UNCW Officials Discuss Possibility of Football Team

[rokamortis]

UNCW Officials Discuss Possibility of Football Team (http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=4124672&nav=2gQc)

Football season is nearing a close, but the talk about the gridiron is just getting started at UNCW. The UNCW Student Government Association held a football forum Tuesday evening. They were trying to get input from students on the possibility of a football program at the college.

If you want to see a college football game now, you'll have to drive over an hour to Coastal Carolina, or at least two hours to East Carolina.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Athletic Director Mike Cappacio answered questions about the possibility of financing a team.

According to Cappacio, it will cost around $35 million to start a team. There are talks of starting a team, but financing a football program could be a big hurdle.

...



June 21, 2005

Old Dominion University will field a football team in fall 2009 if financial and other milestones are met, the university's board of visitors voted Tuesday.

By a 14-0 vote, the board approved a plan that would see NCAA Div. I-AA football played at a remodeled Foreman Field provided that:

- A consultant, who is now being sought, confirms the university's study and determines there is sufficient community interest to support the level of projected annual donations by Dec. 1, 2005;

- A commitment to make sufficient land acquisitions and associated facilities available to support the program is obtained by Dec. 1, 2005; and

- Pledges for an $8 million endowment be received by June 1, 2006.

Looks like they are looking directly at going to I-A if they go.

[rokamortis]

...
Looks like they are looking directly at going to I-A if they go.

How do you draw that conclusion?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

How do you draw that conclusion?

$$$ involved.

[rokamortis]

I think you are comparing apples to oranges.

ODU was just talking about private donations for funding schollies I believe. They plan to use an existing stadium so that cuts some of the cost.

UNCW was talking about total money for football, Title 9, stadium ... etc

I don't think they'd jump to I-A, but could be wrong.

[ASU Kep]

I dont like this news at all...NC has already got SO many football programs, compated to Georgia for instance.

[The Gadfly]

I can see UNC-C going directly to I-A, but not UNC-W.

[TexasTerror]

What's the stadium situation at UNC-W? They have some sort of playing facility? Or do they have to build one?

[JMU Duke Dog]

Would the A10 soon-to-be CAA exist with 14 members if UNCW comes aboard?

Potential CAA Alignment:

North Division
Hofstra
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Northeastern
Rhode Island
Villanova (bumped up to the north to make room for ODU and UNCW)

South Division
Delaware
James Madison
North Carolina-Wilmington (already in CAA in other sports)
Old Dominion (begins by 2009)
Richmond
Towson
William & Mary

[AppGuy04]

What's the stadium situation at UNC-W? They have some sort of playing facility? Or do they have to build one?

They have the soccer stadium that could be converted into a football field easily, lots on land around it

http://www.uncw.edu/athletics/Facilities/UNCW%20Soccer%20Stadium.html

or inside the track

http://www.uncw.edu/athletics/Facilities/Harold%20Greene%20Track.html

[89Hen]

Would the A10 soon-to-be CAA exist with 14 members if UNCW comes aboard? Potential CAA Alignment:
LONG range, IMO IF ODU and UNC-W were to start football there would be HUGE pressure on GMU and Georgia State to follow suit. So a long way down the road, we could see an all sport CAA with Maine, UMass, UNH, URI, UR and Nova being asked to leave.

North Division
Hofstra
Northeastern
Delaware
Towson
George Mason

South Division
James Madison
William & Mary
North Carolina-Wilmington
Old Dominion
Georgia State

Sure, it looks funny now, but maybe one day it wouldn't.

[henfan]

It's encouraging news for CAA fans but still highly, highly unlikely that UNCW would/could add football. In any case, I-A would not be in their purview, unless they have secret invite from the ACC or SEC.

IMO, Old Dominion seems likely to add football in the next 5 years. Georgia State would be a distant second possibility, followed closely by George Mason. UNCW and Virginia Commonwealth would fall well behind that pack. Given the size of these schools, it's sort of embarrassing that they can't find ways to field football teams. But, hey, that's their perogative.

[AppGuy04]

It's encouraging news for CAA fans but still highly, highly unlikely that UNCW would/could add football. In any case, I-A would not be in their purview, unless they have secret invite from the ACC or SEC.

IMO, Old Dominion seems likely to add football in the next 5 years. Georgia State would be a distant second possibility, followed closely by George Mason. UNCW and Virginia Commonwealth would fall well behind that pack. Given the size of these schools, it's sort of embarrassing that they can't find ways to field football teams. But, hey, that's their perogative.

Yeah, I think they would get stomped in the ACC

[WUTNDITWAA]

I went and registered on The Wilmington Star online, and it pretty much said that any team would be far down the line. It also mentioned something along the lines of funding 65 scholarships, so that pretty much means they're looking at I-AA.

