Midway through the Northeastern Football Team’s 2007 season, Matt Foster and Ricky Thompson wrote an article titled “A team’s fate in question: Athletic Department restructuring may bring program cuts,” that appeared in The News Oct. 22, 2007. Although no single team was mentioned by Athletics Director Peter Roby, Foster and Thompson took it upon themselves to report that the football team was the most likely team to be cut. As if things were not tough enough for the Northeastern football team; they had just one win and were heading into the homestretch of its season. After facing one of the toughest schedules in D-1A FCS (Football Championship Subdivision), the students, faculty and administration had all but counted them out to lose the remaining games on the schedule.
The rumors and speculation regarding the status of the football program have been especially disheartening for me as a former member of the team. Three years ago I transferred to Northeastern, knowing little of what to expect, and after I heard someone mutter, “the football team sucks” as I walked into my first class wearing a football T-shirt, I wondered if I had made the right decision to come here. So when I heard about the article as I was leaving my 10:30 a.m. class that Monday morning in October, it came to no surprise to me that this speculation would be made in the middle of our season.
As two young reporters saw themselves as Woodward and Bernstein, my teammates and I were trying to ignore the rumors and concentrate on the rest of our season. The insults and uncertainty merely fueled the fire, as our last four games were our most inspired contests. We went on to beat two nationally-ranked teams, No. 8, University of New Hampshire 31-13, and winning our final home game against No. 18, Hofstra, 35-31.
The life of any student-athlete is not an easy one. But the challenges that student-athletes face at other schools across the country pale in comparison to those at Northeastern. Inadequate facilities, negotiating rush hour traffic to get to practice and difficulty in getting to away games are just a few things that plague our athletic department. But what hamstrings it the most is a lack of support from the students. Aside from hockey, attendance at athletic events is embarrassing. We all know that there is a lot to do in Boston, and everyone is busy, but ask anyone who went to the Homecoming football game last year and I’m sure they will tell you they had a pretty good time. Judging by the amount of people wearing Boston College Superfan shirts around campus, it must not be a lack of interest in football or the field being too far away.
Although Parsons Field isn’t exactly a Megaplex, showing a little loyalty and pride in your school would go a long way in helping the football team succeed.
The status of the football program and the athletics department is in the hands of you, the students. I’m sure one of the reasons you chose to come to Northeastern was because it was unlike any other school you applied to. It was different than the schools in Boston, as it was in the heart of the city and boasted programs like co-op. But if the football program is dropped, we take one more step to becoming just like every other school in Boston. Let’s stop trying to be Boston University, let’s retain a little bit of our traditions, and live up to our nickname, the Huntington Hounds.
Northeastern has turned the corner in becoming a top 100 school, boasting a top notch education and a beautiful campus. Now let’s make our athletic department world class as well. The answer is not dropping football or any other program. The answer is in uniting and getting things done, not making the same excuses, but seeing results.
The question that I posed on my first day of class has been answered after my three years on Huntington Avenue. Transferring to Northeastern was the best move I have made in my life to date. The lessons and lifelong friendships I have forged can never be taken away from me. I just hope I can take my kids to see a Northeastern football game some day.
Go Huskies!
– Joe Mele graduated last semester with a degree in history and was co-captain of the football team.
