Football Holds 22nd Annual Fordham Football Gridiron Club Golf Outing

Eastchester, N.Y. – With reporting day for the 2015 Fordham University football season a little over a week away for the Rams, the Fordham University football program kicked off the season with the 22^nd Annual Fordham Football Gridiron Club Golf Outing held on Monday, July 27, at the Leewood Golf Club.
 
Following a day on the links, the group enjoyed dinner in the clubhouse and heard from Gridiron Club President, Frank Sacco, FCRH '87, along with Director of Athletic Dave Roach and head coach Joe Moorhead, , FCRH '96.
 Sacco welcomed everyone and made special mention of upcoming Gridiron Club events, including the September 4 season opener at Army West Point, the home opener versus Villanova on September 12 on Jack Coffey Field and the annual Football Gridiron Dinner, which will be held on Thursday night, September 10, at the Yale Club in Manhattan. This year the club will honor John Lumelleau, FCRH '74, with the Walsh Award and Michael Andrews, GSB '09, with the Mara Family Award.

Director of Athletics Dave Roach took the podium and mentioned the five things that are vital to the football's team success: 1) terrific student-athletes, 2) recruiting, 3) outstanding coaching (provided by Coach Moorhead and his staff), 4) finances, and 5) facilities. He spoke about a plan to turn the old fitness center in the Lombardi Center into new football offices, more than doubling the square footage of the current offices.
 
"It's critical that we get your support," said Roach. "We need you to get your teammates involved and be a part of the success of the football program, a program that has gone 29-10 over the past three years after Joe Moorhead took over a team that had gone 1-10. In intercollegiate athletics if you think you're all set and you stand pat, you fall behind.  We need to do better with our facilities. The plans for the new offices are there but we'll need your support to get it done."
 
Moorhead began his passionate address by labeling the 2014 season as "an unmitigated success." But he made sure to let the crowd know that he was pleased with the season but not satisfied. He reiterated that Fordham has four season goals: 1) retain both the Liberty and Ram-Crusader cups, 2) have a winning non-conference record, 3) have best record in Patriot League and 4) make a run at national championship.
 
"The only goal we fell short of last year was winning the NCAA championship," said Moorhead. "When I stood in front of the team at our first meeting, I told everyone that the ultimate goal was to win a national championship and there was some skepticism and eye rolls, but I truly believe no one rises to low expectations. To stand here coming off a 12-2 and 11-3 season and say we're not satisfied, that means the program is heading in the right direction.
 Moorhead went on to preview the 2015 season, noting how much the Rams have lost, including two quarterbacks, the top five receivers, an All-American tight end, three of five starters on the offensive line, and nine of the eleven starters on defense.
 
"We lost 25 of 60 available scholarship players," said Moorhead. "But we feel we're in a position where we're not rebuilding, we're reloading. The expectations and goals are the same and will always be the same."
 
Moorhead went over the three groups of returning players. The first is the experienced group of talent, led by Chase Edmonds, the 2014 Jerry Rice Award winner, but it is the smallest group. The next is the larger group of inexperience talented returning, players who have sat the past year or two because they were behind multi-year All-Patriot League players on the depth chart. The third is the incoming class of 21 freshmen and transfers.
 
Summing up the upcoming 2015 season Moorhead described the two slogans going into the year.
 
"The first is 'So what?'," stated Moorhead. "No one cares how many starters you lost. Football is a bottom line endeavor. When asked how the team will be with the loss of so many starters we reply, 'So what?' We're not going to make excuses. Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure."
 
The second is "One at a time."
 "One rep, one drill, one period, one practice, one day, one week, one game at a time," explained Moorhead. "We'll keep stacking those on top of each other and make sure we're investing our time rather than spending our time."
 
The Rams open the 2015 season on Friday night, September 4, as they travel to West Point to take on Army West Point at 7:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network. Tickets are $32 and available by calling the ticket office at 855-RAM-TIXS (855-726-8497) or (718) 817-4759.
 
The Fordham Athletic Development Office is also offering pregame a-la-carte packages:
 
Adult pregame reception: $55 ($60 at the door)
Child pregame reception: $30 
Round Trip Bus Transportation: $25
Parking pass: $15
 
The pregame reception will be from 5-7 p.m. on Buffalo Soldier Field.
 
The Development will also be offering bus tickets with buses running from Lincoln Center and Rose Hill.
Bus tickets will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. Seats are extremely limited! Buses (from each location) will depart at 3 p.m. and depart West Point 25 minutes following the conclusion of the game. You will be dropped off at the same location from which you left (i.e. if you choose to leave from the Rose Hill Campus, you bus will bring you back to Rose Hill that evening). 
 
For information on the packages go to www.fordham.edu/fordhamvsarmy
 
Winners of the golf contests:
 
First Place (Foursome) – 59
Steve Povemba
Mike Donnelly
Mike Benevento
Bill Falvey
 
Second Place (Foursome) – 60
Steve Breznicky
Steve Breznicky
Mike Breznicky
Ryan Pappas
 
Third Place (Foursome) – 63
Ed Blaney
Phil Dinsmore
Chris Sullivan
John Funck
 
Closest to Pin
Hole 6 – Jason Caldwell (4' 11")
Hole 9 – Bill Falvey (14'1 1")
Hole 11 – Tony DiGugliemo (9' 2')
Hole 13 – Mike DiGugliemo (14' 0")
 
Longest Drive
Travis Johnson