RCNJ

Last week, the Associated Press reported that Gary Rullo, a 56-year old former employee of FedEx Corporation, was sentenced to six months in jail and subsequent probation for threatening Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. According to the article, Rullo, a resident of Middletown, Delaware, travelled to Troy and posted "Wanted" posters on campus with Dr. Jackson's name on them. He also passed out literature at businesses in Troy, threatened to harm her if she went near Rullo's family, and sent e-mails to her containing racial remarks.

The only apparent connection between Rullo and Dr. Jackson is that Rullo is a former FedEx employee with a grievance against the company, and Dr. Jackson is a member of the company's board of directors.

Previous articles about the situation indicate that RPI Public Safety picked up Rullo on September 6 after he was observed posting the "Wanted" posters. Congratulations to all involved in his apprehension. Now that his actions have been made public, it is easy to conclude that he was a threat to Dr. Jackson's personal safety.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI lost the consolation game of the Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Tournament 2-1 to Colgate. Kyle Wilson scored two goals to lead Colgate to victory.

USCHO.com carried a couple of choice comments by members of each team:

RPI coach Dan Fridgen: "When you're playing a perfect hockey game out there defensively, one five-on-five goal over the course of 120 minutes is not going to win you a lot of games."

Colgate sophomore Kyle Wilson: "It's good to set the tone with this team.... We're going to see them twice more, so it's good to get a win against them right off the bat and show them a few things of what's to come."

Nice bulletin board material there.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO is a little slow with the game recap, so we go to the RPI Athletics Web Site for a report on Mercyhurst's 3-2 defeat of Rensselaer in the teams' opening game at the 53rd Annual Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Tournament at Houston Field House in Troy. Nick Economakos staked the Engineers to a 2-0 lead with goals in the first and second period. Mercyhurst College, coached by former RPI assistant Rick Gotkin, scored three unanswered goals including the game winner with 1:44 left in regulation time. T.J. Kemp got the winner for the Lakers.

Mercyhurst goaltender Jordan Wakefield made 40 saves to earn the victory.

Mercyhurst moves on to face Northeastern University who were 6-4 winners over Colgate in the tournament opener. The championship will take place at 7:00pm on Monday night. RPI will face Colgate University in the consolation at 4:00pm.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Motorola recently announced that Ed Zander '68 will assume the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on January 5, 2004. Zander's last major job was as President and Chief Operating Office of Sun Microsystems. As previously reported on RCNJ.org, he left Sun in July 2002 after spending about 15 years with the company.

Shortly after he was named Chairman and CEO of Motorola, CNET News.com interviewed him and asked what challenges lay ahead in turning around the 75-year-old icon of the mobile communications industry. According to the article, the company has lost $6 billion and 50,000 employees in the last three years.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier today, St. John's of Minnesota defeated RPI 38-10 to win a place in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the Division III Football national championship game. RPI and St. John's fought to a 10-10 tie at halftime. But, in the second half, St. John's constant defensive pressure kept quarterback Dan Cole on the run, while their offense found its traction.

Rensselaer ends its season champions of the East Region of Division III. This is the first time in 118 years that RPI has won an NCAA Football playoff game (they actually won two in a row). This was a fantastic season, worthy of being called the greatest in school history.

We will point to additional accounts of the game as they become available.

Update:

• Engineers Lacking Spark, Times Union, main article about game
• St. John's beats RPI 38-10 in Div. III playoffs, Associated Press via ESPN
• Football Falls in National Semi-Finals, Rensselaer Athletics News Release

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Those of you who have been following Rensselaer Football all season with RCNJ.org already know that the Engineers will take on the St. John's Johnnies in the Division III Football Semifinals on Saturday, December 13, at 1:00pm Eastern Time. The game will be played in Collegeville, MN on St. John's home field.

RPI Alumni Relations is providing information on a number of different ways that the game can be enjoyed live. If you are in the New York Metropolitan Area the options available to you either require a large satellite dish or a broadband internet connection.

D3football.com published another article about an RPI team leader. Mark Simon profiles senior quarterback Dan Cole and how well his style of passing works in adverse weather conditions.

