A look back at football in Lowell
Despite the fact that it is April there is still a lot of talk about football going on around the area. The NFL is draft is now a three-day event, colleges are getting ready for their spring ball, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is scheduled to appear as the speaker at commencement for UMass Lowell (UML). The only thing missing is an actual team.
While the UML football team has not been in existence for years, the myths of why the team no longer plays are still active. The football team was put to an end before the beginning of the 2003-04 season. The rumors that have been created for the program being cut were all over the place; from poor GPA to Title IX accommodations to the entire team getting in legal trouble.
The reason for removing the team was budget concerns.
“Eliminating the football program was the only choice we could make without totally dismantling a large number of other sports programs,” said Athletic Director Dana Skinner in a 2003 Boston Globe article.
The school needed to make cuts due to the budget cuts put on the state by the governor at the time, Mitt Romney. As with most universities the first thing to see cuts is the athletics. The school just had to make a decision on whether they should cut several programs to even out, or just the football program.
The decision was made easier by the struggles of the team itself. The UML football team failed to produce a winning season in years. The team had gone 4-17 in the two seasons before their extinction. From 1991 to their termination they were able to produce one winning season and just 19 victories in Division II.
Despite walking away from the program the school did not want to just walk away from the students who made the program. Although UML did not hand out scholarships to football athletes, they assisted those students in transferring to other schools to continue their football careers.
“I recognize this is difficult for the players, especially the returning seniors. Our primary focus now is assisting those students who wish to transfer,” said Skinner in a previous statement.
Some students were even able to make it to larger programs such as then Division 1-AA UMass Amherst.
As for the coaching staff the head coach at the time was Wally Dembowski. Dembowski had just finished his second-year as head coach before the team dissolved. After leaving UML Dembowski went on to serve as an assistant coach at Northeastern before their program was discontinued after the 2009 season.
No matter what time of the year it is there always seems to be talk about football. It is the one sport that people can not escape from. Even those who no longer have a team at all.
Sorry, there are no related articles, check out some random articles
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
The school was never commited to football under Dana Skinner. Yet somehow the team shown in your photo was able to post a 6-4 record in 1996. The downfall of the program started with the hiring of the worst head football coach in the history of the sport, Tom Radulski. The rest of the story is a long list of broken promises to players, coaches and alumni. With the local talent in the Merrimack Valley and surrounding areas, Umass Lowell could have a very successful football program. A program that family, friends, and local football lovers would come out and support. Or Lowell can just stay the couse with one of the best field hockey stadiums in the country. After all many of the great athletic programs across the country have built their reputations around women’s sports.
#40