OT: - Hartford Athletics Possible Drop to D3 | The Boneyard

OT: Hartford Athletics Possible Drop to D3

rollskies

rollskies

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Hadn’t seen this posted here yet, so thought I would share. This would be such a shame if this goes through, especially after their first trip to the NCAA tourney. I have become a big fan of Hartford basketball and John Gallagher this year.

Edit: As i’ve seen a few other people point out, this is not just about men’s basketball. There are other teams there that have had success in recent years that this would hurt.
 
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I think the basketball programs are the only scholarship sports at the school? Maybe baseball has a few with some matching schollies in women's sports? And they're still so far in the red they're looking into dropping. The golden era of college sports is almost certainly behind us at this point
 
KSC94 said:
I think the basketball programs are the only scholarship sports at the school? Maybe baseball has a few with some matching schollies in women's sports? And they're still so far in the red they're looking into dropping. The golden era of college sports is almost certainly behind us at this point
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Schools like Hartford added to the golden age of college sports? 😀
 
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husky429 said:
Very expensive. Would be sad though... they have solid facilities for a low-major team and Gallagher is a talent.
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To put in perspective... players at uconn get their own practice facility, film room and everything else. They're treated like kings. At uhart, the players share the gym with intramural volleyball and their film room is an old dusty projector and the players literally sit on the floor to watch.

They're obviously not as big, strong or talented as high major teams but the dedication to their game is just as high without the promise of a lucrative professional career. These kids show up early to practice, put up shots before their AM classes, etc. just like our players.

So much respect for low major players.
 
When Hartford went from Div. 2 to Div. 1 there were many directly involved in the Athletic Department who lobbied hard to go instead to Div. 3. Hindsight is often 20-20 or better.
 
CCSU went through this in 2017 and had to drop M/W Golf to help the bottom line.

How about a revenue sharing model where the P5/G5 schools help subsidize athletic programs at places like CCSU instead of paying elite athletes that go pro anyway.
 
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CCSU97 said:
CCSU went through this in 2017 and had to drop M/W Golf to help the bottom line.

How about a revenue sharing model where the P5/G5 schools help subsidize athletic programs at places like CCSU instead of paying elite athletes that go pro anyway.
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The P5 wants fewer division 1 schools.
 
Everyone is saying this is final but everything official I read is not quite
 
Interesting. It is the smallest and only private school in America East, a conference with all public northeast schools. It only has an endowment of $179 million, I assumed it was much larger than that. I pictured it more as a Patriot Conference member but those schools have much more cashe. Perhaps the Northeast Conference is a better fit.

What's also interesting, it is listed at 200 Bloomfield Ave, West Hartford, but almost the entire campus is in Hartford. Including its satellite cafeteria, The Spigot.
 
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Kolumbo said:
Interesting. It is the smallest and only private school in America East, a conference with all public northeast schools. It only has an endowment of $179 million, I assumed it was much larger than that. I pictured it more as a Patriot Conference member but those schools have much more cashe. Perhaps the Northeast Conference is a better fit.

What's also interesting, it is listed at 200 Bloomfield Ave, West Hartford, but almost the entire campus is in Hartford. Including its satellite cafeteria, The Spigot.
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Worked at the Spigot my last 3 semesters, great memories and an education unto itself.
 
alexd. said:
I remember when they moved up to D1 in 1985. They went all out with concerts after their HCC games.

Postgame Entertainment
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Not even ashamed to say I was at the Anne Murray concert with my Mom as a 14yo and had a blast. My job as the youngest kid growing up in the 70's was helping my Mom do the dishes after dinner. It never felt like work because Mom always had music on that she and I would jam to. Anne Murray, Leo Sayer, Janis Ian, Diana Ross...great times. I think my Dad bought the tickets and let me give them to my mom as a gift from me. She returned the favor by taking me to see Dion at The Oakdale Theater a year or two later.
 
Kolumbo said:
Interesting. It is the smallest and only private school in America East, a conference with all public northeast schools. It only has an endowment of $179 million, I assumed it was much larger than that. I pictured it more as a Patriot Conference member but those schools have much more cashe. Perhaps the Northeast Conference is a better fit.

