Northeastern Cuts Football Program

Rumors began to circulate late last night and less than an hour later, it was confirmed: Northeastern University, a private school in Boston, Mass., was cutting its 76-year old football program. The decision was a result of a two-year review of the university's athletic department in which is was determined that football was simply too expensive to maintain, especially for a team that just completed its sixth consecutive losing season -- the school essentially said it no longer wanted to pay $3 million a year for more losses than wins.

“The decision was a difficult one, made all the more difficult because of the respect and admiration I have for our coaches and players,” [athletic director Peter] Roby said in [an] e-mail. “Despite my personal feelings toward them I am convinced that this decision is in the best interest of the university. The past several years have been disappointing for our football program despite the best efforts of our staff and players.”

The Huskies, a Division I-AA FCS team in the Colonial Athletic Association, went 3-8 this season. They joined the Atlantic 10 in 1993 (it later became the CAA) and since then they have been one of the worst teams in the league, compiling a 76-115 record, and just four winning seasons, in those 17 years. The school will honor the players' athletic scholarships and for those who wish to transfer, NU will "do everything [it] can" and the NCAA will waive their requirement that normally forces students to sit out year. The school's official release can be read here.