SPORTS BRIEF: Hofstra Announces End Of Football Program Due Budget Cutbacks

Hofstra University announced yesterday that it will be dropping its intercollegiate football program—the second Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) school to eliminate the sport in the last 10 days.

Hofstra president Stuart Rabinowitz made the announcement in an open letter published on the school’s website yesterday morning. The decision came after a review of the university’s entire athletic program, and Rabinowitz said that budget concerns were not to blame for the decision. Football is the only program that will be cut.

“Football could not attain significant national recognition, and it has low student, community and media interest, attendance and financial support,” Rabinowitz wrote. “In the end, we could not continue to justify the expense of football compared to the benefits it brought to the University.”

The Pride finished 5-6 (3-5 CAA) this season and has not reached the FCS playoffs since 2001.

Hofstra has turned out a number of NFL players, including New Orleans wide receiver Marques Colston and former New York Jets receiver Wayne Chrebet.

The scholarships of the 84 members of the Pride football team will be honored if the students choose to remain at the university. Hofstra’s announcement comes on the heels of last week’s news that Northeastern would be discontinuing its football program.

With only four FCS conferences—including the CAA and the Ivy League—based in the Northeast, the loss of two local programs could have an impact on Harvard’s future recruitment.

—KATE LEIST