Xavier FCS Football???

[murray87]

No to bringing back football. Maybe they'd want to consider lowering (or at least freezing) tuition.

[JTG]

With all due respect, this thread probably should be put in the freezer for a little while.

Meaning it's a long way off, or just in the spitballing stage? Someone on that site said administrators at Parents Weekend were talking it up to folks. Do you have some inside info.? Usually you're in the know.

[XUGRAD80]

First off…..can the mods please merge the two threads on this subject?

Second….I’d be interested to hear from those against this idea as to WHY they are so adamant about NOT bringing football back?

I’m neither for or against and hadn’t heard anything about this until I saw these threads. I’ve not read why they they are thinking about it, or what it is they hope to achieve by being football back. But I see some here that are just immediately NO! And wonder why?

[drudy23]

As long as it doesn't take away from hoops, and let's be honest, at this level, it won't - I really don't care.

I think we all know this won't take off more than a glorified club sport at Xavier.

I REALLY hope this isn't someone on the Board saying "well, all the money is in football, we need football" - because that person is a moron if he/she thinks they can transform XU into a money generating football school.

[nuts4xu]

First off…..can the mods please merge the two threads on this subject?

Second….I’d be interested to hear from those against this idea as to WHY they are so adamant about NOT bringing football back?

I’m neither for or against and hadn’t heard anything about this until I saw these threads. I’ve not read why they they are thinking about it, or what it is they hope to achieve by being football back. But I see some here that are just immediately NO! And wonder why?

In 1973 Xavier dissolved their football program. Since that time, Xavier has thrived and built quite the baskeball program. Xavier's basketball program is profitable and helps fund other athletic programs. If you look at the changes on campus over the last 49 years, they have all been done without a football program.

I don't know the numbers or the cost, but I have always been told the cost to operate a successful football program were prohibitive. I just don't see how it would work or why anyone would want to bring football back from the dead. We have a pretty good thing going for us on Victory Parkway and I have a tough time believing football would bring in more male students and/or retain more students.

We get our basketball program back to what it was before Travis Steele ran us into the toilet, I think these enrollment issues will dry up WITHOUT a football program.

[JTG]

As long as it doesn't take away from hoops, and let's be honest, at this level, it won't - I really don't care.

I think we all know this won't take off more than a glorified club sport at Xavier.

I REALLY hope this isn't someone on the Board saying "well, all the money is in football, we need football" - because that person is a moron if he thinks he can transform XU into a money generating football school.

It has been tried elsewhere and has been successful. In Indy around 20-25 yrs ago Marian U, was little Marian College and most of the student body was girls. They decided to start NAIA football to get males to go to the school. It worked so well that male enrollment jumped, they had money to build a stadium, built a heck of a program that has won National Championships. The school started a Med School a few years ago. It has nothing to do with tv, or becoming Alabama or OSU. It's a student acquisition, retention, and student quality of life program. Evidently male enrollment, and student retention has taken a hit in the last few years, to the point that it is a concern to the Administration. As far as the instant push back from some, I graduated X the year before we dropped football. At that time, it was D1, was bad, and was draining money. It wasn't just football, but X was being grossly mismanaged by then Pres. Mulligan. Football became the scapegoat and was blamed for all the school's ills and was dropped. That's probably why some of the older Alums view starting football as a bad idea. Having spent my whole career in business, I understand this as a marketing move, more than a sports move. Especially since I saw it work firsthand here in Indy @ Marian U.

[paulxu]

I have no idea what will happen with this football interest.
But I enjoyed going to games in the Ed Biles era, watching Carroll Williams and Danny Abramowicz.
And Saturday afternoons watching the Muskies beat UC and Dayton on the field were good times.

[xubrew]

When you get right down to it, I think there are just four kinds of college presidents

-Those who are at football schools and love having football

-Those who are at football schools and hate football, but deal with it anyway

-Those who are at schools without football, and want football

-Those who are at schools without football, and are pretty sure that there are schools out there that have football, but don't really know what football actually is.

And those that don't have football, used to so they know what football is, and still don't give a shit.

Why risk the "undefeated since 73" streak?

Well, what category do you think Xavier's current president falls under?? I'm guessing it's not #4 or #5.

[xubrew]

If the stated goal is to increase male enrollment and retention, adding football would almost assuredly work.

I'm not saying Xavier should or shouldn't. I'm not saying there aren't other things that would also possibly work. I'm just saying for a private school with non-scholarship football at any level /division of the NCAA or NAIA, they will absolutely get 100+ male students paying to go to your school that would not be there if it weren't for football. Guaranteed. You may not get 100 fans to attend the games, but you would get 100 tuition paying male students.

[Masterofreality]

I guess if Butler & Fordham can do it, why can’t we?
I’ll see the BOT Chairman at our Reunion next weekend. I’ll do some inquiries