Letter from the AD Recruiting at NU Athletics
What makes a student-athlete choose Northeastern Athletics? We often talk about recruiting top student-athletes to Northeastern University as the basis for our outstanding achievements, so I’d like to take a few moments to share with you how we are able to meet our recruitment goals with such noted success.
We recruit the finest student-athletes by showcasing four key value points: The University is in an ongoing state of growth and development; the campus setting is ideal; we are situated within the heart of a tremendous city resource; and we maintain a winning tradition in athletics.
University on the Move
Northeastern University has historically been guided by the conviction that the function of higher education is to prepare individuals for useful, productive, and satisfying lives. Many institutions today are just catching on to what Northeastern has been practicing since 1909, by introducing cooperative education into its traditional educational strategy, making work experience a structured part of the curriculum. The success of this educational model has distinguished Northeastern University from other institutions of higher education and cooperative education has become the University's signature program.
The co-op program, which combines classroom learning with real-world experience, has been cited for excellence for two years running by U.S. News & World Report. Recently named a top college in the northeast by the Princeton Review, Northeastern's career services was awarded top honors by Kaplan Newsweek's "Unofficial Insiders’ Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges and Universities," 2003 edition.
Achievement in the classroom and in the co-op experience is important to us because each year, more than 2,500 people receive undergraduate degrees and 1,200 receive advanced degrees from the six colleges of Northeastern University. Hundreds of local, national and international companies work with the department of career services to bring bright, motivated graduates and alumni into the workforce. Most students graduate with the equivalent of two years' full-time experience through the Northeastern undergraduate co-op program. They are seasoned, savvy and ready to contribute from their first day on the job.
Beautiful Campus
We know that students need a place to contemplate their studies, their approach to their chosen sport, and their future endeavors. Northeastern’s campus provides such a setting.
Located in the heart of Boston, Northeastern University is a private institution recognized for its expert faculty, first-rate academic and research facilities and flagship co-op program.
Northeastern's main campus is situated on 67 acres in Boston's cultural district, the Avenue of the Arts, between the Museum of Fine Arts and Symphony Hall. It consists of 41 academic and administrative buildings and 27 dormitory and residential buildings.
From a technology standpoint, the Northeastern University campus provides a broad range of academic and administrative computer resources available to students, faculty and staff. Many computing resources are available on the Boston and satellite campuses, including the InfoCommons. Accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the InfoCommons offers an e-bar, Computer Help Desk, training and over 200 computers.
Internet access is available in Northeastern-owned residence halls through ResNet, a service of Information Services and Residential Life. The myNEU portal allows students to access many administrative and academic functions online, including e-mail, class schedules, co-op, student payroll and financial services. The University also offers specialized computer research facilities in the College of Engineering and the College of Computer and Information Science.
These resources are coupled with NU Athletics’ new Academic Center featuring a study hall area, computer lab, student-athlete support services staff and NCAA compliance and student services personnel. This facility creates a dynamic new space dedicated solely to our student-athletes’ academic success.
As far as activity on campus, with more than 140 student clubs, from Finance and Investment to the Sailing Team, the University is well positioned in this regard as well. Indeed, residential life is a high-quality experience for students, which we know affects overall student performance and rates of success.
World-Class City of Boston
With its rich blend of history, culture, and cosmopolitanism, the city of Boston is a gathering place for students from many of the local colleges and universities. Boston retains a quaint charm that offers students the arts, tours, and sightseeing of some of the nation’s richest traditions.
Students can be tourists and beyond this, grow to make valuable contributions back to the Boston area by becoming a part of its dynamic workforce.
The relationship is symbiotic. For example, Northeastern University was ranked eighth out of nearly 150 state organizations in a recent corporate survey conducted by Morrissey & Co. public relations firm as part of the first Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Survey.
The survey was administered to more than 201 executives, and was based on an organization’s "overall reputation, as well as their reputation for products and services, workplace environment, social responsibility, ethics, and financial stability," according to an article in the Boston Globe. Northeastern was among several universities in the top 10, including Harvard, Massachusetts Institute for Technology, Boston University and Boston College.
In addition to the four main areas that distinguish us from other universities, our former student-athletes become some of the strongest recruiting tools that we have because they have gone on to represent Northeastern as industry leaders in their chosen professions. Some have transitioned into professional sports; most have transitioned into successful careers outside of professional sports. Many have done so with the help of the learning experience that is unique to Northeastern.
Winning Tradition in Athletics
Our philosophy on recruitment to the benefit of the student-athlete as well as our 19-sport program, is clearly working.
Our athletic teams had their finest collective performance ever in the 2002-03 season. The Huskies sent four teams to the NCAA playoffs and won a total of seven conference titles, Northeastern's most ever in both categories. NU competes in 14 sports offered by the America East Conference and won six championships, or 43 percent. The Huskies were the runners-up in two other sports. In addition to its America East success, NU won a share of its first ever Atlantic 10 football title. NU's athletics program is clearly on the rise as the total of seven conference titles breaks the mark of six set just in the 2001-02 season. The 13 championships in the two-year stretch is more than the previous four seasons combined (10).
As part of our student- and fan-friendly experience at NU, and In line with our new Husky logos, NU Athletics unveiled its new mascot, ‘Paws’, at NU’s homecoming football win over Maine. ‘Paws’, the most popular selection among a school-wide vote on naming the new mascot, replaces Mr. and Mrs. Husky, NU’s old mascots who had been around since Northeastern ended a long tradition of sporting live Husky mascots. Upholding its origins, a statue of King Husky dominates the foyer of the Ell Building, and a duplicate statue now guards the entrance to the field house at Parsons field.
In addition, NU welcomed in the men’s and women’s basketball seasons with Northeastern's Midnight Madness at Solomon Court, an event that drew more than 1,000 Husky fans.
Students displayed their talents and participated in a variety of contests. The Pep Band, cheerleaders, numerous dance squads and singing groups performed. The contests included a Domino's pizza box stacking contest, Dell computer obstacle course, Dash for Cash and After Hours $10,000 Shootout. Fans in attendance enjoyed a students vs. staff basketball game that featured university administrators and men's head coach, Ron Everhart. Players from the men's and women's basketball teams then took part in several competitions, as well.
All of the night’s activities were designed to bring student-athletes, fans and faculty together for a truly collegiate experience.
Recruiting on Lux, Veritas, Virtus
Northeastern University’s motto is Lux, Veritas, Virtus (Light, Truth, Virtue). We recruit on this motto when seeking qualified prospective student-athletes. We seek out the brightest students who are motivated by honest hard work and giving back to the communities that serve them. The University’s motto is embedded within the three C’s of Classroom Success, Community Involvement, and Competitive Excellence, which have been the principles by which I continue to guide our athletics programs.
At Northeastern we view recruiting perhaps a little differently from many collegiate athletics programs. We recruit student-athletes based on the whole student. We recruit based on students’ abilities to achieve in sports and in life at an institution that runs the spectrum of offerings.
Northeastern is a university that challenges itself to excel. It is a dynamic environment housed on an inviting campus that is conducive to learning, all based on a city that is bursting with energy and creativity. The richness of Northeastern University is simply unmatched.
And so, when we say the Northeastern Athletics experience is like no other experience in collegiate athletics, we mean it.
Go Huskies!
Dave O’Brien
Previous letters
November 2003
Hello Huskies Fans!
Director of Athletics
• Summer 2003
• June 2003
• May 2003
• April 2003
• March 2003
• February 2003
• Q & A with Dave O'Brien
