I live about 1/2 mile from Siena’s campus. Had no idea he went there.
He must have played with Reggie Greene, a RB that finished his career in ‘98 as the all-time leading rusher in D1-AA.
Siena had a good football program but the school basically “hates” sports…abolished the team for cost cutting. Of course they love when the basketball team has a nice 2-3 year run each decade, and brings in a bunch of money. That gives the school a chance to get on their high horse and choose scholastics over sports. Refuse to give HC a raise, let him leave. Make an awful hire. Then the alumni get ****ed, no one goes to games…rinse and repeat.
Cool story: Rick Pitino is big into horses and has always been a regular at Saratoga Race Track (about 25 minutes from Siena). He went through back channels to express interest in the HC job. Had overwhelming support from alumni and Siena BOT. They voted and all were in favor of hiring him EXCEPT the school president. He was the only one to vote no. Their bylaws require unanimous BOT vote.
It’s amazing and frustrating at the same time how Siena’s holier than thou/virtuous approach to things mirrors UM. I know someone had a thread recently on whether a school really benefits from good sports or not. I just can’t see how successful sports programs don’t have benefits that outweigh the costs, when there are checks and balances in place.