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Northeastern University elected to cut its struggling football program over the weekend as the Huskies finished off yet another losing season — its sixth in a row.
Following a two-year review by athletic director Peter Roby, president Joseph Aoun and the board of trustees approved the move to terminate the program on Friday.
Northeastern won their season finale on Saturday afternoon against the University of Rhode Island 33-27 and were delivered the news Sunday night.
The school will still honor the athletic scholarships of the student-athletes and will work with the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) to help make arrangements for players to transfer if they wish to.
Low attendance – the lowest in the CAA – coupled with a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2003, led to the demise of the 74-year-old program.
“The decision is consistent with the university’s strategic approach to prioritize programs and invest in signature strengths,” the school said in a statement.
CAA Football Commissioner Tom Yeager was saddened to hear the news but understands the cost-cutting move.
“Well obviously we’re disappointed, but at the same time we understand the study and analysis that the university went through,” he said in a teleconference on Monday afternoon.
The conference now has an odd number of teams with 11 with the loss of Northeastern, but Yeager said he doesn’t believe that will be a problem, citing they will just need to reshuffle next year’s slate.
In 2011, Old Dominion University will join the CAA ranks and Georgia State University will become a member in 2012.
The University of Maine, a member of the CAA for football, will lose one of its annual opponents and rivals. Due to the reshuffling of the schedule they will be forced to play another South Division team to fill the eight games required for conference play.
Northeastern had an all-time record of 289-364-17.