The Times Union covered RPI Football's first airplane trip in its 118-year history-- a charter flight from Albany to Minneapolis, en route to Collegeville.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sandeep Nandy sent the following about the upcoming RCNJ night at Continental Airlines Arena:

I know some of you have bought tickets from me for the RCNJ Devils/Flyers game coming up this Friday night {December 12}. However, at the present time, I still have 4 tickets left.

If you have not yet purchased tickets from me and would like to, or know of people who require tickets, please let me know.

Tickets are $20 each. More information about the game can be found in the original event announcement.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer Alumni Relations asked us to pass along the following information:

The New York City Metro Chapter, in conjunction with the Westchester/Rockland/So. CT Chapter is proud to sponsor its third annual holiday concert. We hope you, along with your friends and family will join us for a wonderful performance of Handel’s Messiah at the historic Riverside Church. The pre-concert dinner will be at 5:45 p.m. at Sezz Medi, an Italian restaurant, conveniently located at 1260 Amsterdam Avenue, at 122nd Street. Dinner will include an appetizer, main course, coffee and dessert. A cash bar will be available.

Tickets for the concert ONLY are $43 per person for dues-paying Chapter members and $46 per person for all non dues-paying members. The cost to attend dinner and the concert is $79 per person for dues-paying members and $85 per person for non dues-paying members. This is a spectacular price for what is sure to be a spectacular evening. Come join your fellow alumni for a wonderful evening of music in celebration of the holidays.

Tickets are limited so please respond quickly. Please send your name along with the names of your guests as well as your check made payable to “Rensselaer,” to Jackie Baker, Office of Alumni Relations, Heffner Alumni House, 1301 Peoples Avenue, Troy, NY 12180. Tickets will be distributed at the dinner (or mailed if you will only be joining us for the concert.) If you have any questions, please contact Jackie at bakerj3@rpi.edu or (518) 276-4132.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "On Friday, I received a message from RPI Men's Hockey Coach Dan Fridgen that read, in part:"

Subject: Signed Stick

Dave:

Just a quick note to thank you and the others for your support on the NCAA D3 Proposal.... Hope all is well in Jersey and please give my regards to everyone, and once again, thank them for their continued support. See you in the New Year and Happy Holidays!

Dan Fridgen

Head Men's Ice Hockey Coach

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

NCAA CHAMPIONS 1954 1985

My response to Coach Fridgen was:

Dan:

Glad to hear from you on this. We had wondered whether one of those sticks made it to the Field House. I see on the latest Campus Bulletin email that you guys did a similar promotion this weekend at the Yale and Princeton games. I think the more people we can get to participate in this type of consciousness-raising, the better it is for us and the other schools affected.

No one who signed on for the original Play-Up Rule could have imagined that the Presidents' Council would try to include a provision to end it in a large package of reforms. This is ridiculous and the worst kind of bureaucratic wrangling.

I hope everyone associated with the team has a great holiday season. I remember what it was like to make it to this point in the hockey season, and everyone needs a couple of days at home with their families-- the sooner, the better....

Take care,

Dave Aiello

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Monday, Campus.News reported on a banner signing to support Division I hockey at Rensselaer that took place over the weekend at the men's hockey games at Houston Field House.

The banner reads "Support Puckman, Support 65-1". Puckman is a name of the RPI Hockey mascot (see the photo on the Campus.News page). "65-1" refers to a proposed amendment to Amendment 65 which would eliminate the waiver allowing eight Division III schools (including RPI) to "play up" in Division I sports that they have traditionally participated in.

Not to steal any of the thunder from this event, but, we have to wonder if the Rensselaer Athletic Department got the idea to do this from the RCNJ stick signing that took place on October 21?

Dave Aiello received an email from men's ice hockey head coach Dan Fridgen last week. In his response to Coach Fridgen, Dave said: "I think the more people we can get to participate in this type of consciousness-raising, the better it is for us and the other schools affected."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In what can best be described as a game played in some of the most challenging conditions in NCAA football history, RPI defeated Ithaca College 21-16 to advance to the Division III Football Semi-finals against St. John's University of Minnesota next weekend.

