Category: Fordham Rams
Sempier still gets a kick out of coaching
It’s a picture-perfect dry and comfortable Saturday afternoon in mid-August. The Toyota Corolla – which has logged more than 160,000 miles while its driver traverses the Garden State in a never-ending quest to train kicking prospects – pulls up to the curb alongside Bonnel Field in West Caldwell.
As Verona native Pat Sempier exits the driver’s side door and heads to the car’s trunk in order to grab a bagful of footballs before heading out to the field, the single, unmistakable aspect one notices is not the missing hubcap on the front left tire.
Much more striking is the smile on the face of the man, 76 years young, and as excited about beginning year 52 as the state’s top kicking coach as he was when he coached early success stories like Bruce Nugent at Cedar Grove in 1963. Read more about that later on.
Patriot League football season plans to be close battle again in 2010
Nine months after the fact, during the Patriot League’s annual football media day earlier this month at Green Pond Country Club, the losing Colgate Raiders were still lamenting their 56-49 defeat to Lafayette, a back-and-forth, whiz-bang affair at Fisher Stadium.
It might’ve been the league’s most entertaining afternoon in years.
“Frustrating” is the way Colgate quarterback Greg Sullivan described the outcome after helping produce 558 yards of offense 279 rushing and 279 passing with no interceptions. Sullivan is the league’s preseason offensive player of the year.
Wait for Patriot League football scholarships continue
A December decision is expected
The Patriot League held another football media day this past week and along with assessing the strengths, weaknesses and relative health of their programs, the coaches had to address the potential of athletic scholarships coming to the league.
I am sure they are getting as tired of being asked about it as the media is of asking.
Executive director Carolyn Schlie Femovich was peppered with interview questions as well.
It was all a repeat of the 2009 media day and the question remains the same — to give or not to give?
Colgate University picked first in Patriot League football coaches preseason poll
The Patriot League announced the 2010 football coaches preseason poll Tuesday, and Colgate, led by quarterback and Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Greg Sullivan, was pegged to finish No. 1.
Lafayette was selected for second with rival Lehigh third.
But not many coaches worried too much where their programs were selected.
Fordham's Skelton Adjusting to New Life in the NFL
Now that all of John Skelton’s student assignments at Fordham are finished, quarterback who was drafted into the NFL has just graduation left.
“I’m ready to go. I had a great four years,” Skelton told The Post. “But college can’t last forever.”
Neither will the NFL. But Skelton already has begun his pro career, having been drafted two weeks ago by the Arizona Cardinals with the 24th pick in the fifth round. The 22-year-old quarterback’s life is different now from what his friends are doing – and still completely different from what some of his new teammates are doing.
Fordham's Bill Tierney Remembered with Scholarship Fund for N.J. Students
The Bill Tierney story is about turning tragedy into triumph. On October 12, 1996, Tierney, a 20-year-old starting defensive back for the Fordham University football team, passed away on the field prior to the start of the Homecoming game against Lafayette.
Nick Quartaro, the head coach at the time said, “He was a coach’s dream. Hard work was a normal thing for him. He was a true team player, and this guy touched a lot of people.”
Fordham Opens Spring Practice
Rams Begin Preparations for 2010 Season
The calendar says it’s spring so that means it’s time for spring football. Only problem is that no one seemed to have told Mother Nature it was springtime as the Rams took to Murphy Field for their first practice of the spring season on Friday.
Patriot League Announces Football Academic Honor Roll
155 student-athletes receive Honor Roll recognition
Center Valley, Pa. - A record 155 student-athletes, including 2009 Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year Travis Nissley of Bucknell, were named to the Patriot League Football Academic Honor Roll on Friday.
- 1613 words - Patriot League, Holy Cross Crusaders, Bucknell Bison, Fordham Rams, Colgate Raiders, Georgetown Hoyas, Lafayette Leopards, Lehigh Mountain Hawks Four Teams Here, All the Rest There
With two CAA teams dropping football, Maine and three other schools find themselves isolated.
They are fierce rivals on the football field.
