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Tracing Monmouth's Cinderella rise to Paul Gaffney
Stephen Edelson, February 14, 2016, ASBURY PARK PRESS
Paul Gaffney’s still a big fan of college athletics.
On Tuesday he was lamenting the fact that he and his wife, Linda, were unable to get back to their home in Columbia, South Carolina, early enough Monday, after visiting their daughter in Washington, D.C., to see South Carolina host Connecticut in a battle of the nation’s top two women’s basketball teams.
And as the former Monmouth University president spoke by telephone on Tuesday, it was clear he’s enjoying the unprecedented success the Hawks’ men’s basketball team is enjoying.
``I hear from the many friends we made in New Jersey, and they go to the games and love them. And they tell me the same thing – they’re packed all the time,’’ Gaffney said.
Make no mistake. Gaffney’s fingerprints are on everything that’s happening in West Long Branch right now.
He’s quick to point out that he worked closely with the school’s vice presidents, including athletic director Marilyn McNeil, and the board of trustees, during his decadelong tenure (2003-2013).
But the fact is that when he arrive on campus for the first time, plans for what was then a $32-million arena to take the place of Boylan Gym were stalled financially.
Six years later the Hawks were playing their first game in the $60-million Multipurpose Activities Center.
Gaffney was also the driving force behind bolting the Northeast Conference for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, a better league for the school’s flagship program. And he parachuted the football team into the Big South, a league of fully funded (63 scholarships) FCS schools, which has an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs and receives at-large bids each season.
Now, with Monmouth sporting a 20-5 record, with five wins over Power Five conference programs and a first-ever win over a top-25 team on its resume, they’re on pace to almost double the school’s record for average attendance this season.
And when yet another sellout crowd of more than 4,000 shows up Monday night to see them play Manhattan, the first of two home games next week that rank as the most important the program has hosted in a decade, they will shatter what is believed to be the all-time record for total home attendance in a season in just eight games.
The school’s profile, locally, regionally and nationally, has reached new heights, with athletics as a key component.
``This was a strategy that was Marilyn McNeil’s and both of my predecessors (Rebecca Stafford and Sam Magill) talked about,’’ said Gaffney, a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral. ``It affects everyone, including the other teams. It affects giving. It affects admissions. It affect student moral, which is probably the biggest reason a school like Monmouth has athletics. It’s really great for student morale, pride, and pride for the alumni. And all of that comes together when you have a great team.
``I’m sure the admission folks would tell you that applications are up. Between the exposure from basketball and the polling institute, it’s impacting the school in positive way.’’
It was also Gaffney’s call to make a change at the top of the men’s basketball program after the 2010-11 season. And he was seated at the table inside Doherty House, the sprawling presidential residence, when current coach King Rice sat down for his final interview in front members of the board of trustees.
``(Rice) was put on the spot at that diner, and he was terrific,’’ Gaffney recalled. ``That’s a pressure cooker. You get a bunch of Wall Street executives and very successful people in a room like that and you can’t escape. You’re sitting at a table. It’s not like a cocktail party where you can walk around, and they’re firing questions at you and looking at your table manners and what you wore to diner and what you ate and how much you drink and don’t drink. And King is a very confidence man. And it’s a great family. I think Marilyn McNeil ran a very good selection process, and she picked a winner there.’’
Gaffney’s name is on the court inside the MAC, along with the initials of Jules Plangere Jr., a former owner of the Asbury Park Press who Gaffney credits with helping remake the campus with his generous donations.
There are lot of people who deserve credit here. But connect the dots and it’s safe to say it was Gaffney’s leadership that helped lay the foundation for one of college basketball's best stories.
Staff writer Stephen Edelson is an Asbury Park Press columnist: sedelson@gannettnj.com
Stephen Edelson, February 14, 2016, ASBURY PARK PRESS
Paul Gaffney’s still a big fan of college athletics.
On Tuesday he was lamenting the fact that he and his wife, Linda, were unable to get back to their home in Columbia, South Carolina, early enough Monday, after visiting their daughter in Washington, D.C., to see South Carolina host Connecticut in a battle of the nation’s top two women’s basketball teams.
And as the former Monmouth University president spoke by telephone on Tuesday, it was clear he’s enjoying the unprecedented success the Hawks’ men’s basketball team is enjoying.
``I hear from the many friends we made in New Jersey, and they go to the games and love them. And they tell me the same thing – they’re packed all the time,’’ Gaffney said.
Make no mistake. Gaffney’s fingerprints are on everything that’s happening in West Long Branch right now.
He’s quick to point out that he worked closely with the school’s vice presidents, including athletic director Marilyn McNeil, and the board of trustees, during his decadelong tenure (2003-2013).
But the fact is that when he arrive on campus for the first time, plans for what was then a $32-million arena to take the place of Boylan Gym were stalled financially.
Six years later the Hawks were playing their first game in the $60-million Multipurpose Activities Center.
Gaffney was also the driving force behind bolting the Northeast Conference for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, a better league for the school’s flagship program. And he parachuted the football team into the Big South, a league of fully funded (63 scholarships) FCS schools, which has an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs and receives at-large bids each season.
Now, with Monmouth sporting a 20-5 record, with five wins over Power Five conference programs and a first-ever win over a top-25 team on its resume, they’re on pace to almost double the school’s record for average attendance this season.
And when yet another sellout crowd of more than 4,000 shows up Monday night to see them play Manhattan, the first of two home games next week that rank as the most important the program has hosted in a decade, they will shatter what is believed to be the all-time record for total home attendance in a season in just eight games.
The school’s profile, locally, regionally and nationally, has reached new heights, with athletics as a key component.
``This was a strategy that was Marilyn McNeil’s and both of my predecessors (Rebecca Stafford and Sam Magill) talked about,’’ said Gaffney, a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral. ``It affects everyone, including the other teams. It affects giving. It affects admissions. It affect student moral, which is probably the biggest reason a school like Monmouth has athletics. It’s really great for student morale, pride, and pride for the alumni. And all of that comes together when you have a great team.
``I’m sure the admission folks would tell you that applications are up. Between the exposure from basketball and the polling institute, it’s impacting the school in positive way.’’
It was also Gaffney’s call to make a change at the top of the men’s basketball program after the 2010-11 season. And he was seated at the table inside Doherty House, the sprawling presidential residence, when current coach King Rice sat down for his final interview in front members of the board of trustees.
``(Rice) was put on the spot at that diner, and he was terrific,’’ Gaffney recalled. ``That’s a pressure cooker. You get a bunch of Wall Street executives and very successful people in a room like that and you can’t escape. You’re sitting at a table. It’s not like a cocktail party where you can walk around, and they’re firing questions at you and looking at your table manners and what you wore to diner and what you ate and how much you drink and don’t drink. And King is a very confidence man. And it’s a great family. I think Marilyn McNeil ran a very good selection process, and she picked a winner there.’’
Gaffney’s name is on the court inside the MAC, along with the initials of Jules Plangere Jr., a former owner of the Asbury Park Press who Gaffney credits with helping remake the campus with his generous donations.
There are lot of people who deserve credit here. But connect the dots and it’s safe to say it was Gaffney’s leadership that helped lay the foundation for one of college basketball's best stories.
Staff writer Stephen Edelson is an Asbury Park Press columnist: sedelson@gannettnj.com