New FDU athletics director Jason Young sees big changes ahead

Retiring FDU athletics director Bradford Hurlbut

Q. What are your top priorities now?

A. “As we go into the modern era we haven’t opted in yet (to the NCAA’s House settlement, which allows colleges to engage in revenue sharing with athletes). Figuring out how to do that, and do it fiscally responsibly, is on top of the list for me. We’ve got to get men’s basketball to the level where they can compete and succeed. I don’t think it’s an accident that the winner of the NEC this year (Long Island University) opted in.

“No. 2, we’re growing. We’re at 400 athletes right now, and I’d like us to get to 475 or 500. That will be really important for us. With growth, that also means we’re building. Our university is going through a real-estate development plan, if you will. They’re reimagining what the campus will look like.

“I want to see us build a practice facility for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball, so we can turn the Bogota Savings Bank Center into more of a revenue-producer and make it more of a community asset, which his super important to us and our value to Bergen County.

“On top of that, we need more resources and fundraising. We’ve got to get more money into this building to stay competitive. We go as men’s basketball goes. And I want us to continue our community service activities, winning more NEC community-service awards. That’s something I care about – that stuff matters.”

Q. Is there a timeline for when you’d like to opt-in?

A. “The 2027-28 school year, so this year being our last not opting in. I’ve got eight more months to figure things out.”

Q. You mentioned expanding the number of athletes? How will you look to do that?

A. “We’ve added (women’s) flag football (as an intercollegiate member of the ECAC), and their first class comes in this fall. We’ve added men’s fencing for 2027-28. We think we can grow fencing on the women’s side, too. We just set up a new partnership with Durkan Fencing Academy (in Ridgewood), so there’s room to grow there. Track & field we can grow a little but more.”

Q. How did the Macron deal come about, and how does this help FDU?

A. “It came about thanks to USA Fencing making an introduction to the folks at Macron for us. We loved our relationship with Under Armour; unfortunately the numbers (financially) didn’t work for us any longer.  When we started that partnership we were at 240 athletes, and now we’re at 400.

“When Macron presented, I was blown away by the quality of the stuff, and I like that we will be direct to an apparel company – no middleman. And the last piece, our athletes can pick their own shoes. We’ll be ankles up with the apparel provider and that will give our athletes that freedom. I want us to be trailblazers in a lot of respects. And being the first university in the U.S. with Macron, that means a lot.”

Q. How has student-athlete retention been across your sports? What can be done about that at the institutional level, and what would you like to see the NCAA do?

A. “Our retention has been very, very good for the most part. If you take out men’s and women’s basketball, we do not see heavy amounts of kids going into the portal. So overall we’ve been very happy. One of the reasons is we have really good strength and conditioning, athletic training, and academic services. Those are three key student-service areas. Our success also helps We’ve been able to win and we’ve been able to compete for conference championships, so they want to be part of that.”

“We’re going to lose a kid every now and then to a bigger school. One thing I tell our coaches is, at the end of the day you’re all teachers and you have your students for a year. If they stay a second year, they stay. But you have to capitalize on the time you have with them. For that year you have to push them, create growth, make them uncomfortable, do things to create that college experience so they’re leaving a better person than when they got here.”

“We’re proud of (former FDU basketball standouts) Terrence Brown and Ansley Almonor when they go on to play at North Carolina and Kentucky. We’re not going to shy away from that. They’re part of our recruiting pitches as much as the kids who stayed four years and won two championships. You have to accept that reality and not get too frustrated by it.

“With the NCAA, the only thing I’m looking forward to at some point is the ability for there to be a little bit more of a commitment made by an athlete to an institution upon signing. If we can guarantee an athlete’s going to come for at least their freshman and sophomore years, that helps you plan, and it helps their character growth on and off the field. It builds more stability.

“It would like to see the ability for an athlete to transfer every year off the table. I don’t think we’re helping students if they’re going to a different school every year. It’s hard for them to build an alumni network, relationships, and things that will help them for the next 40 years as opposed to this immediate gratification.”

Q. You have a basketball background -- what do you think of NCAA Tournament expansion and the way the bracket will be set up going forward?

A. “A little bit bummed, honestly. It’s not going to help schools like us, that’s for sure. At the end of the day our goal is to get to Dayton and win a game, and then let’s see what happens. It’s important for us to get that national exposure on a Tuesday or Wednesday night by ourselves. Having had that Dayton experience, it was awesome.

“My issue now is they’ve added eight teams who will be Power-4 teams who will all be middling teams that will now have a shot to get through to the second round or Sweet 16, and that takes away from your Cinderella stories. You’re not going to see as many 12 (seeds) beating 5s because most of those 12s will be Power-4 schools, so that Cinderella feel is going away.

“I know where this whole thing is going – it’s going to be FA Cup-style (used in English soccer). If you’re in a lower division, you might have to play two or three games before you have a shot at a team from the Premier League. Schools like FDU might have to play two games before they see Purdue instead of one. That’s unfortunate, and it all comes back to greed and money. As long as the tournament (financial) shares stay the same, I don’t think there will be a lot of griping because it makes a huge difference for a school like us, but you’re going to lose some of the magic of Cinderella.

“We have a book coming out next February by Triumph Sports; the working title is FDU Believe It.’ One of the reasons we’re pushing to do a book so hard is to memorialize the Cinderella story, because we don’t know how often it’s going to happen anymore.”

Q. Do you foresee FDU maintaining a long-term membership in the Northeast Conference?

A. “No foreseeable changes. I’m a big proponent of the NEC. I’m also a proponent of not having these super-leagues. If you look at the math, if I have a 1-in-18 chance of making the NCAA Tournament versus a 1-in-10 chance, I’ll take the 1-in-10 chance. Why merge with the MAAC or the America East? The math doesn’t make sense. We also love of geography in the NEC – the number of day trips we have is incredible.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him atjcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New FDU athletics director Jason Young sees big changes ahead