2020 presidential debates

[stuball888]

Hofstra annonces it will pass on the debates next year

[HUSID74]

Maybe they'll spend the money on bringing back football....LOL!

[stuball888]

That will happen when AOC is accepted in Oxford University

[EvanJ]

Having Division I Football at LIU Post could make it less likely for Hofstra to restart Football.

[HofstraPride1]

Hofstra annonces it will pass on the debates next year

Am not surprised since holding it four times in a row is asking a lot and I imagine the circus the sitting president would bring to the 2020 debates may have also been a factor in passing. I hope they try again in 2024.

[HofstraHockey]

It was also unprecedented for them to hold it a third time in a row- no other school ever had. Perhaps they were told it wouldn’t be worth their time/effort/money to bid again.

[HUSID74]

Having Division I Football at LIU Post could make it less likely for Hofstra to restart Football.

Why would that be so. I think it's the opposite...a local rival that would cost virtually nothing in travel costs. Back in the day, the Hofstra-Post game was played on Thanksgiving morning and we always had big crowds. Would be nice to revive that tradition.

[EvanJ]

Having Division I Football at LIU Post could make it less likely for Hofstra to restart Football.

Why would that be so. I think it's the opposite...a local rival that would cost virtually nothing in travel costs. Back in the day, the Hofstra-Post game was played on Thanksgiving morning and we always had big crowds. Would be nice to revive that tradition.

LIU and Stony Brook don't play this year. If Hofstra restarted Football in the CAA, they could be rivals with Stony Brook and maybe full CAA members Delaware and Towson and not care about LIU. As a separate issue, I read that Hofstra doesn't want Stony Brook to join the CAA for all sports, and I'm wondering if Stony Brook playing Football in the CAA could make it less likely for Hofstra to restart Football. If Hofstra restarted Football and played LIU alternating who hosts, Hofstra could have lower attendance because of people who got to LIU instead and have that be bigger than the increase in attendance hosting LIU every other year compared to what they would get hosting another nonconference team. Given that Men's Basketball had much lower attendance than in 2005-2006 (when we got snubbed) and 2006-2007 (when we were picked first in the CAA), how do you think Football attendance in the year of a restart would compare to attendance in the last year they played Football?

[triplec2195]

A lot of people like to try an rekindle the football flame here and I know when were division 3 and had powerhouse teams I used to watch/listen to some of the games in the days of Wayne Chrebet. It was nice also to see that we had quite a few players in the NFL especially defensive backs and of course Marquise Colston but with all this talk is this just a moot issue or is there any chance of this happening??

[garyg]

Sad to say I don't see football returning anytime soon...Offensive lineman Dave Fiore and Willie Colon also played in NFL for a number of seasons

[HofstraHockey]

There's no chance. Remember, LIU made this move as a cost cutting measure- they eliminated a whole bunch of teams that were duplicate between their two campuses.

[HUSID74]

There's no chance. Remember, LIU made this move as a cost cutting measure- they eliminated a whole bunch of teams that were duplicate between their two campuses.

We'll see what happens when the current president retires.

[The Shadow]

Does anyone know when President Rabinowitz plans on retiring from HU? There have been other colleges that have reinstated their football programs, two that come to mind are Fordham and Villanova. Do we think that HU can now adequately support a football program? How would it alter the present athletic department and the other men's and women's programs? This would be quite a financial undertaking, and I am not sure there is enough support with the present students and HU Alumni. Count me in favor of any type of program. I realize that there are requirements for the number of scholarships to be part of the CAA football conference. I believe the amount is 63 for FCS. How about the Pioneer League FCS that has no scholarships? Maybe that could be the starting point instead of the CAA? The only drawback that I can see is the lack of any football rivals. In previous seasons, there was always the HU vs Post game as HUSID74 mentioned. It now would be difficult to reach that level of publicity and attendance, but I would love to see football back at HU!

[EvanJ]

The ACC Network and the fact that outside the Power 5 there are many Group of 5 and FCS games on TV or on ESPN Plus at a reasonable price makes it easier to root for far away colleges. Among NCAA Football fans in Suffolk, I wonder what percent have Stony Brook as their favorite team? The same goes for LIU in Nassau, Columbia in Manhattan, Wagner in Staten Island, Monmouth in Monmouth County, etc. I don't want Football if only the students will attend. I don't want Football without scholarships just for the sake of having Football, and I don't want Stony Brook (and maybe LIU) to be better because they offer scholarships. It's like how a third area MLB team probably won't happen, and if a new team had the payroll of the Tampa Bay Rays (to make an analogy to Football without scholarships), not many people would stop being Yankees or Mets fans to support the new team. The Pioneer League is the worst FCS Conference in the Sagarin, and travel costs would be higher because it's spread across the country. How are its 10 teams and locations, with only 1 team in the northeast:

Butler in Indianapolis, IN
Davidson in Davidson, NC
Dayton in Dayton, OH
Drake in Des Moines, IA
Jacksonville in Jacksonville, FL
Marist in Poughkeepsie, NY
Morehead State in Morehead, KY
San Diego in San Diego, CA
Stetson in DeLand, FL
Valparaiso in Valparaiso, IN

I'm a soccer fan, and Hofstra has been good at that in both genders, not be mention winning the regular season and CAA Tournament in Volleyball last year. Football is much more popular than those, but I don't want an FCS average team that makes the FCS Playoffs one in five years and is never elite if that would hurt soccer.

