For the past few weeks, The News has been working to emphasize a particular point to the students and administration: Northeastern needs to look after its own. It’s an issue that comes up in many aspects of student life, but with the discussion about cutting back the athletics program, it is particularly pertinent.
While it is tough to know what is going on behind the closed doors of the Athletic Department, we can say that no matter what happens, the school has to watch out for its student athletes. There is talk about canceling the football program, and if the Athletic Department decides to end a team, there are many student athletes who would be caught in no man’s land. It is Northeastern’s responsibility to take care of them.
Many of the players on athletic teams receive scholarships from the university, and if the program ends, they would be caught in a sticky situation. It is plausible they could face losing their scholarships. These students probably chose Northeastern for the money offered to them to play, and it would be improper for the school to back out of its promise to fund their educations, regardless of the football team’s existence. Should the team be dropped, it would be the university’s responsibility to pay out the remainder of the scholarships as long as the students continue to attend Northeastern.
Furthermore, some of these players, especially those on the football team, may have decided to play because of the opportunity to demonstrate their talents for National Football League scouts. For these students, money alone is not the issue, but Northeastern owes them something, too. The athletic department has a responsibility to find a place on teams at other schools for any athletes who want to continue to play, even if it is not at Northeastern. Moving to a new school and team may be tough for these players, but it’s a small price to pay for them to continue playing the sport. If a program is canceled, athletic officials should help the students be transferred to other schools.
And while it might not seem the outcome will be all that bad for the individual players, we can’t forget that the possible destruction of football would be a devastating blow to the team and its fans. For these players, football is their life; they wouldn’t commit to the rigors of practice and games if it wasn’t. Without the sport, there will be a huge gap in their lives that other options may not be able to fill be able to fill.
Although attendance at some games is low, there are still those students and alumni who constitute the “Diehard Dogs,” and surely they will be disappointed by the canceled program. They may need to turn to other sports for their fix.
It’s ultimately up to Northeastern to uphold its duty to these students. For now, we’re neither for or against making cutbacks at the Athletic Department. But we always support treating students with respect and honor. If a program gets the boot, the school should pay out the scholarships or find a different school for their players, because it owes them all the team promised when they decided to come to Northeastern. It could be a tough blow for the players, but Northeastern has the ability to make it as easy as possible, and hopefully it will.
