut the Division I-AA program after a review revealed that the university would have to invest several million dollars in the program to make it successful.
The program had run for 74 seasons, the last six of which had been losing ones marked by meager attendance. Roby said in a Nov. 23 press conference - in which he outlined what was required to reach an acceptable 'level of excellence' - that this was not an investment the university was willing to make.
'It is about money 'hellip; it's going to require multiples of millions of dollars going forward in order to do what's fair to help us to be successful,' Roby said. 'It became clear to me that that level of investment was not something that I was comfortable recommending.'
The Athletics Review Panel, headed by Roby, made the final decision not to renew the program. The panel was made up of faculty, students, donors, alumni, trustees and administrators.
Northeastern has stipulated that the university will continue to sponsor the athletic scholarships of current players who decide to complete their degrees at Northeastern.
Junior running back John Griffin, one of the two Husky players to be named to New England's Subdivision All-Star Team and only the fifth Husky running back to record 1,000 yards rushing in a season, expressed his frustration with the decision.
'I'm not too happy about it. I'm planning to transfer to another school to continue my football career,' Griffin told the Daily shortly after the announcement was made.
Griffin has since joined the University of Massachusetts football team, along with two other teammates.
For many' other players, however, the decision has not been as clear-cut.
According to Griffin, while many students will transfer to other programs, others will see their football careers end because they do not have that option.
'Most of them are trying to decide whether they want to go play football somewhere else or just go back to school and be a regular student,' Griffin said.
Northeastern's decision to cut its football program may be indicative of a larger trend in small college football.
Long Island's Hofstra University ended its football program less than two weeks after Northeastern announced its decision, citing program costs and lack of interest. Hofstra's decision makes it the second school in the NCAA's Division I-AA to discontinue its football program.
Tufts' head football coach Bill Samko noted that Northeastern's decision to discontinue its football program was 'very disappointing.' He added that such a situation would not occur at Tufts because the nature of the programs at the respective schools differed greatly.
'That level [of football] is the scholarship level 'hellip; and that's a different animal,' Samko said. 'Here, football or any athletic endeavor is for your educational experience, not necessarily your academic experience. At that level, they're spending a lot of money and trying to generate revenue, and that's not the case here.'
The football program was the only Northeastern athletics program that was not renewed for another season.
