Long Island Sports Writer disrespects I-AA

[Umass74]

Here's a column that will get you goin'

Steve Marcus (http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ny-skmarc1115,0,6720334.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists) of NewsDay.

Some key quotes: "Who cares about the best teams in I-AA? Who can even name them?"

Or this one: "Delaware could play club football and everyone would still be interested in it. Long Island fans are more sophiscated and demand more than the I-AA game."

Maybe those hick Montana, Delaware and UMass fans could spell sophisticated...xlolx

[Mountaineer#96]

That guy is a tool, he prolly just ran outta stuff to write about T.O.

[LacesOut]

Whole quote.....The I-AA football model works in some places. Newark, Del., to be sure. But there is no pro or I-A college team in the area,

This is...ummmmmmmm, true ya know! LOL

He talks about how I-AA football is NOT big on Long Island, NY. Which it isn't. Duh. They have more than enough pro teams to root for.

[castoff]

Here's a column that will get you goin'

Steve Marcus (http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ny-skmarc1115,0,6720334.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists) of NewsDay.

Some key quotes: "Who cares about the best teams in I-AA? Who can even name them?"

Or this one: "Delaware could play club football and everyone would still be interested in it. Long Island fans are more sophiscated and demand more than the I-AA game."

Maybe those hick Montana, Delaware and UMass fans could spell sophisticated...xlolx

There is an e-mail address for the author. Perhaps we should flood him with correspondence. I would be willing to bet he has never played football at all, let alone at the I-A level tha seems to draw his attention.

[ChickenMan]

The I-AA football model works in some places. Newark, Del., to be sure. But there is no pro or I-A college team in the area, so Delaware could play club football and everyone would still be interested in it.

Marcus doesn't appear to be much of a journalist ... but his knowledge of geography is even worse... both the Eagles and the Ravens are in about a 50 mile radius of Newark, DE.

[89Hen]

My e-mail to him...


“Who cares about the top ranked teams in I-AA? Who can even name them?

The I-AA football model works in some places. Newark, Del., to be sure. But there is no pro or I-A college team in the area, so Delaware could play club football and everyone would still be interested in it. Long Island fans are more sophiscated and demand more than the I-AA game.

For Long Islanders, Saturday's do not revolve around our local college teams. We would rather watch the big games on television. Or go to the mall. Or rake leaves. Or watch our kids or friends at a local high-school game.

Give us a I-A game and we'll be interested.”

Wow, just because Hofstra can’t draw fans to games means that the entire I-AA classification is a “who cares” affair? It is a joke that you say Long Island fans are more sophisticated (sp!), perhaps they are less sophisticated. An unsophisticated person would need to think they are ‘big time’ football in order to go to and enjoy the game. Do you really think that Hofstra hosting a Buffalo or Temple is really going to pack them in? Let’s be realistic, the Big East isn’t going to come calling to Hempstead to look for a new addition. HU had some early success in I-AA, but they would most likely be an also-ran in I-A. I’m not trying to bash Hofstra, they have a very nice program, but they are far from I-A material.

And for your information, the Philadelphia Eagles are 41 miles from Newark, DE almost the exact same distance that Hempstead is from the Meadowlands (and the Ravens are only 61 from Newark).

[henfan]

Marcus is the stereotypically provincial New Yawka in the Woody Allen vein. He's the pencil-necked geek, so oblivious to the world outside of the Five Boroughs, he believes it to be flat. Dude probably couldn't even point to Delaware on a map, let alone understand that Newark is almost dead center between two large pro sports markets, 40-60 miles in each direction.

The great unwashed who support UD football aren't limited by a long shot to the Wilmington-Newark area or even the State of Delaware. Many people who support UD FB travel from suburban Philadelphia and other areas in PA, the Baltimore-Washington area, and even from the north Jersey, in Marcus' precious NY pro sports region.

Hey, maybe UD has been packing in 20K since the early '70's because our fans are more distinguishing. We don't need arrogant media types like Marcus to validate what we know to be an enjoyable brand of FB. Maybe UD and other hundreds of thousands of other I-AA fans are just capable of appreciating winning football and supporting their schools, regardless of the lack of hype.

The lack of interest in Hofstra FB has little to do with their I-AA classification and more to do with factors obviously outside of Marcus' grasp.

