Hofstra University’s football program lasted for 72 years before ending rather unceremoniously in 2009, citing waning interest of fans and high costs as the reasons for its termination. The $4.5 million yearly investment in the team was said to be an unjustifiably high amount to keep the program going. The football team was the only one of 18 sports programs that was cut that year, but maybe it was the wrong team to dissolve or the wrong place to cut costs. Hofstra football was an important part of our school for decades, and it may be time to bring it back.
In a 2009 New York Times article about the program’s end, players on the team expressed a feeling of having the rug pulled out from under them by the program, and Hofstra graduates with NFL careers expressed disappointment. “Hofstra should have a football team,” said Wayne Chrebet, a Hofstra alumnus and former New York Jets receiver, in the article. “We’re not a huge school, but I’m sure kids who grew up in Long Island dream of playing at Hofstra.”
With the upcoming retirement of President Stuart Rabinowitz, his replacement may have the opportunity to resurrect the football program and usher in a new era for Hofstra sports. Though the last few years of our football program were costly and failed to bring meaningful revenue into the school, college sports are a multibillion-dollar industry that can help our school in countless ways, and if we hire the right coach and recruit well, we can make a team worth cheering for that successfully brings in more than it costs.
Hofstra is a NCAA Division I school that has been successful in countless sports throughout its long history as a university, and a few bad years for football shouldn’t necessarily mean the permanent death of the program. Maybe the new president can turn the program into one that not only makes money, but also increases the passion that students, both past and present, have for the school.
With the current president’s 2021 retirement, a new opportunity for Hofstra University is on the horizon, and this could include a revamp of our sports program if the board and Rabinowitz’s replacement decide it would help the school. There are countless directions the school could take in the future, but I hope that the future of the sports program is taken into consideration when the keys to the golden elevator change hands.
Football is a staple of college sports across the country, and Hofstra’s lack of a team is a problem for its students. It doesn’t matter how little you care about sports; a decent team builds school spirit and name recognition, engaging alumni in the happenings of the school. It can be a way for students to build a relationship between the school and the community around it. The name recognition can bring not just football fans, but potential journalism and business students who are interested in other aspects of the college football industry. After hosting the presidential debates, Hofstra needs something new to keep it in public eye, and the most popular college sport in the country could fill that role.
Pro/Con is a column in which members of the Hofstra community argue opposite sides of a given issue. Robert Kinnaird is a junior majoring in global studies and journalism.
