Spring Break
The Daily OrangeFB| Hanging on
By Andrew L. John
Posted: 9/18/08, 1:21 AM EST Section: Sports
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The senior tight end's fears almost turned to reality. The Huskies (0-2) nearly lost its football program this offseason, after months of rumors led students, faculty and alumni to believe that the program would be discontinued following the 2007 season.
Mandeville still remembers the day he first read the report in his own school newspaper that the athletic department might be looking to cut football.
"That week during practice, we couldn't think of anything else except for what we had heard," Mandeville said. "Everybody was talking about it, and we just kept telling ourselves that it was only speculation. We couldn't help but think about it, but we remained confident that we'd be back the following season."
Indeed, Northeastern football is still alive. The Huskies, a Division I-AA program that plays in the Colonial Athletic Association, will play its third game of the season, Saturday against Syracuse for a 3:30 p.m. contest at the Carrier Dome.
But for a period of time last year, it looked like Northeastern football's 72nd season, would be its last. If not for the intervention of alumni, the Huskies might not be making the trip to Syracuse this weekend.
The saga began when The Northeastern News reported, last October, that athletics director Peter Roby was looking into the possibility of dissolving an athletic program in an effort to realign the financial resources of the department. At the time, Roby indicated that the entire athletic department as a whole would be evaluated - that any program could be eliminated.
Roby declined to speculate which program, if any, would get the axe, but reports widely assumed it would be the football program, largely because of the financial overhead associated with funding a football team. Football, with large rosters and high equipment costs, can be harder to fund than other sports.
When the Huskies football team lost seven of its first eight games last season, the speculation only gained steam. Rocky Hager, who is in his fifth season as head coach of Northeastern, called the rumors a "gigantic distraction" that lasted the rest of the season.
Mandeville echoed those feelings, but said that the coaching staff continually assured the players that it were doing everything in its power to illustrate the importance of the programs place in the athletic department.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
John '06
posted 9/18/08 @ 3:56 PM EST
Well, Northeastern should get a big boost this weekend when they beat a "BCS" team.
Go Orange?
Ryan
posted 9/19/08 @ 12:08 PM EST
Great story, makes you feel worse for the Huskies if they lose though. Seems like there is more in this game for the Huskies than the Orange, even though the Orange has a lot a stake. (Continued…)
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