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Post by mattygstag on Jan 19, 2016 8:36:00 GMT -5
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Post by ctghostman on Jan 19, 2016 11:06:19 GMT -5
Same reason that we can compete at LAX - few D1 teams (70 or so) - title 9 kills the sport.
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Post by FU73 on Jan 19, 2016 12:53:38 GMT -5
Stag Football (1996-2002) and Stag Ice Hockey (1998-2003) were started and eliminated mainly due to the program operating costs being too expensive. You would have thought that those in charge at the Athletic Department could have figured that out before starting the programs? Despite that, Stag Football was always averaging at least 2,000 fans at home every weekend on Alumni Field. However, if Stag Men's Lacrosse at Rafferty Stadium can become a perennial regional power and consistently be in the top 20 nationally it will help the University.
However, the Stag Women's programs have been the most successful athletic programs at Fairfield University and have more NCAA Tournament appearances and MAAC Commissioner's Cups than the Stag Men:
MAAC Commissioner’s Cup (Women's) (8): 1993-94, 1994-95, 1997-98, 1You would 998-99, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2008-09, 2014-15
MAAC Commissioner’s Cup (Men's) (3): 1994-95, 1996-97, 2011-12
Baseball
NCAA Tournament Apearances (0)
Men's Basketball
NCAA Tournament Appearances (3): 1986, 1987, 1997
Women’s Basketball
NCAA Tournament Appearances (4): 1988, 1991, 1998, 2001
Field Hockey
NCAA Tournament Appearance (2): 2001, 2015
Men’s Golf
MAAC Champions (1): 1997
Women’s Golf
MAAC Champions (2): 1998, 2000
Men’s Lacrosse
NCAA Tournament Appearances (2): 2002, 2005
Women’s Lacrosse
NCAA Tournament Appearance (2): 2009, 2015
Women’s Rowing
MAAC Champions (1): 2000
Men’s Soccer
NCAA Tournament Appearances (4): 1999, 2006, 2008, 2011
Women’s Soccer
NCAA Tournament Appearances (5): 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2008
Softball
NCAA Appearances (1): 2015
Men’s Tennis
NCAA Appearances (1): 2012
Women’s Tennis
NCAA Appearances (4): 2004, 2009, 2010, 2012
Volleyball
NCAA Tournament Appearances (8): 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2012, 2013, 2015
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Post by JoeStag on Jan 20, 2016 10:29:18 GMT -5
The reason that both Football and Ice Hockey were disbanded is that the Fairfield administrators and Professors were in serious contract negotiations at the time, And the Professors pushed very hard for their financial contract demands along with what they said was an overspending on all Athletics. They wanted athletics de-emphasized. Father Kelly caved in to the Professors and not only eliminated the 2 sports but also put in a 5 years Athletic budget freeze. I believe that Fairfield Professors are known to be paid very well.
I am all for a reduction in college sports, but not Football and Hockey. And Title 9 certainly played a big part in this also.
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Post by mattygstag on Jan 20, 2016 13:15:32 GMT -5
Title IX has done a lot of damage to men's college athletics. I understand that we cannot have a football team anymore. However, I do not see why we could not start up a D1 men's ice hockey team and a D1 women's ice hockey team thereby satisfying the Title IX requirements. Connecticut has become such a hotbed for college hockey that I think we are missing the boat. Yale has always been good at hockey but now Quinnipiac is #1 nationally, UCONN has joined Hockey East (improves every year), and Sacred Heart University is improving each year as well. Yale, QU, and UCONN are building strong ties through their instate hockey programs. We should get a piece of the action too!
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Post by FU73 on Jan 20, 2016 13:47:58 GMT -5
FYI:
SHU plays Men's Ice Hockey in the Atlantic Hockey League along with Air Force, American International, Army, Bentley, Canisius, Holy Cross, Mercyhurst, Niagara, Robert Morris and Rochester Institute of Technology. Last season SHU Men's Hockey averaged 220 fans in the 18 home games off campus in Milford, CT.
SHU plays Women's Ice Hockey in Division 1 Independent. Last season SHU Women's Ice Hockey averaged 85 fans at their 9 home games off campus in Shelton, CT.
SHU plays Football in the NEC along with Bryant, Central Connecticut, Duquesne, Robert Morris, St. Francis and Wagner. Last season SHU Football averaged 3,406 fans at their 5 home games on campus.