What's also interesting, it is listed at 200 Bloomfield Ave, West Hartford, but almost the entire campus is in Hartford. Including its satellite cafeteria, The Spigot.
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The AE isn't the same league Hartford joined back in 1985. Gone are Canisius, Niagara, Siena, Colgate, Northeastern, Boston U. Replaced by 3 SUNYs, UMBC, UMass Lowell, and NJIT. They just don't fit and have the smallest following in the league.

What is surprising is how stagnant the university has been when compared to Quinnipiac and even Sacred Heart. QU and SHU joined D-I about 15 years after UHa, but they have grown both academically and athletically the last 20 years. Outside of this NCAA tourney, Hartford hasn't made much of a splash in anything. The have become the forgotten D-I program in the state and have been crowded out.
 
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TRest said:
When I moved to West Hartford over 25 years ago it was a party school for Long Island kids, who I believe have moved on to Quinnipiac.
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25 years ago, Quinnipiac College was a party school for Long Island and Jersey kids. Many of the QC students could not get into good schools.

With next to zero interest in the Univ of Hartford, I hope the school's low level D1 level student-athletes still continue at that level. If not, it will be surprising for the hoops coach to stick around West Hartford.
 
Da_Aisijimo_Gou said:
25 years ago, Quinnipiac College was a party school for Long Island and Jersey kids. Many of the QC students could not get into good schools.

With next to zero interest in the Univ of Hartford, I hope the school's low level D1 level student-athletes still continue at that level. If not, it will be surprising for the hoops coach to stick around West Hartford.
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Back in my day we'd hit up U-Ha on the way back to Storrs after a night out in Hartford. We called it Yee-Ha because the lady scholars were a lot of fun.
 
www.espn.com

APR: Ten teams lose postseason

Poor academic results will keep a record 10 men's basketball teams out of next year's NCAA tournament, including the first BCS school to face the penalty -- Connecticut.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Walter Harrison, the chairman of the Committee on Academic Performance and the president of the University of Hartford, said his committee will review the process with an eye toward the future.

"I do not expect us to make any changes retrospectively," he said. "If we make changes -- and I'm not sure that we will make any -- that would be done prospectively, I believe. And I think there's very little chance we're going to change anything."
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Good. I hope Hartford rots.
 
CCSU97 said:
The AE isn't the same league Hartford joined back in 1985. Gone are Canisius, Niagara, Siena, Colgate, Northeastern, Boston U. Replaced by 3 SUNYs, UMBC, UMass Lowell, and NJIT. They just don't fit and have the smallest following in the league.

What is surprising is how stagnant the university has been when compared to Quinnipiac and even Sacred Heart. QU and SHU joined D-I about 15 years after UHa, but they have grown both academically and athletically the last 20 years. Outside of this NCAA tourney, Hartford hasn't made much of a splash in anything. The have become the forgotten D-I program in the state and have been crowded out.
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Thanks for all your input here.

I would argue that UMBC and Stony Brook have been good additions. With Odom heading to Utah State, that'll be a big blow to UMBC (lots of talent has transferred this week), but after their transfer haul Stony Brook might arguably be the 2nd best school in the conference, 2nd to only Vermont.

Your 2nd paragraph is very interesting. I don't know much about Quinnipiac, but I do know that when I applied to colleges in 2004, Quinnipiac was considered kinda a joke (why pay all that money for that school?). Wasn't my personal opinion, just that was the vibe within my high school.

I have been following Sacred Heart's growth. My dad graduated from one of their earliest classes and my sister currently teaches there, so there's a family connection for me. Valentine has been a HUGE addition to the school. His passion and personality has really put Sacred Heart on the local map and they've been building like crazy. FWIW, my sister loves teaching there and talks about all the positive rapport within the school. I started going to SHU basketball games four years ago and although the crowds aren't very big, it's a great environment and the athletes across different squads definitely support one another. It's nice to see.
 
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