[AppGuy04]

I went and registered on The Wilmington Star online, and it pretty much said that any team would be far down the line. It also mentioned something along the lines of funding 65 scholarships, so that pretty much means they're looking at I-AA.

well, the admissions standards have gotten much higher, and the ACC schools are admitting more out of state students now(money hungry), so the smaller schools(App, UNCW, UNCC, etc) have gotten much larger in the last 5 years, so I only see this trend continuing

[gophoenix]

There's no way UNCC starts football. UNCC is a commuter school and a half. There would be no one to go to games.

And this is really nothing new about UNCW. They did a feasibility study back in 1999 or so. Nothing much came out of it. Mark my words though, if UNCW did start football, my guess is that the jet from the CAA/A-10. They are already complaining about the travel costs for carting around small sports teams. Football teams cost loads more. Going to even the Southern CAA schools will cost a lot when compared to the SoCon.

Besides, this is just student talk about. Can NC support another DI football program. UNCW would make 11?

[SoCon48]

There's no way UNCC starts football. UNCC is a commuter school and a half. There would be no one to go to games.

And this is really nothing new about UNCW. They did a feasibility study back in 1999 or so. Nothing much came out of it. Mark my words though, if UNCW did start football, my guess is that the jet from the CAA/A-10. They are already complaining about the travel costs for carting around small sports teams. Football teams cost loads more. Going to even the Southern CAA schools will cost a lot when compared to the SoCon.

Besides, this is just student talk about. Can NC support another DI football program. UNCW would make 11?

Doubtful UNC-C would start up a program, but they could certainly support one fan wise. Their enrollment is huge. Most commute from within Charlotte and very close, with a large number in dorms and nearby apartments-both on and off campus. They have packed Halton Arena in good basketball years. Non-alumni in Charlotte would comprise a large number attending.
Attendance would not be a problem once they had good teams.

[GannonFan]

ODU has clearly said they are going IAA - IA is not even an option. As for UNCW, they are really strapped for funds - even though some of these schools are big, they haven't really built up sources of funding and hence would find it a struggle to field and fund a football team. It's easy to have a DI basketball team, that cost is minimal. Football, however, requires a school to be good at fundraising and some schools just aren't.

As for the future of the CAA (the former A10 after next year), only ODU is currently adding football (in 2009), making it a 13 team league then. There's always the possibility that a URI could drop football or a Richmond could move to the Patriot. I don't see nova ever going to the Patriot - they would drop football first. George Mason and Georgia State are several years down they road after ODU before they could field a IAA team.

[OL FU]

There were also rumors flying around earlier in the year that UNC Wilmington might be a candidate for the SoCon. Don't know how legit they were but the discussions were applicable to a non-football school. I would hope a possible football playing school would be a little more established.

[SoCon48]

ODU has clearly said they are going IAA - IA is not even an option. As for UNCW, they are really strapped for funds - even though some of these schools are big, they haven't really built up sources of funding and hence would find it a struggle to field and fund a football team. It's easy to have a DI basketball team, that cost is minimal. Football, however, requires a school to be good at fundraising and some schools just aren't.

As for the future of the CAA (the former A10 after next year), only ODU is currently adding football (in 2009), making it a 13 team league then. There's always the possibility that a URI could drop football or a Richmond could move to the Patriot. I don't see nova ever going to the Patriot - they would drop football first. George Mason and Georgia State are several years down they road after ODU before they could field a IAA team.

There's good money to be had from the UNC-W's adjacent resort areas. That's what Coastal did. Hooter's paid most of the stadium, I think.

[henfan]

There were also rumors flying around earlier in the year that UNC Wilmington might be a candidate for the SoCon.

Trade you UNCW, VCU and Drexel for App State or GSU straight up? ;)

Seriously, it wouldn't bother me much at all if UNCW or any other school without football left the CAA for greener pastures. I'd prefer an all-sport conference where all the teams competed in the same sports. None of this I-AAA crapola, where schools have the advantage of throwing a majority of their athletic resources into one or two Olympic sports. Football legitimizes an athletic department as either truly Division I or not.

[henfan]

There's good money to be had from the UNC-W's adjacent resort areas.

Unfortunately for UNCW, that "good money" isn't flowing back into their basketball program. They're losing money on men's basketball. Ouch.

[OL FU]

Trade you UNCW, VCU and Drexel for App State or GSU straight up? ;)

Seriously, it wouldn't bother me much at all if UNCW or any other school without football left the CAA for greener pastures. I'd prefer an all-sport conference where all the teams competed in the same sports. None of this I-AAA crapola, where schools have the advantage of throwing a majority of their athletic resources into one or two Olympic sports. Football legitimizes an athletic department as either truly Division I or not.

I don't disagree (except the part about swapping schools) but it looks like the SoCon is going to have non-football schools. In my opinion the next joiner needs to play football and not a start up. :D

[MarkCCU]

I can see UNC-C going directly to I-A, but not UNC-W.
Great minds think alike Van.