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Post by mattygstag on Jan 21, 2016 8:45:33 GMT -5
I admit that the SHU hockey programs are on the lower end of the college hockey world (although improving every year). However, that is not the case for Quinnipiac, Yale, and UCONN. QU and Yale sell out every home game with SRO and play in the highly competitive ECAC Hockey League. Yale won the national championship in 2013 while QU was the national runner-up. Quinnipiac just beat Harvard at Madison Square Garden on January 9 in front of over 12,000 fans! UCONN plays its games at the XL Center and averages about 4,000 fans a game. They play in the highly competitive Hockey East. QU, Yale, and UCONN play each other every year (often in a CT tournament). Fairfield University hockey could be really good and have a large fan base (especially with Fairfield Prep right on campus). I could actually see our hockey program become more popular than our basketball program over time. In terms of hockey, we could become the next Boston College, Boston University, or Quinnipiac. Go Stags!
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Post by JoeStag on Jan 22, 2016 10:36:09 GMT -5
Actually, the strategic plan published by the Varsity Athletics Task Force on Dec 16th 2014 did do an evaluation and Cost Projections for Men's Hockey. Some committee members recommended the evaluation. Some of the issues/comments I was told were:
- The cost is obviously very high
- it would also have implications on how to handle the women's side (not that we would have to add ice hockey, but the opportunities offered and increased spending for males would have to be matched.
- We have never been opposed to men's ice hockey and really had no desire to drop it. The facts back then were that the NCAA had stopped Division I schools from playing at a Division III level. So, options were to stay in and fund the program at Division I, or go back to club.
- The club option was chosen due to financial reasons that existed at the time, and that the financial commitment should go to Lacrosse.
- To bring back hockey at a high level now, would be costly and we would wind up in the league with Sacred Heart which would not be appealing to many alumni.
- ECAC and Hockey East are not going to add at the moment and we would have to prove ourselves before we would get consideration. Not much different to how men's lacrosse was upgraded.
- The overriding issue is …...where would the funding come from and would it just water down basketball and lacrosse where the emphasis has been?
- The only way Hockey comes back is if there was a significant donor or donors who come forward.
I if it was my choice, I would rather see Football come back. Lacrosse, Hockey, Track, Wrestling are all niche sports.
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Post by FU73 on Jan 22, 2016 11:20:15 GMT -5
SHU plays Football in the NEC along with Bryant, Central Connecticut, Duquesne, Robert Morris, St. Francis and Wagner. Last season SHU Football averaged 3,406 fans at their 5 home games on campus.
I would love to see Stag Football return to Rafferty Stadium. A much better way to reconnect with our fellow alumni and get the students involved with school spirit. I probably only missed one or two home games back in the day (1996-2002) and we even did a road trip to Fordham (Stags got clobbered by Fordham did a real hamburger/hot dog barbecue). A great way to spend a day back on campus even with the crappy bleachers, porta-potties and AH style food. The BCC Snack Bar for a pre-game bite and the Levee postgame was always a good alternative with real hot food and brewskis. If the reason that AH has not been renovated is because "more will be done when funds are available" then I doubt that the University will allocate the funds necessary to coach, staff and play Stag Football again. Last season Scared Heart Football had road trips to Valparaiso (IN), Marist (NY), Dartmouth (VT), Robert Morris (PA), St. Francis (PA), Bryant (RI) and 8 coaches and a 107 man roster. SHU Football Campus Field:www.sacredheartpioneers.com/information/facilities/Facility_Pages/Campus_FieldStag Football Record:Year NCAA Division Conference Overall CoachGames Win Loss Tie Pct. 1996 I-AA MAAC 9 1 8 0 .111 Kevin Kiesel 1997 I-AA MAAC 10 7 3 0 .700 Kevin Kiesel 1998 I-AA MAAC 11 9 2 0 .818 Kevin Kiesel 1999 I-AA MAAC 11 9 2 0 .818 Kevin Kiesel 2000 I-AA MAAC 10 8 2 0 .800 Kevin Kiesel 2001 I-AA MAAC 10 5 5 0 .500 Joe Bernard 2002 I-AA MAAC 11 5 6 0 .455 Joe Bernard Totals 72 44 28 0 .611 |
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Post by Stagophile on Jan 22, 2016 11:57:03 GMT -5
If bringing back football could guarantee an invitation to the Patriot League, I am all for it. I would imagine Rafferty Stadium and the successful, albeit short, legacy of Stags Football would be attractive to the Patriot League. Fall weekend games against Fordham, Holy Cross and Georgetown would be big draws and a great opportunity to engage and bring alumni back to campus!  |
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Post by FU73 on Jan 22, 2016 12:10:38 GMT -5
Stago, It takes vision to see the benefit of Stag Football (also a proper Alumni Hall) to our fellow alumni and the University itself but also a plan.
