History, it seems, is eerily repeating itself in the Hub of New England. Unfortunately, I’m not referring to the Red Sox.

It seems Northeastern may start playing a roughed-up version of “whatever you can do, I can do better,” with the Commonwealth consortium called Boston University (BU). It’s not academic, nor are we following its tradition of winning Beanpot year after year – it’s about us following its football team, which has been undefeated since 1997.

A pretty simple task, really, when you haven’t played a single game.

Ten years ago, BU announced it would drop its D-1AA football program during Homecoming weekend of that year, while playing Northeastern, no less.

“We actually played them on the day it was announced,” said former Northeastern Athletics Director Ian McCall, who now serves in that role at Baylor University. “It was announced in the press conference.”

BU would suffer through a one-win campaign in the Atlantic-10 that season (entering Saturday’s game, Northeastern had notched only one win) and, if you were in attendance back in ’97, you would witness two contrasting programs.

NU was on the rise, and the Terriers were on the way out.

“The football program was a staple during our era, Berry Galp was the coach the first three years of my time,” McCall said. “Then Don Brown came in and he really had the program on a great trajectory.”

That trajectory has rounded off in recent years, which may be enough to warrant getting rid of the program all together. However, McCall and Northeastern students argue that having a football team is a value described in more ways than a record.

“There’s a value that’s assigned to a football program from an admissions viewpoint, as well as school spirit,” McCall said.

Some Northeastern students echoed McCall’s ideas.

“I think that what it comes down to is connecting to the university,” said Jesse Chase, a senior finance and marketing major. “Without it, some just can’t feel connected, and it seems like Northeastern is nothing more than an educational facility.”

But there’s more too. What about advertising? What is Chicken Lou going to do without big, burly football players buying lunch everyday? And, what about Parsons Field? It’s such a quaint, picturesque field – perfect for up close football watching.

It is the sum of these, and possibly more, that take away from any warrant to disbanding the program.

Furthermore, a look at our contemporaries, in the Atlantic-10 and other conferences, and it looks like Northeastern is actually acting against current trends.

In the Atlantic-10, Old Dominion is planning to add their own football program in 2011, said Seth Meyer of the Colonial Athletic Association. Across the country, 1-AA teams have been beating their “superior” opponents. Recently, North Dakota State upset Minnesota in Minneapolis. And, who can forget Appalachian State’s defeat of Michigan earlier this year?

“That would never be on the table,” McCall said, when asked if the idea of dropping the program was ever introduced during his stay on Huntington Avenue. “It seems there’s been a tremendous growth of football programs at the 1-AA level, because of the value it’s assigned.”

There is a value to having a football program, a statement that has been argued in this space repeatedly. However, let’s consider for one moment the likelihood that maybe deleting the program isn’t a bad idea. Some students, like senior business major Jay Cogen, play devil’s advocate.

“Maybe it’s just not for everyone,” he said. “There are some people who maybe just want some peace and quiet, and possibly having a football program just isn’t for them.”

It might not be up their alley, but at least they have the option of going to a game. Without a football team, there’d be no option – it’s hockey or basketball (women’s track and field, anyone?).

Myself? Football is in my bag, and I feel that getting rid of the program (or any other program, for that matter) would hurt the school. It’s image, sense of community and brand appeal.

My solution: put more money into the program! Send out more boosters, invest more and perhaps make Parsons larger. Keep playing those D-1A opponents. They may beat our brains in every year, but it sure does get our name out there.

So, let’s enjoy Homecoming against Maine, go to Parsons and check out the foliage and Rocky Hager’s Kent State boys (Hager is a national championship winning coach, by the way). Check out running back Maurice Murray’s chase for the school rushing record, and watch quarterback Anthony Orio throw downfield. It’ll be fun.

– Matt Foster can be reached at [email protected].