- January 18th, 2007, 9:01 am
#53850
Holy cow...
...never saw this coming.
http://tinyurl.com/2p3zhf
...never saw this coming.
http://tinyurl.com/2p3zhf
The possibility for a football team at LC
Aaron Strong
Issue date: 1/18/07 Section: Sports
The lines on Shellenberger Field were barely laid when Dr. Garren asked the faculty and staff to start on another project that will greatly affect athletics at Lynchburg College. Last semester Dr. Garren proposed a taskforce to study the feasibility of a football program at Lynchburg.
According to Steve Arnold, the Associate Vice President for College Relations the idea for a football team came up over the course of natural discussion (between board members and the administration).
Both Arnold and Dean of Residence Life John Eccles were quick to say the feasibility of the project will be critical in determining whether or not the college will field a football team.
The taskforce will be delving into issues such as costs, possible revenue from the football team, and the support of students, alumni and parents.
An area of concern to be studied is the role Title IX will play in the addition of another all-male team. The purpose of Title IX is to forbid discrimination on the basis of gender. Currently funding for male and female sports is equal to the proportion of males to females at Lynchburg. If athletics are expanded to include football; more money will need to be spent on female sports.
"You can be assured that we will be in compliance with Title IX. I have always made sure we were (and are) in compliance," Dr. Jack Toms, Director of Athletics, said.
Eccles maintains the student body will not change greatly.
"We still believe that we would not grow any larger than a total head count of 2,500," Eccles said.
Arnold agreed with the sentiment.
"No specific targets with respect to minorities or to the general student body [have been made]," Arnold said.
Eccles did mention there might be a slight gain in the amount of minority students.
"[It] would certainly be a positive aspect," Eccles said.
Toms does believe some recruiting would have to take place in order to field a football team, but also acknowledges some students already at Lynchburg may be interested in playing.
"I think football is a huge drawing card…I am sure recruiting will have to take place," Toms said.
Critics of a football program at Lynchburg may be swayed when they find out that Eccles has stated admission fees would never cover the cost of the program, so would probably not be used.
"We do not endorse the concept of robbing Peter to pay Paul," Eccles said.
By saying this he means money from academics would never be used to pay for an athletic program.
"Football is a rallying force for many colleges," Arnold said.
The taskforce will have to determine if football will do the same here at Lynchburg. Students and alumni interviewed believe football will be that "rallying force."
Stephanie Myers, '06, is excited at the possibility of having football at Lynchburg.
"Personally, I have never been to a lacrosse game," Myers said. "[But I] went to almost every home football game in high school."
Myers said that she would have done the same if Lynchburg had football during her tenure here.
"Football would be a great thing. I think there would be a lot of fan support and it would help bring the students together more and give them something to do," Freshman Jon DeMaio said.
Junior Ashlee Ayers, who has attended UVA football games, said she would be really excited if we were to have an LC football team.
"It is great to have so many students coming out to support their football team," Ayers said.
Toms believes the college atmosphere on Saturday's could change if a football program is added, allowing the hopes of these students to come to fruition.
With some reservation, senior Charles Shaw said he would like to see a football program at Lynchburg. He does not think it's feasible without more school-owned space and he does not know if the school is willing to make the kinds of actions to create the space for a football program. He cites the control Lynchburg College officials seem to want over their students and their timidity in losing it.
"The only way I see that (creation of more school-owned space) being possible is if the school tears down all the houses it owns, but it would cause the school to lose control," Shaw said.
Other than this issue, Shaw believes that football is an exciting prospect for Lynchburg College.
Lynchburg College officials are interested in retaining their students and this newest venture between the faculty/staff and board of trustees shows their commitment to the students.
"There are advantages to having a football team. They add to the social climate by adding another sport that students can enjoy and support. The happier students are with their experience the more likely they are to stay and graduate," Eccles said.
(sniff, sniff) 
- By LU Armchair coach