FB| Hanging on

Brian Mandeville refused to believe it. He refused to believe that the hard work he had put in over his first three college seasons would go for naught. He refused to believe that football at Northeastern University could cease to exist.

The senior tight end's fears almost turned to reality. The Huskies (0-2) nearly lost its football program this offseason, after months of rumors led students, faculty and alumni to believe that the program would be discontinued following the 2007 season.

Mandeville still remembers the day he first read the report in his own school newspaper that the athletic department might be looking to cut football.

"That week during practice, we couldn't think of anything else except for what we had heard," Mandeville said. "Everybody was talking about it, and we just kept telling ourselves that it was only speculation. We couldn't help but think about it, but we remained confident that we'd be back the following season."

Indeed, Northeastern football is still alive. The Huskies, a Division I-AA program that plays in the Colonial Athletic Association, will play its third game of the season, Saturday against Syracuse for a 3:30 p.m. contest at the Carrier Dome.

But for a period of time last year, it looked like Northeastern football's 72nd season, would be its last. If not for the intervention of alumni, the Huskies might not be making the trip to Syracuse this weekend.

The saga began when The Northeastern News reported, last October, that athletics director Peter Roby was looking into the possibility of dissolving an athletic program in an effort to realign the financial resources of the department. At the time, Roby indicated that the entire athletic department as a whole would be evaluated - that any program could be eliminated.

Roby declined to speculate which program, if any, would get the axe, but reports widely assumed it would be the football program, largely because of the financial overhead associated with funding a football team. Football, with large rosters and high equipment costs, can be harder to fund than other sports.

When the Huskies football team lost seven of its first eight games last season, the speculation only gained steam. Rocky Hager, who is in his fifth season as head coach of Northeastern, called the rumors a "gigantic distraction" that lasted the rest of the season.

Mandeville echoed those feelings, but said that the coaching staff continually assured the players that it were doing everything in its power to illustrate the importance of the programs place in the athletic department.

"The story came out when there were about three or four games left in the season," Mandeville said. "So it was a big distraction because naturally kids were concerned about what was going to happen. (But) the coaches did a good job of keeping our heads on straight, considering the circumstances."

The Huskies finished up the season 3-8, actually winning two of its last three games. It was the program's fourth-straight losing season.

Still, with the program's future in limbo, alumni pledged their support to the team. According to The Northeastern News, the school's athletics review panel convened to provide feedback on the current state of the athletic department, including football. While alumni expressed concern about losing the program, university officials emphasized the million-dollar-plus net loss per year due to the expense of maintaining football.

Roby also met with representatives from the "Friends of Northeastern Athletics" alumni group to further discuss the fate of the program.

"We went through some meetings with some alumni, players and parents and rallied together and really did a nice job of fundraising," Hager said. "I would say that was one of the factors that indicated to the administration that football is important to the alumni, and we are committed to being able to properly support and take care of it."

In February, Roby held an official press conference to announce the athletic department's plan to keep the football program. Roby outlined a new direction to help improve the quality, as well as the funding, of the program.

"We started this review process sponsoring 19 intercollegiate sports, and we will continue to sponsor 19 intercollegiate sports going forward," Roby said at the press conference.

"We were really excited," Mandeville said. "It finally put our minds at ease and let us start preparing for the upcoming season. We were very fortunate that the alumni stepped up and let the administration know how important football was to them."

That season hasn't included a win yet for the Huskies. Northeastern was blown out in its opener by Ball State, 48-14, and then lost in overtime to Georgia Southern, a traditionally strong Division I-AA program.

For Northeastern, beating a Division I opponent - even a floundering one like Syracuse - could help validate the decision to keep football around. Despite the current state of its program, the Huskies see this as a winnable game. One that they believe could change the momentum of their season and help ensure the future of their program.

"We definitely want to win this one," Mandeville said. "But Syracuse is coming off of a few disappointing losses, so we figure they're going to be pretty hungry for a win ... It should be a big one for both teams as far as turning things around and changing momentum."

aljohn@syr.edu