Saint Peter's and the Short Existence of MAAC Football

[aceinthehole]

A really nice article with a brief history of former MAAC football programs.


Before its basketball program’s improbable run to this season’s Elite Eight, Saint Peter’s athletics barely registered a blip on the proverbial radar. Case in point: The closure of Peacocks football less than three months before kickoff of the 2007 season garnered only a brief in the Philadelphia Inquirer, in the same update announcing the launch of baseball at Chestnut Hill College.


Saint Peter’s ceasing football operations dealt another blow to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which limped through its final season with just four members: Duquesne, Iona, La Salle and Marist.


Only Duquesne and Marist still sponsor football.

https://pressbreak.substack.com/p/saint-peters-and-the-short-existence

[Go Green]

So can we say that dropping football actually helped the St. Peter's basketball program (which is usually the hoped rationale for such action)?

[Baron Sardonicus]

So can we say that dropping football actually helped the St. Peter's basketball program (which is usually the hoped rationale for such action)?

You can say it, but it makes no sense. No scholarships gained for basketball. No megabucks became available to hire a big name coach.

[Baron Sardonicus]

I don't get why Marist is not in NEC football.

The NEC is now getting a bit crowded, but isn't that where Marist should have gone years ago?

[Baron Sardonicus]

The answer to my question is that the NEC doesn't allow associate football members, right?

Need that football-only league for Marist and some others in the region.

[Libertine]

So can we say that dropping football actually helped the St. Peter's basketball program (which is usually the hoped rationale for such action)?

As much as some <cough>Hofstra!!! ETSU!!! Jacksonville!!!<end cough, wow quite the fit there> might love to run with that logic, it's still tough to track exactly how dropping football in 2007 somehow led to an out-of-nowhere miracle run in the NCAA tournament fifteen years later. It's not like SP became a basketball powerhouse as a result; in fact, they haven't finished higher than second in the MAAC since then (including this year) and the last time the Peacocks made the Big Dance in 2011, they actually finished fourth in the reg season but won the MAAC tournament.

Also, at the time, the Saint Peter's admin openly admitted (https://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=2904419) that they were dropping football because they were terrible at it and weren't going to get better.

[aceinthehole]

The answer to my question is that the NEC doesn't allow associate football members, right?

Need that football-only league for Marist and some others in the region.

No, Duquesne (a former MAAC Football member) is a NEC associate.

I just think Marist doesn't wants to offer grants or schollys. Marist and Duquesne were offered an invite to the NEC when MAAC football ceased - only Duquesne accepted the offer.

[Baron Sardonicus]

Interesting.

I think this is where someone will chime in that Marist's PFL travel expenses (even with league restrictions on travel squads) exceed scholly costs they would incur in the NEC.

...a baseless claim, btw.

[Milktruck74]

Many kids (especially southern kids) will not go to a college that doesn't have a FB team. My scientific study has an Nvalue of 1, but number 1 daughter had plenty of options for school and chose to go to a D3 school that had a FB team. Her comment, when I suggested a highly regarded school without a FB team, "Dad, is it really a college if they don't play football on fall Saturdays? what amI supposed to do on the weekends?" ETSU and APSU both dropped their programs, but brought them back because enrollment suffered....and it wans't because there were no longer 85 kids on campus for FB. FB teams give a school an identity and that is worth far more in recruiting "regular" students....maybe not so much in the northeast, but absoutly in the south and southwest.

[Milktruck74]

Many kids (especially southern kids) will not go to a college that doesn't have a FB team.&nbsp; My scientific study has an Nvalue of 1, but number 1 daughter had plenty of options for school and chose to go to a D3 school that had a FB team. Her comment, when I suggested a highly regarded school without a FB team, "Dad, is it really a college if they don't play football on fall Saturdays? what amI supposed to do on the weekends?"&nbsp; &nbsp;ETSU and APSU both dropped their programs, but brought them back because enrollment suffered....and it wans't because there were no longer 85 kids on campus for FB.&nbsp; FB teams give a school an identity and that is worth far more in recruiting "regular" students....maybe not so much in the northeast, but absoutly in the south and southwest.

