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It has been a fixture of the downtown Jersey City community for 50 years, nestled prominently on Eighth Street, a safe haven of education and athletics for thousands of adolescents.

And its basketball team has attained incredible and unbelievable achievements, winning 23 state championships, nine NJSIAA Tournament of Champions crowns and two national titles.

But there is a possibility that it all could come to an end.

Because of a drastic decrease in charitable contributions to the school since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, school officials have considered the possibility of closing the school at the end of the current school year, something that principal Sister Mary Felicia hopes will not happen.

"In 16 of the 20 years that I've been here," Sister Felicia said, "there have been talk and rumors that we were closing. This issue has come up before. But since Sept. 11, it's been getting difficult in terms of our fundraising. The charitable donations have dramatically decreased. We have to find ways to expand our donor base."

So who better to turn to for help than the school's most marketable commodity, namely legendary head basketball coach Bob Hurley?

Hurley, who has been at St. Anthony for the last 31 years, constructing the incredible ledger of success that the Friars have enjoyed on the hardwood, has now begun an all-out campaign to keep the school open - and perhaps even move the school to a different location in Jersey City, capitalizing on the fact that the land the school sits on now is valuable real estate. If they moved to a redevelopment area, they could get federal funds to rebuild.

So while the school is in deep financial straits and could close its doors, there is also talk of moving - provided that the new fundraising push is highly successful.

"Everything has just kind of escalated since the end of the last school year," said Hurley, who has compiled an incredible 755-86 record during his 31 seasons as head coach. "We needed to have a big freshman class and we only had 60. We had a slight tuition increase, but it wasn't enough. The future of the school was hinging on getting out to the other grammar schools and promoting the school, showing students that we're not just basketball. The numbers are simple. We charge $3,250 for tuition and it costs $7,100 to educate each kid. We need to supplement that money somewhere."

One of the school's biggest fundraisers is a golf tournament that is sponsored by the school's most prominent alumnus - Bobby Hurley, the coach's son. Hurley is a former Duke University All-American who spent seven years in the National Basketball Association. He is now a thoroughbred racehorse owner.

Bobby Hurley's Golf Classic, which was held last Monday, raised $150,000, but that's just not enough.

"We have to raise about $500,000 more," Hurley said. "We have to reach out to the alumni and start a fundraising campaign."

The first alumni event will be a 50th Anniversary Celebration Nov. 1 at the Casino in the Park in Jersey City. On that evening, the school will honor a group of alumni who have been influential, while celebrating the 50th anniversary of the school.

"It's really not a fundraiser, but more like an alumni get-together and gathering," Hurley said. "It's a way of getting the word out about our situation. We don't have an alumni director, so I guess I've taken on that role. I remember everyone who has played for me, and that has to be 200 or so. If we can get just those people back, it would be huge. But there are baseball players, cheerleaders, regular students. They can all help in some capacity, like making presentations to local grammar schools. This will stimulate action, get things going."

There are other ways to get the word out, namely the media.

An article featured on the front page of USA Today Monday, highlighting the school's financial plight. The article caused many prominent national people in the sports world, recognizing what St. Anthony's basketball program has meant to the growth of the sport, to reach out to Hurley and offer their help.

Several major college coaches called Hurley after reading the article. None of them want to see St. Anthony go away.

After all, Hurley has sent at least 75 of his players to Division 1 college basketball. Many have become college hoops stars. Five (David Rivers, Bobby Hurley, Terry Dehere, Rodrick Rhodes and Roshown McLeod) went on to play in the NBA. Two others, namely John Valentin and Willie Banks, are currently playing Major League baseball.

It's a proverbial basketball factory. You play basketball at St. Anthony, you go to college. You learn the game, but you learn about life as well, thanks to the man pushing all the buttons for more than three decades.

But now, his role becomes more than a basketball strategist. Hurley, who is also the director of recreation in Jersey City, has had to become a marketing strategist as well.

"I'm 55 now and my kids have all finished their education," Hurley said. "This should consume a good part of my time."

Hurley said that a fundraising dinner has already been planned for the spring, with the featured speaker to be Michael Jordan. Yes, that Michael Jordan.

"His agent, David Falk, called me after he read the article in USA TODAY and told me that he would provide Michael for the dinner," Hurley said. "We could have a VIP cocktail hour and having Michael Jordan just might do it. The response has been incredible."

Bryant Gumbel called Hurley and said he wanted to feature the plight of St. Anthony on a future episode of Gumbel's HBO sports talk show, "Real Sports." ESPN and Fox Sports have also expressed interest to do segments. A movie producer spoke to Hurley about the possibility of a movie.

"A consulate in Europe also called me and said that he was organizing something over there," Hurley said. "That's how far word has traveled. A father of a former player said that he made at least 100 copies of the article and passed it around his office. When you hear that we could possibly close, naturally panic occurs. But that's what had to happen. We have a real good school and had some real good teams. That's not good enough. When you talk of closing, then it becomes newsworthy. The power that the media wields is incredible."

But again, this is all talk. People want to help, but the money hasn't poured in just yet.

"If you ask me, we're not going to close," Sister Felicia said. "It was a real concern and absolutely, it's good that the word is now out. I really hope that we're able to plan for the future. But we're not going to close. I want to make that perfectly clear. I know we're not. I feel more enthused now. The plan is in place to take us forward and we hope to capitalize on our notoriety."

If Hurley's plan to raise money works, then perhaps the school can move forward with its plan to move the school from its downtown location, selling its very desirable real estate, and building a new school on the corner of Virginia Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive, a spot that could lure federal development aid as part of the MLK Drive redevelopment project.

"That's at least three years down the road, if possible," Hurley said. "It would be a bigger school with a gym that would be great for the neighborhood."

St. Anthony has never had a gym of its very own. It currently uses the Golden Door Charter School, across the street from St. Anthony, for its practices and games.

But that's a grand plan for the future. Right now, there are more important matters at hand, like keeping the school's doors open.

"I don't think we're that far away," Hurley said. "I really believe people want to help us. They know how important the school has been to the community for a very long time. You come into Jersey City and the signs say, 'Welcome to Jersey City, the home of St. Anthony's.' The tradition is here. If the school closes, you'll have to take those signs down, and a lot of poor kids would suffer." q