By: Alex Faust, News Staff

“I am writing to inform you that the University’s senior administration, president, and Board of Trustees have accepted my recommendation to discontinue Northeastern’s intercollegiate football program. Last night I shared the news with our players and staff. The decision was a difficult one, made all the more difficult because of the respect and admiration I have for our coaches and players. Despite my personal feelings toward them, I am convinced that this decision is in the best interest of the university.”

One year ago, Nov. 23, those words from Northeastern Athletic Director Peter Roby signaled the end of an era at Northeastern. Our university’s football program had been dying slowly for years. Its discontinuation came as no surprise to those who had followed the team. For years, there had been broken dreams of an on-campus stadium, countless seasons of disappointments on the field, and the realization that existing in D-IAA – the Football Championship Subdivision – would never yield the kind of support, financial or otherwise, to make Northeastern a contender.

At the time of the announcement, there were three reactions:

Some were angry that the school killed the program – after all, college football means so much for school spirit in this country. They wondered how our university could be so out of touch.

Others were glad the program finally reached the fate that perhaps it should have been given years ago. The team had been on life support since 2007, and questions would come up every year about whether the program could, or should, be cut. That’s never healthy for a team to hear.

Then there were those who were oblivious to the fact that Northeastern even had a football team. The students who could care less about the dilapidated conditions at Parsons Field, and frankly don’t deserve whatever benefits come from the discontinuation of the program.

I fall within the second camp: If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all. A year later, I feel the same way. Sure, it was fun to go to Parsons Field on a crisp fall Saturday afternoon to grab a front row seat for a Division I football game. There were a few Saturdays this season when I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great to see a game today? But as much as it still hurts for many in the Northeastern community to go through a fall season without a tailgate, or a chance to catch up with old friends in the grandstands, it’s time to move on.

I get asked occasionally – are we better off for having killed football? The answer is an unequivocal “yes.” The athletic department has much more flexibility to invest than in years past: in scholarships, personnel, and facilities. So, naturally the lingering question after a fall season filled with mediocrity (save for Colonial Athletic Association tournament appearances for field hockey and volleyball) is “where are the results?”

To that question I preach patience. If two years from now we haven’t seen any more conference championships, better winning percentages, or improved perceptions of our athletic programs, then I’ll start wondering if the added resources from the lack of a football team were mismanaged. Normally, I’d be fuming over a dud season, but if there’s one thing that the disappearance of football has given us, it is opportunity. That is in the best interest of this university.