By Constantine Caviris, Special to the Chronicle
Last year’s decision to terminate the football program was controversial, but the athletic programs, as well as the academics, at Hofstra University are thriving.
At the time, it was a very unpopular move made by President Stuart Rabinowitz and Hofstra’s Board of Trustees.
“In the moment, did we get some very unpleasant e-mail, especially from former football players? And were we called a bunch of names and stuff like that? Yes, and that wasn’t pleasant. But was it the right thing to do for the university? Absolutely,” said Dr. Herman A. Berliner, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Hofstra University.
After the decision, Rabinowitz released a statement that said that The University will “reinvest those resources into new academic programs and need-based scholarships.” While some of the money is being used for scholarships, it will take time for all of it to be reallocated; football players who chose to stay at Hofstra are having their scholarships honored by the school.
“We still have a substantial number of those students [football players] that are working their way through the university,” said Berliner. “As that money becomes available, we’re using it for other scholarships. Need-based and merit scholarships.”
Hofstra began increasing its emphasis on academics by creating the Honors College in 2001. Since then, Hofstra’s rankings climbed up to a “tier 1” school, number 139 overall, according to U.S. News and World Report. It is also more difficult to be admitted to Hofstra. Over the past decade, the required GPAs and SAT scores of incoming students have risen.
“Since President Rabinowitz has been in office we’ve raised the SATs for our students by more than a hundred points,” Berliner said. “The average SAT when [Rabinowitz began] was 1060, it’s 1172 this year. When he [began] the GPA, the average GPA, was 2.8 for the students coming in. Its 3.4 for the students coming in now.”
Although there is an extra emphasis on academics, prospective students are still interested in The University’s sports programs.
“They always ask about athletics,” said Janine McElroy, Assistant Dean of Admission at Hofstra. “They always want to know what division we are and they always want to know if we have club and intramural sports.”
While Hofstra University continues its quest for higher academic standards, its athletic programs will not be left behind. Many of the programs are thriving, such as the Men’s Lacrosse team and the Women’s Soccer team.
“Athletics is an integral part of the growth of any university and Hofstra especially,” said Stephen A. Gorchov, Associate Director of Athletics for Communication at Hofstra. “The popularity that athletics bring to a university goes hand in hand with whatever you’re doing at The University.”
Hofstra continues to strive for higher academic standards. The school has also continued its rich tradition in athletics despite the termination of the football program. As the school grows, academics and athletics will go together in order to maintain the prominence of Hofstra University.
“What we’re trying to find is the best of both worlds. We’re continuing our push on academic standards and we’ve made the adjustments in athletics,” said Berliner. “But all of it, in terms of the students that [athletics] attract, their GPAs, the other students that are interested, I think works for The University at this point in our existence.”