Fordham - Patriot League Scholarship Announcement (official)

[danefan]

http://www.fordhamsports.com/sports/m-foot.../060509aab.html

 

Center Valley, Pa. - Fordham has notified the Patriot League that it will begin awarding athletic scholarships to its football class entering in the fall of 2010. As a result, the Patriot League Football Presidents have endorsed an agreement with Fordham wherein the Rams will continue their association with the League but will be ineligible for the Patriot League title and automatic playoff berth beginning that season, announced Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich on Friday.

 

Fordham will remain as an associate member in the Patriot League, and will continue to be eligible for the League title and automatic playoff berth in the 2009 season. The Rams will be included in the League schedule through 2012, though their games against Patriot League members will not count in the League standings. Fordham will still follow the same academic and eligibility requirements as other League members.

 

"There is strong desire both on the part of Fordham and the Patriot League to continue our long-standing relationship," said Bucknell President Brian C. Mitchell, the Chair of the Patriot League Council of Presidents. "The interim arrangement we have agreed to will allow Fordham to begin to award scholarships in football while affording the League time to address merit aid for football and broader issues related to membership expansion. This issue comes at a very difficult financial time on all of our campuses."

 

The Patriot League Council of Presidents will continue to discuss the competitive and financial implications of athletic merit aid for the League football membership as well as the long-term goals of the League. It is anticipated that a decision will be made no later than the end of 2010.

 

Fordham's eligibility for the League title and inclusion in the standings in future years will be evaluated pending the decision on athletic scholarships for all League members. Patriot League members are permitted to offer scholarships in the League's other 22 sports.

 

Will Fordham remain an associate member of the Patriot League for football?

 

Yes. After a lengthy collaborative process, Fordham and the Patriot League have reached an agreement that was endorsed by the Patriot League Council of Presidents. As part of this agreement, Fordham will continue to be an associate member of the Patriot League in football. However, for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons, the Rams will not be eligible for the Patriot League title or the League's automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. All games played by Fordham against other Patriot League institutions will not count in the league standings. Fordham student-athletes will not be eligible for regular season or end-of-year league awards and student-athletes will not be included in cumulative league statistics and records during this same three-year period.

 

So in summary Fordham is going Indy for the 2010 season and has developed a scheduling agreement with all PL schools to continue playing them.

 

No big shakeup that effects UA afterall.

[Michigan_Dane]

Are you sure Danefan? That sounded promising to me. If Fordham is indy that means they would want to eventually find a home. I would think they will continue playing the Patriot League teams but look to find a home. That could lead to a new league soon or later, correct?

 

Maybe I'm just being optomistic.

[danefan]

Are you sure Danefan? That sounded promising to me. If Fordham is indy that means they would want to eventually find a home. I would think they will continue playing the Patriot League teams but look to find a home. That could lead to a new league soon or later, correct?

 

Maybe I'm just being optomistic.

 

 

I think if there was any potential for Fordham to join another league or if there were another league in the works, then Fordham would have severed ties with the PL alltogether.

 

But perhaps I'm being too pessimistic.