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 Dear Football Alums, Friends,
and Family,
As I write this month’s letter the football team has fallen on some
tough times. They are currently 1-8, but have competed much better than
their record would indicate and with a bounce here or there would be
5-4. The Huskies are loaded with very young talented players, including
several true freshmen, who see significant playing time. While the
record is not so great now, the future still looks bright.
Last month I wrote of my own good fortune to have received a scholarship
to play football at Northeastern and how I would like to help cultivate
an atmosphere of family among the football alums. This month I would
like to tell another story of one of our “brothers” success. Andy
Robertson played football for the Huskies from 1986-89 and captained the
team his senior year.
Robertson now works as the National Sales Manager for Financial
Institutions for Philadelphia based Lincoln Financial Distributors,
which is the wholesale distribution arm for the Lincoln Financial Group.
They deal with mutual funds, 401k accounts and variable insurance
products.
Raised in Lincoln, Rhode Island, Robertson played high school football
at Bishop Feehan (Attleboro, MA) and was lightly recruited. He got some
attention from BU, Holy Cross and Colgate but his only scholarship offer
came from former NU coach Paul Pawlak. During the recruiting process,
however, Robertson’s mother died and he had not had a great relationship
with his father, so the decision was all up to him. Stricken with grief,
he really didn’t want to go to college but he decided he would give it a
shot.
“What cinched it for me was the scholarship offer,” he said. “If not for
that I probably wouldn’t have gone and would have most likely ended up
in trouble like a lot of my friends.”
Robertson, who played offensive guard, went on to play four years for
the Huskies and played with future NFL players Darin Jordan and Mike
Williams. He also blocked for Harold Scott, the fourth leading rusher in
Husky history.
Since graduating, Robertson, lives with his wife Cheryl, who he met at
NU and their two daughters in Wrentham, has stayed connected to the
program and the university. He has regularly attended games and events
and has also been a part of other alumni efforts to link the past and
the present. Robertson believes that the relationship between the alumni
group and the school is better than it ever has been. “Back when I first
got involved with the Amaroq Club, the school treated you more as an
adversary than a collaborator, but that has really changed and the
university has been more receptive to the Football Alumni,” he said.
Robertson also would like to see the alumni create a network like BC or
Harvard has, where alumni reach out to each other. “Right now we’re not
sufficiently networked and as a group we could do a better job with
that, but we don’t have a tool to communicate,” he said, adding a
website may be a good place for people to connect.
“I would like to see professional and personal networking on all levels
and leverage one another, whether its experience or opportunity.”
Robertson has been involved for over a decade and has been disappointed
like the rest of us plenty of times, but he believes the timing is right
for this to happen. The university has reached new territory
academically and has grown in stature and reputation. It is now time for
us, the Football Alumni; to help create the family atmosphere other
schools have that we have envied from afar.
Whether it’s five or 5,000 dollars every bit helps. You can also give in
other ways than donating money, too.
“When I didn’t have any money I gave my time,” Robertson said.
Since our last letter many of you have made contributions to the
Football Program by joining the Husky Athletics Club. Thank you for
making this gift and choosing to support our current coaches and
student-athletes. If you have not made your gift this year, please
contact the Husky Athletics Club today. Coach Hager and the team need
our support as alumni to recruit and compete with the nation’s best
Division I-AA programs.
Please feel free to contact me or Brett Burchette in the Athletic
Development Office at Northeastern University if you have questions or
would like to find out more on how you can get involved. Hope to see you
on Friday, November 11th for our Football Alumni reception and on the
12th at Parsons Field as the Huskies battle Hofstra for the final home
game of the 2005 season.
Go Huskies!
Steve Kelley ‘92
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