[FUBeAR]

Many kids (especially southern kids) will not go to a college that doesn't have a FB team.&nbsp; My scientific study has an Nvalue of 1, but number 1 daughter had plenty of options for school and chose to go to a D3 school that had a FB team. Her comment, when I suggested a highly regarded school without a FB team, "Dad, is it really a college if they don't play football on fall Saturdays? what amI supposed to do on the weekends?"&nbsp; &nbsp;ETSU and APSU both dropped their programs, but brought them back because enrollment suffered....and it wans't because there were no longer 85 kids on campus for FB.&nbsp; FB teams give a school an identity and that is worth far more in recruiting "regular" students....maybe not so much in the northeast, but absoutly in the south and southwest.
https://c.tenor.com/UTUOPEliY4cAAAAM/true-dat.gif

[Go...gate]

The answer to my question is that the NEC doesn't allow associate football members, right?

Need that football-only league for Marist and some others in the region.

Patriot League, IMO, though some will certainly disagree.

[maristdb89]

Two reasons - 1.) $$$$ - total cost of schollies is larger than the total cost of travel and merit aid provided. 2.) Marist would prefer to be a full conference member and Marist previously was in the NEC. Moved to the MAAC (considered an upgrade), so it would be considered going backwards.

[maristdb89]

Not happening. PL isn't expanding and under the current Marist FB model would only compete for the title of cellar dweller.

[hebmskebm]

Many kids (especially southern kids) will not go to a college that doesn't have a FB team. My scientific study has an Nvalue of 1, but number 1 daughter had plenty of options for school and chose to go to a D3 school that had a FB team. Her comment, when I suggested a highly regarded school without a FB team, "Dad, is it really a college if they don't play football on fall Saturdays? what amI supposed to do on the weekends?" ETSU and APSU both dropped their programs, but brought them back because enrollment suffered....and it wans't because there were no longer 85 kids on campus for FB. FB teams give a school an identity and that is worth far more in recruiting "regular" students....maybe not so much in the northeast, but absoutly in the south and southwest.

My sister is an alum of Emerson College in Boston (played lacrosse there as well) and has a t-shirt that says "Emerson College Football: Undefeated since 1880" :D

[NY Crusader 2010]

The answer to my question is that the NEC doesn't allow associate football members, right?

Need that football-only league for Marist and some others in the region.

They do, but they also seem to have a policy of kicking schools out of the football league when that school leaves the NEC for another league for other sports. Examples include Monmouth, Bob Morris and Bryant.

URI also briefly committed to joining the NEC as a football affiliate back in 2010 or so but they went back on the decision and stayed in the CAA.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I remember several things about the non-scholarship St. Peter's football program. One, at the time they discontinued football, they didn't have their own stadium - they had to pay to rent out Jersey City Municipal Stadium, which was (I believe) rented out by multiple other teams including high school teams, so they frequently had to schedule games on Fridays. Before that, as a club, D-III and eventually D-I program, they played in Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City before that was demolished.

The second part was, I think the main driving force behind St. Peter's football was a singular, wealthy football alum (whose name escapes me) that barreled ahead with football and kept it going long after it seems like it was viable. I think one reason they stuck it out was not to abandon the remaining MAAC teams that wanted to still play (like Iona, Marist, and at the time Duquesne). But as noted in the article St. Peter's really struggled immensely because it barely had enough money to keep the program going. (Not a heck of a lot changed either after they discontinued football, either, IMO.)

[BigBlueMU]

I remember several things about the non-scholarship St. Peter's football program. One, at the time they discontinued football, they didn't have their own stadium - they had to pay to rent out Jersey City Municipal Stadium, which was (I believe) rented out by multiple other teams including high school teams, so they frequently had to schedule games on Fridays. Before that, as a club, D-III and eventually D-I program, they played in Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City before that was demolished.

The second part was, I think the main driving force behind St. Peter's football was a singular, wealthy football alum (whose name escapes me) that barreled ahead with football and kept it going long after it seems like it was viable. I think one reason they stuck it out was not to abandon the remaining MAAC teams that wanted to still play (like Iona, Marist, and at the time Duquesne). But as noted in the article St. Peter's really struggled immensely because it barely had enough money to keep the program going. (Not a heck of a lot changed either after they discontinued football, either, IMO.)

All of the above true (great local Jersey City references BTW). I was actually recruited by St. Peters, and as bad as the facilities were/are, I almost went there because of Rob Stern. At the time Coach Stern was very well known among Hudson County HS football and had a knack for stirring up excitement for the program. I think at the time SPC was coming off of a 10 win season which helped his cause a little. But as you said, that booster $$$ ran dry and that was the end of the program.