Fordham SportsNet

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

When Tom Masella arrived at Rose Hill on December 8, 2005, the new head football coach began his Fordham tenure with a bold statement: “I believe all the resources are here, from the administration to the facilities to the alumni support that will allow us to compete for a Patriot League championship,” he said at the time of his hiring.  Almost four years later, Masella spoke with Fordham SportsNet about the support he and his program have received from the administration, what needs to be done to improve the game day experience at Jack Coffey Field, and the important role the alumni play in the program’s success. Here are his thoughts on those topics:

Fordham’s Administration

“There’s nothing more our administration can do for us to be successful. They fund our program, they give us all the resources to graduate our players, and they’re willing to work within the Patriot League guidelines as far as admissions is concerned. From an administration standpoint, and the funding that they give us to go out and recruit and fund our program, we can’t ask for anything more. They do a tremendous job of helping us be successful.

“I know it’s in vogue to take shots at our administration. This is one of the better places I’ve been. We don’t have all the bells and whistles of some schools but that’s okay. With what they do for us we should be successful. Our administration treats our players and our coaches well.”

Jack Coffey Field (fordhamsports.com)

Facilities and Jack Coffey Field

“We’re going to be getting a new locker room in a year. Our weight room is functional. It’s not what they have at the University of Connecticut or some other places but it’s functional. I know everybody wants a stadium. I guarantee if we were drawing 16,000 or 12,ooo they’d find ways to put in portable stands. We don’t need portable stands until we start filling up our side. The field is beautiful. Alright we don’t have the other side but fill up that side first. That’s a challenge for me to start to get interest and fill it up because if you do have people standing on the perimeters I guarantee somebody will find a way to put portable stands where we can be a football and baseball facility. So fill up that side first and then we can worry about filling up the other side.

“Everybody would love to live in a mansion. Is it realistic? Is it the smart thing to do? Our football stadium on game day is a great place when we’re winning. We start to draw more people, then great, then we have a nice problem on our hands. I’ve never known a sports fan in New York, and I’m from New York, that goes to it because of the stadium. It’s not the stadium. It’s the people playing and the people coming in. I think that’s a cop out for people not coming to games. It’s not that important to them.”

Alumni

“They are the lifeline for us to be successful. Our university funds it as best they can up to the point that all FCS programs fund it. We have to raise money each and every year. What I hope we can do is continue to get more of our younger alums and our students in the stands. We have to continue to raise money. It’s a yearly challenge for us. What we raise from our alumni is really our operating budget. They’ve been great. It’s tough out there right now but I think we’re going to meet our fundraising goal again this year. That’s a credit to our supporters. Our football alums take great pride in our program and they should because they’re the reason why it’s here. I’m sure they’re going to continue to support it as we move toward scholarships and hopefully we can get more people involved.”