[HofstraHockey]

The students don’t and won’t care. They could barely get them to show up when the basketball team played Villanova. If you think they’re getting out of bed on a Saturday morning to see them play Morehead State, I don’t know what to tell you. They don’t fly basketball to Virginia, good luck getting them to send 100 people to San Diego.

Let’s see what LIU brings in this weekend against Sacred Heart.

[The Shadow]

I was not very clear in representing my thinking about HU's football possibilities. HU had a very successful division 3 and 1AA program with numerous playoff appearances and players going to the NFL. I think there are only two FCS options available: 1) full 63 scholarship CAA, or 2) Pioneer League without scholarships. A Division 2 or 3 program is not allowed because of NCAA regulations. So, the point is that a Pioneer League football program is still so much better than no program. We have all discussed, through numerous posts, the attendance totals. Let's not go down that road again speculating about a possible program. American college football is celebrating 150 years in 2019. It is ingrained in our culture so much more than college soccer. I enjoy watching soccer, but it is not football, and probably never will be. People who are not familiar with any aspects of football have at least heard of the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. You all know people who go to Super Bowl parties to just watch the halftime and commercials. How many of these casual fans are aware of when the NCAA Soccer games are taking place? Look, HU is probably not going to reinstate the football program without huge funding from the Alumni. I was just adding the Pioneer League alternative that may be less costly. The immediate goal is not to play LIU, Stony Brook, or Fordham, just reinstate the team. I know that fall weekends at HU are now just not the same without the football program.

[EvanJ]

You said "How many of these casual fans are aware of when the NCAA Soccer games are taking place?" How many people in Nassau know when LIU's next game is and that there is Division I Football in Nassau? How many people in Manhattan know when Columbia's next game is? How many people in Staten Island know when Wagner's next game is? Mid-majors may not be helped by the popularity of Football (or Men's Basketball), and mid-majors could be hurt by how many TV channels show the top conferences. Conferences compete against each other recruiting, making money, and during games. An increase in the popularity of a college sport isn't a rising tide that lifts all boats.

[The Shadow]

Evan, The obvious answer to the Nassau, Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx, or even Suffolk question is not that many, but that is really not the point. Most mid-major colleges sponsor most sports for the students participating in them, their families, classmates, friends, and alumni. We all complain about the change in the coverage by Newsday and the lack of publicity. We have discussed the attendance of casual fans in Nassau, as I have stated, way too many times. As many of the posters have said, let's just be concerned about what is the best situation for HU. I believe that HU is a much better college with a football program. If that means that I can be in Shuart Stadium on a crisp fall Saturday afternoon watching HU play in the Pioneer League against Drake or Dayton, so be it. Nassau fans may not know about these Pioneer League teams, but how many casual fans know about CAA Elon or #2 FCS ranked James Madison? As I have stated, it is still so much better than what we all have now, which is NO PROGRAM! Let's not get into discussions about a possible sport that may not ever be reinstated. We can only speculate what may, or may not, be on a possible new president's agenda in years to come. So, does anyone really know when President Rabinowitz plans on leaving HU? Remember, we all just want to see what we believe to be the best for HU.

[Polito]

100% zero chance until Rab is gone. Now once that happens, I do have a small glimmer of hope something cool could happen. But it would take something major in terms of $, whether donor, partnership, etc.

That said, when HU did have football, they routinely travelled great distances, coast to coast and midwest bring charter flights full of the team, staff, etc. That was never really an issue - yeah it's a cost, but it's the cost of doing sports. If you make the decision to field a sport, you inherently make the commitment to deal with all that comes with it. And of course, that is one of the challenges with adding high dollar sports.

The student apathy is the biggest lingering concern to me - HU seems to be attracting/recruiting/admitting a growing contingent of non-sport students at HU. I know there are many points of view on this, but I am not a fan. I'm proud of my degree, but I'm also very realistic and know well that it's not like HU is Harvard, so the idea of having some hard core academia vibe is kind of silly to me. This is a wonderful athletic institution, and I think the school should focus more on it, but that's just me.

I like the combo of rabid sports fans that also handle their academic biz. And there are plenty out there, but the challenge of course is bringing them to HU. And without football, and a hoops team that hasn't made the friggin dance in 2 decades, it's a tough sell (if HU was even trying, which I don't think they are or give a rats rear end about).

[HofstraHockey]

100% zero chance until Rab is gone. Now once that happens, I do have a small glimmer of hope something cool could happen. But it would take something major in terms of $, whether donor, partnership, etc.

That said, when HU did have football, they routinely travelled great distances, coast to coast and midwest bring charter flights full of the team, staff, etc. That was never really an issue - yeah it's a cost, but it's the cost of doing sports. If you make the decision to field a sport, you inherently make the commitment to deal with all that comes with it. And of course, that is one of the challenges with adding high dollar sports.

The student apathy is the biggest lingering concern to me - HU seems to be attracting/recruiting/admitting a growing contingent of non-sport students at HU. I know there are many points of view on this, but I am not a fan. I'm proud of my degree, but I'm also very realistic and know well that it's not like HU is Harvard, so the idea of having some hard core academia vibe is kind of silly to me. This is a wonderful athletic institution, and I think the school should focus more on it, but that's just me.

I like the combo of rabid sports fans that also handle their academic biz. And there are plenty out there, but the challenge of course is bringing them to HU. And without football, and a hoops team that hasn't made the friggin dance in 2 decades, it's a tough sell (if HU was even trying, which I don't think they are or give a rats rear end about).

And yet, somehow, Boston U does it.