By Maggie Cassidy, News Staff

Shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday night, players from the recently axed football squad walked from the Cabral Center to Matthews Arena, where the men’s basketball team was about to play. Many wore sweatpants, jackets and hats emblazoned with Northeastern logos, and among them they carried about 500 flyers: They planned to protest the school’s decision to terminate their program, and hoped about 200 supporters would protest with them, based on a Facebook event former player Arthur Diaz created days earlier.

But while students showed empathy for the group of less than 12 players ‘- many accepted flyers, some said they were sorry about the team being cut ‘- the mass of protesters never showed up. Although the players handed out all the flyers they printed, their only constant support was a handful of friends who came with them.

It was the second time in weeks that the players were told one thing but experienced another: On Nov. 21, they finished their season with a 33-27 win over Rhode Island and expected to start training soon for the upcoming season. But the next night, Athletics Director Peter Roby announced to them Northeastern’s decision to end the program, even though had reportedly said as recently as 2008 that the program had at least a five-year future.

According to a newsletter distributed by alumni group ‘Friends of Northeastern Athletics’ which was reported in the Jan. 7, 2008 issue of the Northeastern News, Roby told them if a prospective player were to ask him about the program’s future, he would respond, ‘There is no reason to believe they would not be playing Northeastern football four years from now.’

Head coach Rocky Hager echoed that sentiment in February 2008 after Roby announced a series of recommendations aimed at bolstering the university’s 19 sports programs.

‘When Peter addressed us previously, meaning myself and recruits, the statement that he made was, ‘yes, you can expect a full five-year experience at Northeastern, and that would include football,’ Hager said in the Feb. 21, 2008 issue of The News.

With the program now gone, Roby said during a Nov. 23 press conference that the school would do everything to take care of the misplaced players.

”hellip; We turn our attention to doing all we can do to support them during this difficult transition phase, and help them to achieve their goals,’ he said, noting that Northeastern will honor athletic scholarships for current players until their graduation.

‘For those who are hopeful and interested in continuing their football careers elsewhere, we will do everything in our power to help in that transition and help to make that a reality for them,’ he added.

But outside Matthews Arena Tuesday night, players said making such a transition is easier said than done. They were upset they felt like they had to choose between finishing their Northeastern degrees or athletic careers, they said, and stressed the difficulty of finding a school that is a good fit for a player academically, athletically, regionally and financially ‘- and all in time to transfer by the spring semester. If lucky enough to find such a school, they said, they will have to adapt quickly to new playbooks in order to earn playing time.

Many also disagreed with the timing of the announcement because it added undue stress to their Thanksgiving breaks and final exam periods, and came only one day after their season-ending second consecutive win.

But while most said they would be upset about the program being cut regardless of how it was done, all said that if the program had to be cut, this was not the way to do it ‘- and said the announcement came months too late. Senior fullback Tyler Church compared it to athletes’ contract years in professional sports ‘- if the team had known this was its last season, it would have played harder, he said.

‘It would have been contract year for everyone on the team,’ he said.

Senior wide receiver David Racca said he and many players disagreed with what they saw as secrecy by Roby and the administration.

‘They said they were going to have an athletic review panel that was going to be transparent,’ he said. ‘The transparency is obviously not quite transparent because no one had any idea about this.’