[henfan]

And another thing, these people who isolate FB and consider it outside of the context of the entire athletic department and the institution's primary goals are completely clueless. Completely.

[FUmanchu]

Just emailed the guy (sorry, kinda long):

Mr. Marcus-

I enjoyed reading your article about Hofstra's somewhat dismal football season and Long Island's collective disappointment with not only this season, but also the lack of 1-A football in the area. However, I felt inclined to enlighten you as to the brighter side of 1-AA football, as seen here in the South.

First, please note that a 15,000 seat stadium is not "too big for 1-AA football." In fact, the average attendance at the highest-ranked 1-AA team in the nation, Appalachian State in Boone, NC, approaches 21,000 people. The second-ranked team, Montana, averages close to 23,000 people per Saturday. A more appropriate statement may have read, "A 15,000 seat stadium is too big for 1-AA football in Long Island." Or, maybe more accurately, "A 15,000 seat stadium is too big for 1-AA football if you plan on winning only 2 games per season in the Northeast."

Next, I felt you were searching for answers to the two questions you posed late in the article. "Who cares about the top ranked teams in 1-AA football?" I do, Mr. Marcus. I care because the kids on 1-AA top ranked teams don't leave the most fun and possibly most developmentally important four years of their lives early to chase big bucks and easy women. They play the game the way it is meant to be played, unless stomping on opposing players' legs after a tackle, brawling at midfield and using helmets as weapons, and taking phantom jobs and not-so-phantom money from ego-crazy boosters are your idea of good football. They field teams that can beat many 1-A opponents throughout the season (and not just the cellar-dwellers - see New Hampshire vs. Northwestern this season) with 25 fewer scholarships to give. So consider me your counter-example. Now on to your second question, "Who can even name them?" I can, Mr. Marcus. They are as follows:
1) Appalachian State
2) Montana
3) Massachusetts
4) North Dakota State
5) Youngstown State
6) Illinois State
7) James Madison
8) Furman
9) Hampton
10) New Hampshire
I hope that answers your question adequately. By the way, can you name the top ten teams this week in your beloved 1-A without looking at this week's polls? If so, congratulations, and join the club. If not, you may do well to bone up a bit before your next deadline.

Finally, if Long Islanders like yourself are, as you say, "more sophiscated and demand more than the 1-AA game," then maybe you wouldn't mind defining the word I put in bold. Down here, where good football is played (at both the 1-A and 1-AA level), we refer to that as sophisticated. Then again, what do we know? After all, some of us actually enjoy 1-AA football.

Warmest Regards

[89Hen]

Response and reply...

How many 1-AA games are on ESPN? How many venues other than the Blue Hens draw double digit crowds? And I'm not talking about Buffalo/Temple. I'm more for the Rutgers model. - Steven Marcus

Not enough games on ESPN, but that’s something we’re working on, but if Hofstra went I-A, they wouldn’t be on ESPN. On my cable I can watch 3-4 I-AA games every week. There are 36 I-AA’s who are averaging over 10,000 per game. While it would be nice to duplicate Rutgers’ success from this year, that’s not realistic for HU. -89Hen

[appisgreatest]

Sigh, the same old stereotypical sportswriter.....:bang:

[89Hen]

Yeah, but you know, I've had a nice back and forth e-mail discussion with him today. :thumbsup:

[Appguy]

Heres what i sent him -
"Give us a I-A game and we'll be interested."
Hofstra only has slightly over 10,000 students, not big enough. You have
to earn the 1-A game

"But there is no pro or I-A college team in the area, so Delaware could
play club football and everyone would still be interested in it."

Last time I checked the Eagles AND Ravens are less than an hour away.

Theres plenty of pro teams to root for

and his response was -

Last time I checked those pro teams are in different states. Under your
theory New Yorkers would root for the Bills.

What theory?

[Russ B]

Buffalo isn't in New York?

(he conveniently ignores that the two metro "New York" NFL teams play in a different state, heh)

[blukeys]

Heres what i sent him -
"Give us a I-A game and we'll be interested."
Hofstra only has slightly over 10,000 students, not big enough. You have
to earn the 1-A game

"But there is no pro or I-A college team in the area, so Delaware could
play club football and everyone would still be interested in it."

Last time I checked the Eagles AND Ravens are less than an hour away.

Theres plenty of pro teams to root for

and his response was -


What theory?

