Students petition for football to return to Hofstra

Willie Colon played football at Hofstra and was selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Colon was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an offensive guard. // Photo courtesy of Hofstra University Athletics.

In December 2009, President Rabinowitz announced that Hofstra University will no longer have a Division I football team after the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to end the football program and instead focus on scholarship funds for students.

In a press release from the Hofstra Athletics department, Rabinowitz said, “The cost of the football program, now and in the future, far exceeds the return possible from an FCS program ... Given that, along with the low level of interest, financial support and attendance among our students, our alumni and the community, the choice was painful, but clear.”                        

Current Athletic Director Rick Cole Jr. commented on the decision to end the football team: “sometimes the right decisions aren't easy and through the lens by which we look will determine whether you think it was right or wrong.”

Earlier this year, Hofstra students created a petition to bring football back to campus.

The petition, which now has over 1,600 signatures, was created on January 25 and circulated on Twitter by an account called @StoolHofstra. Recognizing the over one decade break from football, the petition states that students “want to see more tailgates, football, campus activity and school spirit.” The creators of @StoolHofstra could not be reached for comment.

United with current students at Hofstra, ex-NFL player and alumnus Willie Colon retweeted a post from @StoolHofstra.

One signer of the @StoolHofstra petition, Kenroy Wallace, said, “Hofstra saved a lot of young men’s lives on Long Island. It also provided a place where local athletes had a sense of pride for still playing within the community they grew up around!” 

Another signer of the petition, Jake Delgado, said, “the heart and soul of a school is rooted through sports, and football is one that brings everyone together.”

According to Hofstra’s yearly President's Reports, the University has been successful in focusing on need-based student scholarship funds since the discontinuation of the football program. The report recounts the 2008 fiscal year reporting that in the past six years, Hofstra has “increased scholarship funding by 127 percent to just over $57 million.” The most recent report from the 2019 fiscal year recorded endowment funding having a growth of 609 percent in the last 19 years, “valued at $712.5 million,” which helps fund student scholarships.           

Despite following through with their goals, the University still has work to do according to current students.

“I’d rather them not dump money into football when they could be fixing existing issues that Hofstra has,” said Isabel Flemming, a junior marketing major.  

Even though many students are upset that the University has not reconsidered its decision, Hofstra will not budge. “The University’s position on the decision to end its football program has not changed,” said Assistant Vice President of University Relations, Karla Schuster.

Without action from the current administration, students can keep signing the petition with hopes to propose this idea to the next University president, Susan Poser. Poser takes office on August 1.