UHart alumni, supporters react to possibility of move to Div. III.
HARTFORD — It was the most normal things have looked or felt around Dunkin’ Donuts Park, a warm sunny day, about a thousand fans, enough to make it sound like a big crowd.
The home team Saturday, the University of Hartford, swept its doubleheader against Albany, sending them home happy in the moment, but uncertainty, concern still hovers over any athletic event that involves Hartford’s Hawks.
“It’s obviously in the back of our minds,” said senior John Thrasher, who’s hitting .395. “Coach [Justin] Blood has told us multiple times, we have more than just baseball we’re playing for right now.”
How the baseball team (11-11), or any other UHart team, fares on the field is not likely to have much effect on the school’s consideration of dropping from Division I to the Division III level, but the athletes and coaches are trying to affect what is within their power to do.
“There are some ups and downs right now,” Blood said. “It’s hard to have their minds and their focus on the right place at the right times, but that’s our jobs as coaches to home them in and understand there are a lot of people working to try to help our department, help our program, and they’ve just got to try to play well on the field and keep their GPAs at record highs.”
As the Hawks were rallying from behind and winning the first game 8-7 on Donnie Cohoon’s 10th-inning hit and breezing to a 12-6 victory in Game 2, alumni and donors were gathered on the left field terrace, talking about what has befallen UHart athletics in the weeks following the men’s basketball team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Suzy Reich, who, with her husband Tom, donated $2 million in 2003 to start the building of what is now called the Reich Family Sports Pavilion, said her husband, who is ailing, told her, “I hope I don’t live long enough to see them go Division III.” Tom Reich is a lifetime honorary regent at UHart.
“... And it just broke my heart,” Suzy Reich said. “He put not only his money, but his heart and soul into this program.”
Astudycommissionedbytheschoolfrom CarrSports, a consulting firm, indicated the UHart’s D-I model was losing $13 million peryear,anddeterminedtheD-Imodelwas unsustainable and recommended a move to D-III. Controversy has broiled since. Anotherstudy,commissionedby“Friendsof theNeighborhood,”authoredbyeconomist Andy Schwartz, asserted that the savings of moving to D-III was exaggerated in the CarrSportsreport,thoughSchwartzdidnot have access to all the university’s data.
The UHart Board of Regents is to meet in early May and will likely discuss the path forward. Longtime supporters at Dunkin’ Donuts Park on Saturday called for a pause and further study.
“If I were on the board, I would advocate a pause,” said Tom Trillo, a UHart alum and former regent. “I don’t think the whole issue has been examined from both sides, and there is no harmintaking a pause and letting some of the dust settle. But if I had to make a decision today basedonwhat I’ve seen, I’d be interested in capitalizing on the opportunity [createdbythe men’s basketball success] and I would support staying in Division I.”
The men’s basketball team was honored betweengamesofthedoubleheader.Coach John Gallagher, who has not spoken publicallyabouttheissue,andhisplayersreceived aplaquefromHartfordMayorLukeBronin. Gallagher’s “neighborhood” theme caught on in the city.
“I’m a supporter of Division I, University of Hartford, the neighborhood,” said Jason Diaz, president of the Hartford firefighters union local 760. “Quality sporting events like this baseball game, you can’t beat that. It’s good for Hartford. We have UConn, but Hartford is the neighborhood school.”
Trillo and Dominic Fulco, a Hartford attorney and former member of the Board ofRegents,bothdescribedtheplantodowngrade as “low-hanging fruit” in trying to solve the university’s wider financial problems.
“A few years ago, Central Connecticut lookedatit,shouldtheymoveoutofDivision Iathletics,”Fulcosaid.“Theydidacomplete analysis,andtheydecidedtostayinDivision I athletics. You need to find a way to raise the dollars to make it a more sustainable program.”
After its review, CCSU cut its golf programsandreducedathleticscholarships in 2018.
This controversy comes at a time when the appearance in March Madness, where UHart lost its first-round game to eventual national champ Baylor, brought newfound attention to the school.
“I couldn’t believe the groundswell that came behind the school from the local community,” said Trillo, chief operating officer of Ridgefield Capital Asset Management. “This neighborhood concept that John Gallagher has built is tremendous. Localbusinesseshavesteppedupbehindthe school. I think it’s a tremendous fund-raising opportunity, and that’s what we should be capitalizing on, not sitting here fighting about being Division III, because there are no financial opportunities in Division III.”
“If I were on the board, I would advocate a pause. I don’t think the whole issue has been examined from both sides, and there is no harm in taking a pause and letting some of the dust settle.” — Tom Trillo, a UHart alum and former regent