Northeastern football ceased operations in November 2009.
Fellow CAA Football member Villanova captured its first Division I national championship in football, defeating the Montana Grizzlies 21-23 tonight in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Wildcats become the fourth different CAA team in seven years to take the title. Earlier this season, Northeastern lost to then No. 2 Villanova, 56-7.
With the Holiday Road Trip starting on Sunday, let’s get some news links out of the way:
>>> We start with Jeff Howe who recaps the major storylines from the first half of the Hockey East season. [INCH]
>>> The Globe’s sports blog says that the Hunte brothers will be transferring to separate CAA schools, UMass and Delaware. [Boston Globe]
>>> Darren J. Costa has a rundown of who’s transferring where from Northeastern’s football team. [Life Being Husky]
>>> Sam Perkins profiles basketball assistant coach Antonio Reynolds-Dean. [Far From The Show]
>>> Marvin Pave writes the obituary in the Globe for NU women’s hockey star Kathryn Waldo. [Boston Globe]
>>> First, we quickly revisit last Thursday’s basketball game. [Providence Journal]
>>> Next, we very quickly move on from Saturday’s embarrassing hockey game. [USCHO]
>>> Michael Vega profiles Baptiste Bataille [Boston Globe]
>>> The Toronto Sun profiles Lori Antflick in advance of the Frozen Fenway. [Toronto Sun]
>>> Mike Litos runs down the weekend in CAA basketball. [CAA Hoops]
>>> Mr. Litos also posts a very interesting sharply-written letter from commissioner Tom Yeager to the management of the Richmond Coliseum. [CAA Hoops]
>>> The folks in Columbia, despite having a football program with as bleak a reputation a team can have, are confident that football is there to stay. Despite Northeastern and Hofstra pulling the plug. [The Columbia Spectator]
>>> At the University of Michigan, Andy Reid reminds folks complaining about Brian Kelley’s departure from Cincinatti that it could be a lot worse – at least the Bearcats still have a program. [The Michigan Daily]
Reactions to in front Hofstra’s announcement below, but let’s keep things local to start.
>>> Jim Connelly has this week’s Hockey East column, and predicts a weekend NU/MC sweep. [USCHO]
>>> Kyle Kraemer is this week’s Huntington News Player of the Week. [Huntington News]
>>> Mike McMahon previews tonight’s NU/MC game. [Warrior Rink Rat]
>>> On the women’s hockey side of things, Dan Hickling profiles Florence Shelling. [USCHO]
>>> Mike Litos talks about Northeastern’s next basketball opponent – Drexel. [CAA Hoops]
Now, on to the news at hand:
>>> Jeff Pearlman says that Hofstra made the right the move, since D-1 college football is illogical to begin with. [Sports Illustrated]
>>> Hofstra alumnus George Vescey writes the Sports Of The Times’ reaction to the end of Hofstra football. [New York Times]
>>> Hofstra graduate Wayne Chrebet is “shocked” by Hofstra’s decision. [Fanhouse]
>>> Marcus Henry reports that Hofstra coach Dave Cohen was also shocked by the announcement. [Newsday]
>>> Mike Litos offers his theories on what lies ahead for the CAA. [CAA Hoops]
>>> Finally, Jerry Beach has a recap of Thursday’s events. [Defiantly Dutch]
>>> First, before we give you the post-game stories from the Providence game, Kevin McNamara writes that for NU, Providence’s visit is a very big deal. [Providence Journal]
>>> Onto game recaps, Andrew Parente had the difficult task of encapsulating two weeks’ worth of basketball in his report. [Huntington News]
>>> Kevin McNamara is back with the main reason why Providence prevailed on Wednesday: Sharaud Curry. [Providence Journal]
>>> If nothing else, the AP’s choice of pictures from the game is strange. [Associated Press]
>>> Steve Conroy briefly looks at Tuesday’s game, as well as the Huskies’ two newly-signed recruits. [Boston Herald]
>>> The N-Zone’s Darren Costa has a long recap of Tuesday’s game and atmosphere. [Life Being Husky]
Returning to football, Hofstra cut its program today in a stunning announcement, which lets us revisit Northeastern’s own decision last week:
>>> Justin A. Rice looks at how the end of Northeastern football has a far-reaching impact in the region, especially on the south shore. [Boston Globe]
>>> The first of several articles on the matter from NU’s paper of record, Maggie Cassidy reports on the protest by former players outside Tuesday’s basketball game. [Huntington News]
>>> Patrick McHugh looks at the history of the program. [Huntington News]
>>> The editorial piece of record from The News says that the athletic department has to remain accountable for its actions. [Huntington News]
>>> Peter Roby’s son, an undergrad at NU, offers his thoughts. [Huntington News]
We will also continue to follow the Hofstra football story and get you those links tomorrow.
