By Multiple Authors
By MIke Leslie
WRHU Sports Director, 2008-10
1. Hatred of George Mason
Allow me first to put out a disclaimer: I was not yet a Hofstra student in March of 2006 when the Pride were screwed out of an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. But I am fully aware of the events leading up to that most hated of Sunday evenings. Two wins over George Mason, within 11 days of one another, the latter of which was in the CAA Semifinals, and both in convincing fashion. But the fact of the matter is this: George Mason belonged in the NCAA Tournament. Before you reach for the noose, hear me out. Hofstra also belonged in the NCAA Tournament. But the Patriots aren’t to blame, here. The team Hofstra fans should hate is Air Force. Or Utah State. Or Alabama. Just look at the RPI of the four teams in question. Hofstra – 30, Utah State – 46, Air Force – 50, and Alabama – 57. Hofstra fans, don’t hate George Mason. They legitimized their presence more than anyone. Hate on any of those other three teams all you want.
2. Tim Welsh
Well wasn’t this an exercise in futility. HUGE money, HUGE statement. HUGE failure. Hofstra athletics needed to make a big splash. Football had been killed, Tom Pecora had left, and the general consensus was that Stuart Rabinowitz wanted to turn Hofstra University into Tufts Light. Then the University came out and dropped buku bucks ($3M over 6 years) to bring in a legitimate name in the collegiate coaching ranks. All was right with the world (well, kinda. Don’t ask Dave Cohen about that). But then, the story we all couldn’t believe. The story, quite frankly, that I didn’t want to believe. I had the good fortune of interviewing Welsh on the day he was announced as the twelfth (different) head coach in Hofstra Men’s Basketball history. From all impressions, he appeared to not only be a nice guy, but also, the right answer. Classy, polished, noteworthy. Not “asleep at the wheel at a green light”-worthy.
3. Hofstra Student Crowds
Where’s Nick Bond when you need him? Folks, the guy was right on the money. The crowds at Hofstra sporting events are appalling. You can blame a good percentage of the non-Rabinowitz-related blame for football’s death on the dearth of student attendance. Tom Pecora was 100% accurate when he said that Hofstra students are fair-weather fans. If Hofstra’s good – really good – they’ll come out in fairly substantial droves. The ’05-’06 Men’s Basketball season is the most prime of examples. Current students, believe me when I tell you, the Mack was actually SOLD OUT on occasions during that season. That type of thing doesn’t happen anymore.
4. Marques Colston’s collegiate career
This one is a bit ironic, simply because of the set up of this venture. The only season that qualifies as part of the “last 5 years” is the only one that was actually a great season. But believe it or not, Colston’s first three years were actually relatively pedestrian. The NFL Pro Bowler had just 112 catches total in his first three seasons with the Pride. The wide out averaged just 37 catches and 620 yards per season in his first three years in Hempstead. Another similar season, and Colston would’ve hardly cracked the Top 10 in All-Time Hofstra receptions. And he never would’ve been drafted. Instead, his senior year was quite impressive – 70 receptions, 975 yards, 5 TDs despite playing with an incredibly inconsistent QB in Anton Clarkson. But Colston was, by no means, a beast throughout his college career. Of course, as we all know, he’s been quite the beast (and fantasy football gem) in his professional career.
5. Anyone Involved in the Removal of Hofstra Football
Some are more culpable than others. But as the late Joe Gardi told me and fellow-WRHUer Jon Lauder in the days following the dastardly decision, we are all to blame. Listen, I could go on for days about why this was a poor choice. And as much as I can understand and empathize with people – former players and otherwise – that literally curse (quite vehemently) Rabinowitz and the Trustees in their Facebook statuses, etc… I do realize there is another side to this argument. I don’t agree with it. BUT, I can at least accept and understand that there IS another side. The biggest issue I have with the entire situation, quite frankly, isn’t the decision itself. The decision was a bad one, I feel. But what was worse was the handling of the entire situation. To tell Dave Cohen at 9 a.m. on the morning of the announcement I thought was appalling. To tell the players at 10 a.m., and then leave them open to the feeding frenzy of the local media, as reporters from around the Island & NYC canvassed the campus, was flat-out wrong. But again… we are all to blame.
By Jerry Beach
DefiantlyDutch.com/Sports Editor- The Chronicle (1993)
1. The idea of southern bias
Yes, I have some fun with that and yes, I believe that Tom O’Connor kept Hofstra out of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. And yes, I believe the CAA is not the best fit for Hofstra. But teams south of Camden Yards have won the CAA tournament the last nine years because they’ve been better and the tournament remains in Richmond because it is by far the best place for it.
2. The idea that Tom Pecora did Hofstra a disservice by recruiting mostly in the NY area
Pecora has decade-long ties with metro high school and AAU coaches and wanted a unique New York toughness to his players. What’s wrong with mining the most hoops-rich area in the country? Plus, you’ll notice he plucked two-thirds of ‘In Guard We Trust’ from Buffalo (Loren Stokes) and Miami/Puerto Rico (Carlos Rivera), so it wasn’t like he never left New York.
3. Frustration over non-conference scheduling in men’s basketball
It doesn’t matter who Hofstra plays in November and December. 2006 proved it’s not getting an at-large bid no matter what it does or who it plays. The entire season comes down to one weekend in March, so the non-conference slate should be made with that in mind. If it includes games against Kansas and UConn, fantastic. If it’s a bunch of local mid-major foes with the idea of building confidence for January, even better.
4. Frustration over men’s lacrosse coach John Danowski leaving in 2006
Sure, it stung when he won a national title with Duke, but if it didn’t happen in 2006—when Hofstra won 17 games in a row only to squander a five-goal, fourth quarter lead against UMass with a Final Four trip on the line—it was never going to happen.
5. The idea fan apathy had anything to do with football getting killed
By Mitch Merman
Sports Director WRHU
1. Football beating Furman in 2008
2. Men’s Lacrosse losing to Penn State in 2010
Hofstra still made NCAA’s
3. Men’s Soccer losing to George Mason University 5-0 in 2008 CAA tournament
Mason went on to win CAA and do well in the NCAA’s.
4. Mack home court advantage for either Men’s Basketball or Women’s Basketball
5. Men’s Lacrosse beating Johns Hopkins in 2010
JHU did not have a great team despite being ranked #7.