Off the field, the universities of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are about to come together like never before.
In the wake of the news that Northeastern and Hofstra have dropped football, athletic directors from the four programs will meet Dec. 21 with Tom Yeager, the Colonial Athletic Association commissioner, to advocate for themselves in a league whose alignment and dynamic has changed dramatically.
Hofstra football decision a shock to Staten Islanders
Citing a lack of interest within the college community and increasing costs of operation, Hofstra University announced Thursday that it was terminating its football program. The move will free up $4.5M to enhance academic programs at the Long Island school.
University president Stuart Rabinowitz said that the decision – which came after a two-year review of sports spending – “was painful but clear.” He said that there are no plans of dropping any other programs at the school and student athletes who elect to stay at the school will have their scholarships honored. Those who choose to transfer will not be subject to NCAA transfer rules.
A Football Championship Subdivision program, formerly called Division I-AA, the Pride went 3-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association this past season and finished the year 5-6 overall.
Leopards Keep their Feet on the Ground after Win
They didn’t dance in the Lafayette locker room Saturday following the Leopards’ 26-21 Patriot League victory over Fordham.
It wasn’t that the victory was insignificant. It was that the dancing was inappropriate.
‘’That was for the first half of the season,'’ coach Frank Tavani said Sunday. ‘’There will be no more dancing until the proper time.'’
He never identified ‘’the proper time,'’ but it doesn’t take a genius to read between the lines. It’s about focus. The next dance should not be expected until the Leopards can check off the phrase ‘’Patriot League champions'’ on their 2009 goals list.
Lafayette-Fordham: Rams' Masella Blasts Refs
You know you’re in for something when the coach starts his press conference by saying, “I have to be careful what I say today because, uh … it’s hard to beat 18 guys. Lafayette’s a helluva football team but it’s hard to beat 18 guys.”
That was Fordham’s Tom Masella following Lafayette’s 26-21 Patriot League victory Saturday in Fisher Stadium.
“I saw two of the worst calls I’ve ever seen in football today,” he added.
Patriot Games: Scholarships Pose Threat to the Ivy Way
Imagine, for a second, that instead of traveling to Holy Cross tomorrow to watch Harvard take on the Crusaders, you were one of over 30,000 fans packing into a maximum-capacity Harvard Stadium as the Crimson kicked off its season against a major-conference team, say, Boston College. It’s a pleasant thought, but the reality is far more complex.
Fordham’s decision in June to begin awarding football scholarships starting with this year’s recruiting class piqued the interest of a lot of people in the Ivy League football community. The move shows a changing mentality in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly Division 1-AA), which includes the Ancient Eight.
“It’s something we’re definitely keeping an eye on because if they go scholarships—we’re talking about the league now—it will change dramatically,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy says. “The last time any Patriot League school had scholarships in that league was Holy Cross in the ’80s and ’90s. They dominated Eastern football at this level in a way that wasn’t seen before and hasn’t been seen since.”
Fordham QB John Skelton Muscles Way into NFL Draft Conversation
John Skelton knew he was being watched. He could feel the eyes trained on him, analyzing his footwork, dissecting his throwing motion, even scrutinizing the way he carried himself during Thursday’s practice.
Fordham’s senior quarterback knew an NFL scout was sizing him up like a piece of meat. But he didn’t care.
“I used to get nervous,” he said. “But not anymore.”
Until this month, Skelton had never seen an NFL scout, much less had one breaking down his own performance. Few league personnel men were interested in visiting the tiny Jesuit school with the Division I-AA gridiron program.
Dominic Randolph, Holy Cross Vying for First Patriot League Title Since 1991
Dominic Randolph remembers it well: The interception. In fact, he brought it up himself earlier this month during a conversation at the Patriot League’s annual football media day at Green Pond Country Club in Bethlehem Township.
The pick, by Colgate cornerback Wayne Moten with 11 minutes remaining in the Raiders’ 28-27 victory last November, all but sealed the league championship and the team’s eighth trip to postseason playoffs.