So when did this guy become an expert on People from Delaware and who they would root for. What an idiot.

[blukeys]

Yeah, but you know, I've had a nice back and forth e-mail discussion with him today. :thumbsup:


Do share!

[Umass74]

He's back (http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ny-skmarc1116,0,6785871.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists).

Steve Marcus is unrepentant. Key Quote "Play football at the highest level. Or not at all."

Nice he would wipe out the great game of college football if it's not played by I-A teams.

Of course, a lot of I-A's are not very good either. Why not have only the BCS teams play. Or maybe only have say the top 12 BCS teams play :bang:

[BillLuc1982]

Here's a column that will get you goin'

Steve Marcus (http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ny-skmarc1115,0,6720334.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists) of NewsDay.

Some key quotes: "Who cares about the best teams in I-AA? Who can even name them?"

Or this one: "Delaware could play club football and everyone would still be interested in it. Long Island fans are more sophiscated and demand more than the I-AA game."

Maybe those hick Montana, Delaware and UMass fans could spell sophisticated...xlolx

Why doesn't he write about the Sun Belt and MAC while he's at it?

[bluehenbillk]

This just reflects poorly on the quality of education that is taught in the New York school sytems much less how much a rag Newsday is compared to the other more reputable papers in the NYC metro area.

What this guy should do before he comments on UD is maybe actually attend a game there. Walk the parking lot & do some research, see how many license plates are from DE versus out-of-state. 50% or greater won't be from DE. It takes just as long to get from Newark to Philly or Baltimore as it does from Hempstead to midtown Manhattan so I fail to see the comparison....

[mainejeff]

Here's a column that will get you goin'

Steve Marcus (http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ny-skmarc1115,0,6720334.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists) of NewsDay.

Some key quotes: "Who cares about the best teams in I-AA? Who can even name them?"

Or this one: "Delaware could play club football and everyone would still be interested in it. Long Island fans are more sophiscated and demand more than the I-AA game."

Maybe those hick Montana, Delaware and UMass fans could spell sophisticated...xlolx

*Yawn*

Crapping on I-AA is so passe. Who the hell is this Steve Marcus?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

This just reflects poorly on the quality of education that is taught in the New York school sytems much less how much a rag Newsday is compared to the other more reputable papers in the NYC metro area.

What this guy should do before he comments on UD is maybe actually attend a game there. Walk the parking lot & do some research, see how many license plates are from DE versus out-of-state. 50% or greater won't be from DE. It takes just as long to get from Newark to Philly or Baltimore as it does from Hempstead to midtown Manhattan so I fail to see the comparison....

Point him to this: http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=81279


I grab my stuff and dash towards the stadium. Somewhat enviously I look on at some of the tailgates on the way to the game. Even here, a mile from the stadium, there are an incredible number of Blue Hen fans here. I pass by a tailgate with about half a dozen strollers, as some young couples decide to spend a nice Saturday night eating some grilled food and listening to the game. I’m assuming they’re not going in, they’re just here to soak in the atmosphere and party with the family. They’ve probably been here for several hours in this Blue and Gold community. Overall, it’s an awesome community atmosphere that you can only get with partying with 20,000 of your closest fans.

As I get run the “Blue Mile” and get closer to the stadium, the tailgates go on and on without end. No doubt about it, everything about these fans and this pregame experience exudes “big time”. Who’s tailgating? It seems like everyone in the state is here, alumni or no. There’s kids playing football, old guys shooting the breeze, RVs, young people, people with face paint, everyone. I’m beginning to wish that I had come earlier – preferably with my wife and son.

http://www.i-aa.org/stats/2006/roadralph/UNH@UD/images/100_1234.jpg
http://www.i-aa.org/stats/2006/roadralph/UNH@UD/images/100_1240.jpg

[GtFllsGriz]

I have watched several I-AA games on the FOX Sports channels this season and have noticed a real lack of energy and excitement in many of them. To see a stadium half full and have sports announcers that seem to be half asleep and on auto-pilot is sad. Clearly the announcers are just putting in their time. I am sure there is excitement within the stadium but is sure doesn't get reflected on the screen

I know that we in Montana are very blessed with the situation that we have and I am truly not putting down any other team or facility but it is easy to see why some sports writers and journalists have the impression that they do of I-AA football. If they have never seen the full stadiums and seen/heard the energy than they have a very one diminsional impression of I-AA football.