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Post by mattygstag on Feb 3, 2016 20:39:04 GMT -5
Bringing 80-100 football players (some of them criminals) to Fairfield University is not necessarily a good move. I still say we should start up a D1 hockey team where we could seek out high-character, high-academically minded students. Also, there is a good number of people in the tri-state and New England areas who really love hockey and could become stag fans. Listen to the roar of over 12,000 fans at Madison Square Garden (1/9/16) when Quinnipiac scores the winning goal in overtime against Harvard just after the 5:55 mark: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtQMoiwj_Rg. One day, it could be the Fairfield Stags playing Harvard, Boston College, or Notre Dame at MSG. Go Stags! |
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Post by Stagophile on Apr 3, 2016 8:39:41 GMT -5
So depressing...10 steps behind. We are too conservative for our own good. Quinnipiac is becoming everything that I originally imagined Fairfield would become. Quinnipiac's Bobcats hope to clinch the title at Frozen Fourwww.cnbc.com/2016/04/02/quinnipiacs-bobcats-hope-to-clinch-the-title-at-frozen-four.html"We were a small, local college, with one campus and 1,900 students, 80 percent of them from Connecticut," Lahey said. "Today we have 10,000 students — 7,000 full-time undergraduates and 3,000 graduates — and 72 percent come from outside the state." Quinnipiac now spans across three campuses and boasts top-notch medical, communications and engineering schools and facilities. Lahey's plan included taking its athletic programs — specifically men's and women's basketball, lacrosse and hockey — to Division I. But recognizing that faculty, trustees and the community might balk at spending money on sports at the expense of academics, he tactically concentrated his expansion efforts on the latter. "We didn't make the commitment to sports until we strengthened the institution," he said, pointing to the construction of a health sciences building, a business school and new dormitories, as well as tripling the faculty. The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute was formally launched in 1994. |
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Post by Stagophile on Apr 3, 2016 10:58:48 GMT -5
Given that some will argue that Quinnipiac's high debt levels place it on an unsustainable path, I thought it would be interesting to read Moody's view of both schools. Moody's assigns A3 to Fairfield University's (CT) Series Q 2016 revenue bonds; outlook stablewww.moodys.com/research/Moodys-assigns-A3-to-Fairfield-Universitys-CT-Series-Q-2016--PR_903043628SUMMARY RATING RATIONALE Moody's Investors Service has assigned an A3 rating to Fairfield University's $50 million of Series 2016 Q Revenue Bonds. We have also affirmed the A3 rating on the university's outstanding bonds with stable outlook. The rating reflects Fairfield's prudent fiscal oversight, which supports ongoing surplus operations, retained cash flow, and growth in flexible reserves. High reliance on student charges and low yield on incoming freshmen expose Fairfield to shifts in student demand. The rating also incorporates Fairfield's relatively high leverage relative to operations. OUTLOOK The stable outlook reflects the expectation that Fairfield will continue to generate surplus operations, maintain strong liquidity, and have manageable borrowing plans. Moody's assigns A3 to Quinnipiac University, CT's $319.5M Series L Rev. Bds.; outlook stablewww.moodys.com/research/Moodys-assigns-A3-to-Quinnipiac-University-CTs-3195M-Series-L--PR_332432SUMMARY RATING RATIONALE The A3 rating reflects Quinnipiac's consistently strong operations and good growth in financial resources and unrestricted liquidity. Demand for the university's broad program offerings remains sound and has translated into growth in overall enrollment and net tuition revenue. Offsetting challenges are high leverage including a high debt service burden, very competitive Northeast market, and still required operating support for the law school and recently launched medical school. OUTLOOK The stable outlook reflects expectations of favorable cash flow sufficient to provide good debt service coverage. We expect ongoing growth in financial resources from cash flow as major capital spending winds down and the program investment and subsidization of the medical and law schools decline in the near to medium term. |
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Post by FU73 on Apr 3, 2016 11:08:46 GMT -5
stago, Interesting bond finance information plus Quinnipiac has a higher endowment than Fairfield: Endowment:Fairfield University - $317 million Quinnipiac University - $348.9 million However, Fairfield still has a higher ranking than Quinnipiac but Fairfield's ranking has slid from #3 and Quinnipiac's is rising. Regional Universities (North)Fairfield - #6 Quinnipiac - #11 colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-universities-north
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