I read with interest the "Annual Plea for Football at SLU" threads posted on this message board. I believe it's time to resurrect the topic, but with renewed vigor this time. I graduated from a small school in Indiana (U of Saint Francis, NAIA), and played some soccer there. We didn't have football at the time and basketball was untouchable. As a student I (and fellow classmates) often wished we had a football program. The president we had during my collegiate years was a stodgy old nun (think Fr. Biondi) who was satisfied with the status quo and didn't do anything to promote the school. The school atmosphere was stagnant, kids would go home on weekends and there was nothing to do on campus besides shooting pool and playing ping-pong at the student center. The school enrollment had plunged to an all-time low of appx 600 students (full and part-time, undergrad and grad), to the point that there was talk of closing the school down. This was in the early 80s. In 1990 a successor was appointed as new president - another nun. She was younger, dynamic, progressive, forward thinking and open minded. She was also a graduate of Saint Francis, having spent the 70s living in the dorms while she prepared for her novitiate. Ironically she received her PhD from SLU. In '97 one of the administrators suggested we start a football program. He wasn't exactly laughed out of the room, but the suggestion wasn't taken seriously. He was insistent and tried several more times. The local media got on the band wagon, saying they wouldn't even have 50 spectators come to a game, let alone field a successful program. Finally, the president resigned to the idea and gave her blessing to start a football program. They hired a head coach by the name of Kevin Donley (currently the winningest active coach in NAIA football) to start a football program from scratch. He had nothing, no lockers, facilities, field, players, staff - nothing. The closest thing resembling a field was the existing grass soccer field. After hiring a staff they recruited some players. Mostly local kids who wanted to continue playing football at the collegiate level but were considered too small by NCAA DIII and D2, let alone D1 programs. They had one thing most players at the upper divisions lacked - heart. They played their first varsity football game at Saint Xavier University in Chicago - and beat them 56-28. They lost seven consecutive after that, and ended with a 2-8 record. Dismal, but it was expected of an inaugural program. More of the same was to be expected the following years. Except…the next year, and only one year into the program, they finished with an 8-3 record, received votes in the national rankings, won their conference and played in the NAIA tournament. Since that inaugural year they have not had another losing season. They won 10 consecutive conference titles, played in consecutive national tournaments, finished as runners-up three years in a row in the title games, and as of 2013, won yet another conference title and advanced as far as the quarterfinals. They routinely accept and start transfer student-athletes from D1 programs like Ball State, Purdue, Indiana State, Indiana, and the like. All these kids have an impact right off the bat and contribute to a winning tradition. Not just the transfers, but the legitimate first-year starters and red-shirts. They're hungry and want to play - and win. They beat bigger programs like Indiana State, Valpo and Butler. Butler won't schedule them anymore because they got tired of getting whipped year in and year out. What they built for themselves was commitment to, and the belief in themselves and the program. Now Saint Francis boasts a student enrollment of over 2,000, opened a satellite campus near Chicago, has a strong alumni following, has built - or in the process of building - new dorms and additional facilities on campus, and home football games are well-attended, with standing-room-only on homecoming games. All thanks in large part to a football program no one believed in. They have respectability, clout, media exposure and kids wanting to attend Saint Francis. Yes, I know SLU is D1, not NAIA. Yes, I know money is handled differently in NCAA than NAIA - but not much. Only the venues are bigger. There is a changing of the guard. Biondi is on his way out, and the search for a new president is currently taking place. The search committee has reached out to the university community and asked what qualities we should be looking for in our new president. Emails, surveys and town-hall style meetings took place and opinions gathered. One of the requirements for the new president is belief in SLU athletic programs and the commitment to further those programs. I've personally taken informal surveys around campus and asked students, staff and faculty what they thought of bringing football back to SLU. All would like to see it, and all expressed concerns that we would s**ck. Yes, I agree. We would s**ck our first year or so. It all depends on the head coach and staff in place. The commitment and belief in themselves and the program. And the president's blessing. When I asked one of my colleagues about football here at SLU she told me about a meeting she attended with Fr. Biondi and one of them asked about bringing back the football program. His response: "Over my dead body." With that attitude it's no wonder he got a no-confidence vote and on his way out. We need a president that is open-minded and open for debate. Football is expensive, agreed. But you need to spend money to make money. It's also a powerful recruiting and marketing tool. More alumni would come back to SLU and attend a homecoming football game. And donate. Who goes to a homecoming where soccer is the featured sport? I've looked across campus and practically every piece of structure, be it a building, conference room, office, park bench, statue, sculpture, classroom, tree, has a plaque dedicated to its generous donor. There are willing donors out there. They want to give to SLU. So why not football? And it's not just the SLU community that would benefit from the football program. It's also the city of St. Louis: home games translate to visitors, hotel reservations, restaurant goers, museum and theater goers, potential students wanting to attend SLU, whether as a student or a participating student-athlete. Should we turn down their money? What about facilities? I've taken the liberty of sharing these links: Georgetown College (NAIA) http://www.georgetowncollegeathletics.com/f/Facilities.php Field-turf, seating capacity 5,000, expandable to 20,000 University of Saint Francis (NAIA) http://saintfranciscougars.com/sports/2011/12/8/AT_1208111150.aspx?&tab=2 Sport-turf, seating capacity 3,000, expandable to appx 12,000 Saint Francis has a small campus, and is landlocked - surrounded by neighborhoods on 3 sides and a cemetery on the south side. Lindenwood University (D2, formerly NAIA) http://www.lindenwoodlions.com/sports/2012/6/21/FB_0621125209.aspx Astro Play turf, seating capacity ? Also consider Fawcett Stadium, NFL's Hall of Fame stadium, also has a small footprint http://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/fawcett_stadium.aspx They all take up the same footprint as Hermann Stadium and/or the Medical Center Stadium. Start out small, but design the stadium to be expandable. Start out in the FCS with the intent of joining the FBS at a future date. Look at schools like Troy, AL (former NAIA), UConn, Boise State, USF (S. Florida) - they all started in the "lesser" divisions and are now competing in the FBS. One final note: there's a small school in Oklahoma - University of Tulsa - a small, nondenominational, private school founded by Presbyterians. Total student enrollment is less than 5,000 with a much smaller endowment than SLU. They have a successful FBS football program, and recently beat Notre Dame. If I may quote Coach Donley on his foundation to build the football program at Saint Francis: "To develop quality young men into meaningful contributors to our community and to win some games along the way." -Kevin Donley SLU can compete - and will.