As much as I love I-AA football I have to admit that I have turned to the I-A games on Thursday nights because the I-AA games just sounded and looked booring. If you cannot even get the home team to fill the stands on a night when your team is being featured to a potential nation wide cable/satelite audience then how do you expect the rest of the nation to be interested. Then add in the non-local announcers who sound so bored that you would rather just mute the sound and you have a less than favorable impression of I-AA football.

[Mr. C]

I have watched several I-AA games on the FOX Sports channels this season and have noticed a real lack of energy and excitement in many of them. To see a stadium half full and have sports announcers that seem to be half asleep and on auto-pilot is sad. Clearly the announcers are just putting in their time. I am sure there is excitement within the stadium but is sure doesn't get reflected on the screen

I know that we in Montana are very blessed with the situation that we have and I am truly not putting down any other team or facility but it is easy to see why some sports writers and journalists have the impression that they do of I-AA football. If they have never seen the full stadiums and seen/heard the energy than they have a very one diminsional impression of I-AA football.

As much as I love I-AA football I have to admit that I have turned to the I-A games on Thursday nights because the I-AA games just sounded and looked booring. If you cannot even get the home team to fill the stands on a night when your team is being featured to a potential nation wide cable/satelite audience then how do you expect the rest of the nation to be interested. Then add in the non-local announcers who sound so bored that you would rather just mute the sound and you have a less than favorable impression of I-AA football.
There are plenty of places around I-A where the stadium are half full, or even less and where the atmosphere is just as bad, or worse. Ever been to a Sun Belt game? And that conference isn't the only one where college football is a snoozer. You can have excitement at Division III games, as well as Division II and I-AA, that folks would die for at some of those I-A schools.

[mainejeff]

There are plenty of places around I-A where the stadium are half full, or even less and where the atmosphere is just as bad, or worse. Ever been to a Sun Belt game? And that conference isn't the only one where college football is a snoozer. You can have excitement at Division III games, as well as Division II and I-AA, that folks would die for at some of those I-A schools.

That's the thing.....These networks are only showing games at the same 30 or so I-A stadiums. Who cares what this moron says or thinks? He works for a trash newspaper in a market that could care less about college football at any level. Dude should get a real job.

[Retro]

I have watched several I-AA games on the FOX Sports channels this season and have noticed a real lack of energy and excitement in many of them. To see a stadium half full and have sports announcers that seem to be half asleep and on auto-pilot is sad. Clearly the announcers are just putting in their time. I am sure there is excitement within the stadium but is sure doesn't get reflected on the screen

I know that we in Montana are very blessed with the situation that we have and I am truly not putting down any other team or facility but it is easy to see why some sports writers and journalists have the impression that they do of I-AA football. If they have never seen the full stadiums and seen/heard the energy than they have a very one diminsional impression of I-AA football.

As much as I love I-AA football I have to admit that I have turned to the I-A games on Thursday nights because the I-AA games just sounded and looked booring. If you cannot even get the home team to fill the stands on a night when your team is being featured to a potential nation wide cable/satelite audience then how do you expect the rest of the nation to be interested. Then add in the non-local announcers who sound so bored that you would rather just mute the sound and you have a less than favorable impression of I-AA football.

That's why Mcneese quit moving games to Thursday nights to accomodate FOX - Southwest... We told them saturdays for us only at least for home games (we can't dictate road ones) and they ended up broadcasting from Cowboy stadium the last 2 times on saturday nights.. That said, stations like Fox- Southwest don't put the effort into top notch production like you get on the marquee I-A games..

[Steven Bryant]

90% of sports fans that would read that article wouldn't be able to name any of the top teams in I-AA, so he's not exactly in the wrong. Most people don't care about I-AA, just like most people can't name the top AAA teams in baseball. (Before someone jumps on me, I'm not trying to equate I-AA to a minor league, just stating that most fans don't care about anything but the top levels of all sports).

[*****]

90% of sports fans that would read that article wouldn't be able to name any of the top teams in I-AA...or the top 10 in I-A :nod:

[blukeys]

I have watched several I-AA games on the FOX Sports channels this season and have noticed a real lack of energy and excitement in many of them. To see a stadium half full and have sports announcers that seem to be half asleep and on auto-pilot is sad. Clearly the announcers are just putting in their time. I am sure there is excitement within the stadium but is sure doesn't get reflected on the screen

I know that we in Montana are very blessed with the situation that we have and I am truly not putting down any other team or facility but it is easy to see why some sports writers and journalists have the impression that they do of I-AA football. If they have never seen the full stadiums and seen/heard the energy than they have a very one diminsional impression of I-AA football.

