There comes a point in a parent’s
life when the child will ask, “Mommy, who is your favorite?” The answer is almost always noncommittal,
saying both are equal. Fordham is that
parent and the men’s basketball team and football team are the siblings. But this time, Fordham has to pick the
favorite, and that favorite has to be basketball.
Football is a fantastic sport, and
it can prove to be very profitable for a good team. Fordham is simply too small of a school to be
successful at the Division 1 level of football.
Of the schools currently in the NCAA top 25, only TCU and Stanford have
enrollments comparable to Fordham’s, but neither schools have basketball
programs comparably successful to their football programs.
Smaller schools, however, can be
very successful at Division 1 basketball.
The recent NCAA tournaments have seen schools such as Villanova, St.
John’s, Duke, Baylor, Gonzaga, and St. Bonaventure compete; all of these
schools having comparable or smaller enrollments than Fordham.
The decision to favor men’s
basketball would be just more financially sound. Last year, according to fordhamfans blog, Fordham
had the fifth highest football budget in the FCS, and with that budget the Rams
won just one game. Assuming all the
games were sellouts, the team would earn only $525,000 from ticket sales over
the course of the season. For basketball,
despite having a smaller total capacity when playing in the Rose Hill Gym, the
larger amount of home games would have team earning nearly $625,000, assuming
again that all games were sell outs.
The annual profit of basketball
teams is another draw to favoring basketball.
If the football budget was reduced, and some of the funds were
redirected to basketball, the investment could yield great rewards. According to Forbes, the top 20 most valuable men’s basketball teams averaged
around $10 million in profit.
Of basketball and football, it would
be easier to create the most hype with a resurgent basketball program. The hype can already be seen. Last season, when Fordham was a middle of the
pack team, the YES network was providing coverage to some games. With the YES network already working with the
team, an improvement in the team would likely see more games picked up by the
YES network, allowing Fordham basketball to reach a larger audience and earn
more form the TV contract.
Tradition also dictates that Fordham
should choose the basketball team. As a
school with a Catholic tradition, men’s basketball is in the fibers of
Fordham. Catholic schools have a
tradition of excelling at basketball.
Schools like Gonzaga, Georgetown, and St. John’s all have excellent
basketball programs, and even Fordham was very good in the past.
A
full revival of the Fordham basketball program would see a battle for New York
take place with St. John’s, and it would reinvigorate a city that loves its
basketball, opening up the entirety of New York City for Fordham to recruit
in. The opportunities are boundless, but
it is time for Fordham play favorites.
