Universities Continue Adding Football Teams in 2014

Harry · July 30, 2014

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) highlighted today that seven new college football teams will take the field for the first time this season, increasing the number of schools across all NCAA divisions and the NAIA offering football to 767, an all-time high.

Since 1978 when the NCAA changed its method for tracking attendance figures, the number of schools playing NCAA football (FBS, FCS, DII and DII) has steadily increased by 173 schools from 484 in 1978 to a record high of 657 in 2013, or an average increase of 4.9 schools per year. In the past three seasons alone (2011-13), 25 football programs have been added at NCAA or NAIA institutions.

Universities and colleges are adding football at all levels, and administrators have developed sound plans, ensuring the new programs address the unique financial, academic and long-term objectives of their respective schools. The 60 institutions listed below, who have implemented firm plans during the past few years, coupled together with the more than 20 schools with exploratory committees, create a clear and undeniable trend that presidents and trustees nationwide see the value of a football program as part of their overall academic mission.

“No other sport contributes more to the vibrancy of a college campus than football, and the trend of adding programs continues full force,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “University and college presidents clearly see the value of having programs on their campuses, and we applaud them for understanding the role football can play in the educational experience of all their students.”

The rationale for adding football varies at each institution, and all of the decision makers who helped develop a plan for launching a program explain that an in-depth study played a critical role in finding the right level of play and the proper financial balance. Small colleges may cite increasing enrollment and addressing gender imbalances while larger universities might highlight the role of football in raising the institution’s profile and its ability to attract research grants. All mention creating a more vibrant on-campus community and connecting with alumni.

“With more than one million high school students playing football and less than 70,000 spots on college teams, there is plenty of room for expansion,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. “Many of these colleges clearly recognize that football can play an important role in encouraging students to continue their educations by enticing them to enroll.”

Read more: http://www.ardmoreite.com/article/20140729/SPORTS/140729695/-1/entertainment%20life

NT80 · July 30, 2014

“No other sport contributes more to the vibrancy of a college campus than football..."

This.

aztecskin · July 30, 2014

I likes football

NorthTexan95 · July 30, 2014

I'm a little shocked at the numbers. I knew schools were adding but not to these levels.

letsgiveacheer · July 30, 2014

Perhaps 25 years from now, it will be a big day when the UNT-Dallas Jaguars come to Apogee to play us.

Stan R · July 30, 2014

Perhaps 25 years from now, it will be a big day when the UNT-Dallas Jaguars come to Apogee to play us.

I can't wait until I see the hate filled threads that UNTD will start that compare us to SMU.

GrayEagle · July 30, 2014

Still no announcement that UTA is returning football? The Belt needs a 12th team.

oldguystudent · July 30, 2014

the number of schools playing NCAA football (FBS, FCS, DII and DII) has steadily increased by 173 schools from 484 in 1978 to a record high of 657 in 2013, or an average increase of 4.9 schools per year.

Unless you're in California. Seven FBS programs left from quite a few more 25 years ago. Even the DII programs are gone. That state just let football wither on the vine and die and I don't see it ever coming back. I quite expect them to start dropping football in high schools in the near future because of finances, safety, and misogynistic concerns.

Now here. Have a crunchy granola bar.

Jason Howeth · July 30, 2014

I quite expect them to start dropping football in high schools in the near future because of finances, safety, and misogynistic concerns.

Everyone is still going to receive a trophy though.

oldguystudent · July 30, 2014

Everyone is still going to receive a trophy though.

You see, the very word football caters to the patriarchal chauvinism of male fetish for the female foot, as evidenced by the rampant foot binding that took place thousands of years ago in pre-modern China, a move specifically meant to keep the women as chattel.

Men had to compete for ownership of this property, so they arranged contests that the community deemed fair. After the contest, the woman, bound feet and all now safely ensconsed in the chamber of her male victor, the men would get together and feast on the roast skin of a pig and a couple cases of baiju light, a glimmer in their eyes mockingly referred to as a tear by their compatriots.

Then, in the 19th century, these Chinese men and their female property crossed the oceans en mass to supply cheap labor for the transcontinental railroad and the houses of ill repute in the San Francisco harbor.

So to fund the barbaric sport of football with California tax dollars is to support the perpetuation of patriarchal misogyny and cultural hegemony that would make the secretive Chinese genes floating around in Kim Jung-Un's bloods stand on end.

Here. Enjoy some organic sprouted tofu that I shaped into an egg and fried up in flaxseed oil with my solar stove last night.