As much as I love I-AA football I have to admit that I have turned to the I-A games on Thursday nights because the I-AA games just sounded and looked booring. If you cannot even get the home team to fill the stands on a night when your team is being featured to a potential nation wide cable/satelite audience then how do you expect the rest of the nation to be interested. Then add in the non-local announcers who sound so bored that you would rather just mute the sound and you have a less than favorable impression of I-AA football.

I understand your point GTF Griz but you have never seen the 60,000 empty seat morgue that is Lincoln Financial in Philly when Temple plays. I know the situation is not any better in Buffalo.

The writer's assumption that slapping a I-A label on a program will make for a better football experience is laughable and a demonstration of his utter ignorance of football programs at both the I-A and I-AA level. It takes more than a "build it and they will come" mantra to develop a successful program at any level and trust me his attitude is just that. "Gee if only we had a I-A team on long Island everyone would come" Not.

Regular 64-0 thrashing of local boys by Miami, Va Tech, Toledo etc. does not put people in the stands. If it did Temple would lead the nation in attendance.

[Tod]

or the top 10 in I-A :nod:

Like me. I understand Ohio State and Michigan meet tomorrow and they are #1 and #2. USC is up there, I think. Auburn? Notre Dame? One-loss schools, I think.

No way could I name the top 10 in I-A.

But I know the top 10 in I-AA. :nod:

[Tod]

I understand your point GTF Griz but you have never seen the 60,000 empty seat morgue that is Lincoln Financial in Philly when Temple plays. I know the situation is not any better in Buffalo.

The writer's assumption that slapping a I-A label on a program will make for a better football experience is laughable and a demonstration of his utter ignorance of football programs at both the I-A and I-AA level. It takes more than a "build it and they will come" mantra to develop a successful program at any level and trust me his attitude is just that. "Gee if only we had a I-A team on long Island everyone would come" Not.

Regular 64-0 thrashing of local boys by Miami, Va Tech, Toledo etc. does not put people in the stands. If it did Temple would lead the nation in attendance.

Exactly! If Boise State and Marshall can be considered successful, how many are there like Idaho and Troy?

I love Hofstra, I'm glad they're a part of I-AA, but realistically, they have a better shot at just improving in I-AA than of making a successful transition to I-A.

Let them do that first, THEN worry about I-A if that's what they want.

[TexasTerror]

He's already responded to all the e-mails in his latest...


From the e-mail bag…

Fans of Division I-AA football strongly disagreed with one reporter's notion of disinterest in the sport. Most of the dissenting opinions came from areas of the country where the sports thrives – Delaware and in certain parts of the south. One came from former Hofstra football player Brian Clark, who wrote, in part, "Why wouldn't people want to head into the stands at Hofstra and see the next Wayne Chrebet or Marques Colston or Dave Fiore. It's not a matter of level of play that is the concern here; it's the sports coverage that reporters don't give Hofstra football or the rest of the small schools. If you went about creating positive stories about football on Long Island, people may care…"

Point taken, but this is a common theme. It is not a newspaper's job to promote an event. It is not our job to root for the home team, though Hofstra football has received a majority of coverage given to local schools over the years. There is no denying that Hofstra-C.W. Post of Thanksgivings past galvanized the local fans more than a I-AA team visiting Hempstead. Those days cannot return, so the only way to capture the interest is to play the sport on its highest level. Or not at all.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ny-skmarc1116,0,6785871.column?coll=ny-collegesports-headlines

[Death Dealer]

Come on guys, we're worrying about the opinions of a flunky journalism major, working for a second rate paper? It doesn't change the facts, we all know how incredible I-AA football is. If the opinion of a geeky desk jockey makes any difference then we're all posers.

[blukeys]

Exactly! If Boise State and Marshall can be considered successful, how many are there like Idaho and Troy?

I love Hofstra, I'm glad they're a part of I-AA, but realistically, they have a better shot at just improving in I-AA than of making a successful transition to I-A.

Let them do that first, THEN worry about I-A if that's what they want.

