Northeastern men’s basketball fell in the finals of the American East Championships, and advanced to the NIT only to have its best player suspended before the game. Women’s basketball lost in the semis of its AE Championship but has shown a plethora of young talent. Men’s and women’s hockey finished yet another disappointing season and there is even more uncertainty on the horizon with the recent contract expiration of hockey coach Bruce Crowder.

Oh, the ups and downs of Northeastern athletics.

It’s been a rocky year for the Huskies on the fields, the courts and the rinks. Despite a few bright notes (women’s field hockey and men’s and women’s track), most teams played below expectation or finished without a championship.

Let’s face it, Northeastern isn’t known for its athletics or team spirit. The lack of championships probably didn’t affect the majority of students. But athletics is an important part of the college experience in most areas, and should be at NU as well.

What can we do to make it better?

First of all, a renovation of Matthews Arena is in order. We know it’s a historical site, but it’s also falling apart. With the new state of the art Agganis Arena at Boston University, Matthews pales in comparison. Our suggestions are to at least install a jumbotron and new lights since a major complaint is how dark the complex is.

Secondly, we need to start putting more money into the more successful programs — and those aren’t necessarily the ones you might think. The football program takes up far too much attention of the Athletic Department despite its two lackluster seasons in a row. And although the football team has the draw of star players such as Liam Ezekiel, people aren’t going to come out and watch a I-AA football team, which makes the decision to build a football field over one of the schools few parking lots a bit puzzling. Some of that money should be reallocated to some of NU’s more successful teams such as the soccer and track programs. Maybe NU can finally get the lacrosse team it lacks.

And although each program fell short of a conference championship, we believe more money and promotion should be poured into the men’s and women’s basketball teams. We know hockey is big around here, but some of NU’s biggest stars are on the court. Junior Jose Juan Barea has a shot of being drafted into the NBA and freshman Shaylese Smallwood is going to be a noticeable and formidable force on the women’s basketball team for years to come. These teams are getting better, now all they need is better promotion.

Northeastern athletics are stuck in a rut. With a few small changes, the Athletics Department may be able to score big with the students and bring some Husky pride to campus.