Elsewhere…
>>> Greg Cronin and Mark Dennehy participated in the Hockey East weekly conference call, and Mike McMahon (tonight’s guest on Hockey East This Week) has posted the audio for us. [Warrior Rink Rat]
>>> BU plays BC in hockey this weekend. This is a big deal. [Wall Street Journal]
Hofstra University delivered the second shock to CAA Football in as many weeks, announcing this morning that it will end its 72-year old football program. Last week, Northeastern abruptly ended its football program after 74 seasons. More to come in tomorrow’s Off The Wires post.
As last week’s football news continues to sink in, we transition from the media blitz back to the sports in season. Make no mistake, the end of Northeastern’s program will continue to be dissected (including on the Dog Pound Sports Sound next Friday), but for now, we begin to transition back to news of the teams currently in season.
>>> Bob Ryan reminds us in a very well-written column that the one man who was saddened the most by Sunday’s news is long time sports information director and athletics supporter, Jack Grinold [Boston Globe]
>>> David Pevear talks to impacted football players. [Lowell Sun]
>>> John Carchedi talks to Peter Roby in a report for NESN’s SportsDesk program. [NESN.com]
>>> Finally, NU alumnus Keith Gary writes that despite the disappointment, it was the right decision to make. [Lehigh Valley Express-Times]
We move on to other items making news:
>>> Recaps of Wednesday’s NU/BU basketball game: Globe | Herald | AP | Daily Free Press
>>> Ted Ryan says that Vermont needs to respond better to adversity in tonight’s game against Northeastern. [Burlington Free Press]
>>> NESN’s Ice Chips feature looks at the renovations to Matthews Arena as the old barn approaches its 100th birthday in April. [NESN.com]
>>> Women’s hockey has vaulted to No. 7 in the USCHO.com and USA Today polls – they won their game over Vemont on Wednesday to back up that rank. [NU Athletics]
Local stories continue to pour in after Northeastern’s decision to cut its football program:
>>> Craig Larson reports that coach Rocky Hager was blindsided by the news. [Boston Globe]
>>> Michael Grossi found a similar reaction from players on the team. [Boston Globe]
>>> Mark Blaudschun assesses the school’s need to invest and upgrade in order to be competitive – a plan that Peter Roby found unfeasable. [Boston Globe]
>>> John Connolly looks at the final moments leading up to the announcement. [Boston Herald]
>>> Patrick McHugh talked to players who protested Monday’s decision outside the NU Athletics offices at the Cabot complex. [Huntington News]
>>> Adam Smartschen talked to NU quarterback Alex Dulski. [Metro]
>>> Channel 4 aired this report on the 6 p.m. news. [WBZ-TV]
>>> NECN covered yesterday’s press conference. [NECN]
>>> BU student Jenna Ebersole talked to NU students after Monday’s announcement. [Daily Free Press]
>>> Across the river in Cambridge, we’re reminded that the only Division I football programs remaining in Boston are BC and Harvard. [Harvard Crimson]
>>> The AP’s latest story on the announcement was filed on Monday evening. Peter Roby provides additional insight into the decision. [Associated Press]
Later today, we’ll look at some reaction from around the United States.
As you might expect, Northeastern’s decision to discontinue football has resonated throughout Greater Boston, New England, and the college football community on the whole.
We start with general news stories regarding the decision:
>>> Additionally, Mark Blaudshun looks at the reaction from players. [Boston Globe]
>>> Onto reactions about the decision: First, Dan Shaughnessy has a very good analysis of Northeastern’s decision. [Boston Globe]
>>> Darren Costa, who is the student behind the “N-Zone” basketball fan section, offers his thoughts. [Life Being Husky]
>>> Finally, CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager reacts to the news during the weekly football conference call. External audio link. [CAASports.com]
We also have our own reactions in a special podcast here at WRBBsports.com.
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