Tod I'm not sure how successful Marshall is right now. They are not riding the high horse they were a few years back. Of course that only proves our point.

By the way how is Florida Atlantic doing?????? Didn't they leave I-AA??? Shouldn't they be packing them into wherever they are playing.

[castoff]

Tod I'm not sure how successful Marshall is right now. They are not riding the high horse they were a few years back. Of course that only proves our point.

By the way how is Florida Atlantic doing?????? Didn't they leave I-AA??? Shouldn't they be packing them into wherever they are playing.

Don't know if you're being facetious or not. However, Florida Atlantic was 2-3 in the Sunbelt Conference and 3-7 overall. That's kind of strange as Western Ky is leaving the Gateway to go I-A and will be playing in the Sunbelt.

Marshall is (or was) 3-3 in Conference USA and 4-6 overall.

[youwouldno]

The writer is not very intelligent. The idea a team should only play "at the highest level" misses, more or less, the entire point of collegiate sports and most athletic competition. Presumably he would get rid of minor league baseball, arena football, non-PGA golf, and all kinds of other athletic associations. Why should high school teams be divided into groups based on school characteristics? After all, if they can't play "at the highest level," what is the point? It doesn't even count as sport, does it :rolleyes:

Sorry, idiots like this loser tick me off, even if his opinion is worthless on face, given his demonstrably fallacious position.

[Green26]

Here's the author's bio from the Newsday website. Looks like he's had a career covering high school sports. Check out his lack of honors. This guy looks like a benchwarmer in an NAIA level newspaper league.

"Steven Marcus graduated from Stonybrook University and started at Newsday in 1972, where he has covered high school, college and professioinal sports. Steven, who earned the Associated Press honorable mention award for local reporting in 1974, has covered several World Series and shared an AP staff award for coverage of the 1986 World Champion Mets."

[Death Dealer]

Here's the author's bio from the Newsday website. Looks like he's had a career covering high school sports. Check out his lack of honors. This guy looks like a benchwarmer in an NAIA level newspaper league.

"Steven Marcus graduated from Stonybrook University and started at Newsday in 1972, where he has covered high school, college and professioinal sports. Steven, who earned the Associated Press honorable mention award for local reporting in 1974, has covered several World Series and shared an AP staff award for coverage of the 1986 World Champion Mets."

Like I said, mediocre at best....what sports writer in the NY metro area hasn't covered the WS? Duh!!!! The fact that he hasn't covered them all since he got there is proof that even his bosses think he sucks!xlolx

[griz8791]

Point taken, but this is a common theme. It is not a newspaper's job to promote an event.

Gratuitously undermining the event, however, is apparently just fine.

[smallcollegefbfan]

Here's a column that will get you goin'

Steve Marcus (http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ny-skmarc1115,0,6720334.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists) of NewsDay.

Some key quotes: "Who cares about the best teams in I-AA? Who can even name them?"

Or this one: "Delaware could play club football and everyone would still be interested in it. Long Island fans are more sophiscated and demand more than the I-AA game."

Maybe those hick Montana, Delaware and UMass fans could spell sophisticated...xlolx

WHO CARES???????? He obviously does not know what he is talking about. If you don't like being smacked on then do something about it or ignore it. That guy nothing to worry about.

However, if that really does offend you then get out of I-AA or get a thick skin. You guys should expect this stuff. So why make it news?

Not being an ass to you but really why should anyone, who knows that there are some quality teams in I-AA and some very good players, let this get to them???

:twocents:

[Uncle Buck]

First off, let me say that HU is not entertaining any ideas of 1A football, we need to get back on track in 1AA. Interest in football however has always been poor, and it's not just the local community. The students are apathetic and only know a tailgate as a part on the back of a truck. I know the school is making a push to gain more fan interest, but that remains neither here nor there.

As for Steve Marcus, he has been spitting venom at HU for years. When we moved to 1AA and were ranked as a non-scholly team in 1994, he wrote a blurb about Nassau Community College being the best program on Long Island. No matter what he finds fault with HU and will continue to put them down. When HU moved away from D-III, he wrote about how we abandoned our local rivalries with Stony Brook and CW Post, yet he hasn't written a bad thing about Stony Brook football since they made the move as well. The only thing I give him credit for is that he does answer emails. He's been addressing our complaints about him for quite some time on the CAAZone.com boards. Either way, he's a journalist who injects his opinions into his pieces, as misguided as some of them may be.

