By James Brown//Hood College may soon be welcoming its own football program in the near future. Hood athletic director Tom Dickman says there has been conversations of their being a football team as early as the fall of 2016. Dickman noted that there are many factors that will influence the start of a football program.
The beginning of starting team would consist of finding a coach. Dickman would like to have a coach selected a year before playing. The process of finding a coach would be “advertised but we would possibly look for a local high school coach with connections within the area for recruiting purposes.” After finding a coach, the Blazers would need to find players willing to play in a brand new program. The players recruited to play football would potentially impact campus life by increasing class size and the amount of space in the dining hall and dormitories would decrease. The athletic facilities would need expanded as well. The Hodson Fitness Center would need to be bigger to accommodate an entire football team. BB&T arena would also need to add an additional locker room to the facility.
Dickman isn’t sure exactly where the team would play but said that the Blazers could rent a local football field to play its games. Dickman believes that the team could practice on the turf field if football lines are painted on it. However, it would be difficult for the team to find field time due to the schedules of other fall sports like field hockey and soccer. The lack of day light could also be an obstacle to work around.
The biggest obstacle would be the start up fees. The team would need a minimum of three full time coaches, a locker room, and equipment. The effects on campus life would also require money to be spent. Dickman believes the fees to start a program would build up quickly and be expensive but couldn’t give an estimate.
Dickman believes that the community, student population, and alumni would embrace the football team. Football offers an athletic event as well as a social event due to traditional tailgating which could lure in more fans. In order for that to be possible more parking would have to be put in place which is yet another expense.
Around campus, students believe that a football team would benefit the school. Sophomore Alex Villegas believes that a football team would be a great addition to Hood athletics. Villegas said “it would be nice to see a football team at hood. I would definitely go to games and tailgate if that would be allowed. That’s something I think a lot of students would be interested in.” Sophomore Nick Druelinger is in favor of a football team as well saying “”I think a football team energizes a campus. Games are an event everyone can look forward to. People from all circles go and interact and have a good time.”
Hood would play in the Division III Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC). There are currently 10 teams within the conference with football programs. Stevenson University and Misericordia University are the last two teams within the conference to add a football program within the last 10 years. Misericordia struggled this season ending the year with a record of 1-9. Stevenson was successful this past season finishing 8-3 while winning the ECAC Southeast Bowl.