“It, obviously, was frustrating,” said Randolph, who played that game in Hamilton, N.Y., as a “senior.” The immediate future for football at Holy Cross took on a rosier hue last December, when the Patriot League granted the Crusaders’ prolific quarterback a medical redshirt season and fifth year of eligibility. The Crusaders, staring at a middle-of-the-pack finish, now are positioned to win their first championship since 1991.
And Randolph has one final season to make amends.
Texas QB Setting Records at Fordham
EL PASO – Football season is slipping in, a special time … a time John Skelton has known for most of his young life.
But this is a special season for the former Burges High School star. Skelton is ready to begin his senior season at Fordham University, ready to break more passing records, ready to return to the Division I-AA playoffs and ready to turn a dream into a reality.
“I’ve played football since I was 8,” he said. “I’ve grown up around it. My uncles played. My dad played. I’ve always played. But this is an exciting time. This is my last college season. We won the Patriot League and got into the I-AA playoffs my sophomore year. Last year was rough; we were 5-6. But we have eight starters coming back on offense and nine on defense, and we are also a senior-laden team.”
2009 Patriot League Football Preseason Poll and Award Winners Announced
Bethlehem, Pa. - After finishing one game off the pace in each of the last three seasons, Holy Cross has been picked to capture the 2009 Patriot League Football Championship in a poll of the League’s head coaches and sports information directors, it was announced at Tuesday’s Football Media Day at Green Pond Country Club.
The Crusaders were picked first on half of the 14 ballots, and finished with 67points to earn the top spot. Defending champion Colgate was just behind with six first-place votes and 64 points. Archrivals Lafayette and Lehigh shared the third position in the poll, each garnering 46 points while the Mountain Hawks also took home the remaining first-place vote. Fordham (35), Bucknell (24) and Georgetown (12) round out the rankings.
- 949 words - Patriot League, Holy Cross Crusaders, Bucknell Bison, Fordham Rams, Colgate Raiders, Georgetown Hoyas, Lafayette Leopards, Lehigh Mountain Hawks Patriot League discusses football scholarships
Fordham has declared its intent to offer athletics scholarships for football student-athletes beginning in 2010, and the Patriot League now will grapple with whether to allow its member institutions to follow suit.
The league’s presidents will decide by December 31, 2010, what direction to take.
- 866 words - Patriot League, Holy Cross Crusaders, Bucknell Bison, Fordham Rams, Colgate Raiders, Georgetown Hoyas, Lafayette Leopards, Lehigh Mountain Hawks Six Patriot Leaguers Receive Preseason FCS All-America Recognition
Center Valley, Pa. - Six Patriot League football student-athletes have recently been named to a preseason Football Championship Subdivision All-America team, including a pair of honors for Holy Cross senior quarterback Dominic Randolph and Colgate senior wide receiver Pat Simonds.
Randolph and Simonds were second-team selections by both The Sports Network and Phil Steele’s 2009 College Football Preview. Lehigh senior linebacker Matt Cohen was the only first-team preseason All-American out of the Patriot League as he was honored by Phil Steele’s. Three players joined Randolph and Simonds on The Sports Network list, as Lafayette junior kicker Davis Rodriguez was also a second-team choice while Bucknell junior wide receiver Shaun Pasternak and Lehigh junior offensive lineman Will Rackley were placed on the third team.
- 611 words - Patriot League, Holy Cross Crusaders, Bucknell Bison, Fordham Rams, Colgate Raiders, Georgetown Hoyas, Lafayette Leopards, Lehigh Mountain Hawks Opinion: Additonal FB Expansion Could be Coming Soon to CAA
The Colonial Athletic Association will swell to 14 football schools in 2012, when Georgia State joins.
Too many? Too few? Or just right?
Rather than fret about growing too big too fast, maybe the league will say what the heck and just super-size it.
If it does, there are two schools that would be a geographic fit for the league - surely more of a fit than Georgia State. Adding them would be cost effective at a time when schools everywhere are looking to save wherever they can.
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