[FormerPokeCenter]

Dear Mr. Marcus;

Your recent “Big Bang will only come with Division I-A football” column left much to be desired from both an intellectual and factual perspective.

First, as a sportswriter who is ostensibly required to demonstrate a working knowledge of the subject matter upon which you write, you should understand that the NCAA has retired use of the 1-A and 1-AA monikers, and now uses “Bowl Championship Series” and “Playoff Championship Series” to differentiate between the variants of Division 1 college football.

Second, I found your elitist reference to “real college football” to be remarkably ignorant. Real college football is played by real student athletes and is not limited to those institutions of higher learning who offer occupational training in professional football, not unlike some schools offer occupational training in hair styling, auto mechanics and computer repair. Real College Football is about so much more than simply trying to be a football factory producing Sunday afternoon stars. The fact of the matter is that Real College Football is played at approximately 350 schools across the country. Some of these schools offer scholarships, some do not. From my perspective, a knowledgeable spors writer would understand that a collegiate athlete who balances the time demands between work and school at a place like, say, Division III Oberlin college and does so without the benefit of an athletic scholarship is more of a student-athlete than an NFL bound player making a temporary stop to play for one of the NFL farm team football factories, where he may or may not take enough classes to stay eligible.

As you are aware from your other articles on Stony Brook, the Playoff Championship Series teams have 63 scholarships to offer their players as opposed to the 85 scholarships available for the Bowl Championship Series teams. Your article implies that you believe that Hofstra and Stony Brook would be best served by attempting to cast its lot with the Bowl Championship Series. While daring to dream is a laudable mindset to have, it ignores several practical considerations.

First, with the way that the NCAA has heretofore treated the old Division I-A, the overwhelming majority of the schools who play have no legitimate shot at a bowl game nor at a championship beyond the conference with which they align themselves. Within Division I-A, there was an unofficial division: The BCS, and the rest of I-A.

Second, no fan of college football should ever suggest to a fledgling college football team that they try to make a go of Bowl Championship Series football without a conference affiliation. As a professional sportswriter, you should be familiar with some of the programs who have tried to do that and who have succeeded only in being trivia question answers and professional “rent-a-wins” willing to prostitute their players and programs on murderous cross country junkets to fill schedule openings for whatever team may find themselves without a date on an inconvenient Saturday night.

Basically, you’re advocating that Hofstra and Stony Brook try to follow the University of Miami (Fla.) model. As I’m sure you know, the University of Miami model has only been successful one time. Other teams who have tried to copy it, The University of South Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International and the University of Central Florida, are finding the going less than smooth. USF, however, has had more success in a shorter amount of time than have the others.

However, those teams are from Florida, a state with an advantageous climate, given to year-round training. Consequently, Florida is a hotbed of athletic talent, which allowed Miami to have the sort of success it has. With the entrance of USF, UCF, FAU and FIU into the fray, chasing the Miamian model, the talent pool is and will be further diluted.

I wasn’t aware that Long Island was a similarly situated hotbed of athletic talent. Moreover, as to Hofstra and/or Stony Brook, what conference would you imagine that they would be a natural fit for? Beyond that, where would you propose that they find the players necessary to compete on the grand scale of the BCS?

I thought your article, designed as it was to appeal to the “more sophisticated” Long Island fan, was, at best, unsuitable for its intended audience in that it relied on two Fallacious Arguments in making its premise. True fans of Sophistry (and college football) should be insulted by that.

First, you engaged in Argumentum Ignorantium, when you appealed to ignorance with your “name the top schools in Division I-AA” screed. That appeal to ignorance is an insult to the sophisticated fans in Long Island and is a tacit admission of woefully insufficient coverage that NewsDay has apparently provided by omitting coverage of the only true Division 1 football national championship decided on the field.

Further, you engaged in Argumentum Popularum, with your segue into attendance figures. The Macarena was, at one time, hugely popular too. That didn’t mean that some people didn’t look foolish for doing it.

Sophisticated college football fans can, in fact, enjoy Playoff Championship Series college football. They just have to work harder at it to overcome the ignorance of sportswriters who neglect to give the division the coverage it deserves.

Of course, sophisticated college football fans understand that for what it is…


Jay Gallagher
Shreveport, Louisiana