Looking at nearby universities such Kutztown, Villanova and Rutgers, you see that they have football teams; however, when you come to Cabrini, you see that we do not have a football team.
According to the National Football Foundation, over 750 colleges and universities now have a football team. Since 2008, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has added more and more football teams. Regardless, Cabrini is still without one.
Some students think a football team would be good for Cabrini University.
“If we had a football team, it would help get our school on the map and get more students here,” said Jake Hartline, junior graphic design major.
In 2013, the NCAA added a record of 12 new college football teams. In 2017 alone, they have added four new football teams.
Today, the NCAA recognizes a total of 777 college and university football teams. The NCAA is also expected to add eight more college football teams in the 2018-2019 season.
The NCAA breaks college football up into four different sections. There is the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Then there is Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Next, Division II and, lastly, Division III.
If Cabrini were to offer football, it would be in the Division III section.
The division that has the most schools is Division III. Division III has 444 institutions and more than 170,000 student-athletes.
Brad Koch, the director of athletics and recreation at Cabrini, said one reason Cabrini does not have a football team is because the sport is not sponsored through CSAC. Additionally, the school does not currently have the resources to support a football team.
Koch said, “We do not have the facilities to accommodate the sport.”
To establish a football team, the university would need to have the appropriate training equipment and uniforms. A proper stadium would also be needed. This would require an immense amount of funds.
“We currently do not have the appropriate budget in place to accommodate those rosters,” Koch said, referring to equipment, travel and meal expenses.
Though creating a football team would be costly, some students think the addition of a football team would be worth it.
“It would draw people here and keep people here, and would make homecoming a lot more fun,” junior Cierra Saunders said.