Want an idea how bad the conditions were? Check out these photos of the game, reportedly taken by a Rensselaer alumnus. (We would provide attribution, but the person who pointed out the existence of these pictures did not fully identify himself.)

RPI jumped out to a 14-0 lead on its first two posessions. Senior quarterback Dan Cole connected on a 59-yard touchdown pass to Pat Hughes on the third play from scrimmage. On the next drive, Cole connected with freshman John Branche on a 37-yard pass. Ithaca could manage only a 21-yard field goal before halftime, to make the score 14-3.

During halftime, WRPI color commentator Bob Conway suggested that 14 points wouldn't be enough to win the game, and he was right. Ithaca struck first in the second half, with a 26-yard TD pass from Josh Felicetti to Justin Esposito. The PAT-attempt failed, so RPI lead 14-9.

Cole then hooked up with Branche again for a 16-yard TD. Kicker Matt Verenini made the last of his three extra points to make the score 21-9. Ithaca subsequently scored a touchdown with 3:42 to go in regulation, but was intercepted in its next posession. RPI ran out the clock for the victory.

The Times Union has an excellent article about the RPI-Ithaca game. In it, Rensselaer head coach Joe King said:

It's a game that I think everybody who played and coached in it will remember forever. I've never seen conditions like that before. I don't know if anybody else has. But I thought both teams played very well under the circumstances. I thought we played outstanding on offense.

RPI is now one game away from the Stagg Bowl, the Division III National Championship Game. Before it gets to participate in that, it must meet and defeat St. John's on their home field in Collegeville, Minnesota. That game will take place next Saturday at 1:00 Eastern Time.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This weekend, the Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team split games with Yale and Princeton. All things considered, this was a good weekend to have two home games. But, the team was less than 100 percent throughout as a number of players had the flu.

On Friday, Yale came back from a 4-3 deficit early in the third period to beat RPI 5-4. Joe Callahan had a hat trick for the Elis. Scott Basiuk and Kevin Croxton each had a goal and an assist for the Engineers. Kevin Kurk made 23 saves in his second start this season in the net.

On Saturday, the game against Princeton had to be delayed about 45 minutes because the Tigers had travel problems. When they finally got on the ice, they fell behind 4-0, before rallying back to 4-3 with 14 1/2 minutes left to go in regulation. RPI came back to life then, and cruised to a 6-4 victory.

Alexander Valentin led the Engineers with a goal and an assist. Conrad Barnes scored the game winner for RPI. Nathan Marsters recovered enough to play in this game. He made 24 saves en route to the win.

Rensselaer is now 8-5-2 overall, 3-2-1 in the ECAC. It next plays in the Renssealer/HSBC Holiday Tournament after Christmas.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RPI Football Team will take on Ithaca College at '86 Field in the NCAA Division III Football Quarterfinals at noon on Saturday. The National Weather Service forecast posted this morning says:

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM EST SUNDAY...

SNOW WILL BE OCCASIONALLY HEAVY TODAY. THE SNOW WILL CONTINUE
TONIGHT BEFORE TAPERING TO SNOW SHOWERS TOWARD DAYBREAK SUNDAY.
SNOWFALL WILL RANGE FROM AROUND 2 FEET IN THE BERKSHIRES...SOUTHERN
TACONICS AND LITCHFIELD HILLS...TO 8 TO 16 INCHES IN THE BALANCE OF
EASTERN NEW YORK AND WESTERN NEW ENGLAND. BRISK WIND GUSTING UP TO
30 MILES AN HOUR OVER THE HILLS AND MOUNTAINS WILL CAUSE SOME BLOWING
AND DRIFTING OF THE SNOW.

It will be interesting to see how extreme weather like this affects the gameplan for both teams.

The game will be broadcast over WRPI at noon. It will also be broadcast via an affiliate of D3football.com beginning at 11:40am.

A few interesting articles were published about the football team this week. The Times Union published an article on Friday about how far football at RPI has come since the 43-game winless streak ended in 1965. D3football.com published an article by Mark Simon about the Cochran family tradition of playing football at Rensselaer. Six of seven Cochran brothers from Kent, Washington have attended RPI and played football.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)