New team might bring increased fan base
Sean MacCourtney | Sports writer | @seanmaccourtney
Sports column
America’s pastime is baseball and rightfully so, but football is the game of present times. Football has become the most popular sport in America and it doesn’t seem like that will be changing anytime soon. It has been the long and wide spread rumor that UVU could be getting a football team. Unfortunately, that is still just a rumor. In my opinion, our campus needs a football team and we need it sooner than later.
UVU has grown tremendously and will continue to grow. We are no longer just the small school off I-15. We are becoming increasingly credible, both academically and athletically. For instance, our wrestling team was just added to the Big-12 Conference. That is a huge achievement and one that should not be taken lightly, coming from a once cut and non-existent program at the university.
Our PRSSA club is one of the tops in the country and will continue to get better. Our campus has new buildings added each year.
The one thing that I believe will make us even more legitimate would be to add a football team to our school. This would add scholarships, new facilities and possible upgrades to current ones. More donors would want to be involved in the program. It would bring in new student athletes, and help to enlarge the fan base, especially among the students.
Yes, those opposed to UVU having a football team will say that there are too many costs associated with the program and that they already have enough athletics program. They might also say that competing against Utah, BYU, USU, SUU and Weber State for recruits won’t help.
Here is the thing: USU struggled for a bit until Gary Anderson took over as head coach. He turned their program around and now they make some noise on the national scene. BYU is a worldwide school, so they will always have a fan base. Even when they lose a game, they still gain national attention. Utah hasn’t won 10 games since moving to the Pac-12 in 2011, but they are currently 4-0 and ranked 10th in one poll and 12th in another.
Yes, soccer is a big sport here at UVU. They are now nationally ranked and people are paying attention. What if that was a Division I football team being nationally ranked? What if on ESPN people were talking about the UVU Wolverine football team upsetting BYU or Utah? It may not happen overnight, but in the world of college athletics, anything is possible.
When you sit in a stadium such as Rice-Eccles or LaVell Edwards Stadium on a Friday or Saturday night and watch the spectacle that is college football, you may start to understand the need for a football team at Utah Valley University is a crucial one.
A football program also costs a lot and takes a great deal of work to turn into a profitable and sustainable entity. I agree that having a football program would be fun, but is it really “needed” as you state in this article? Many schools do well without it. Maybe UVU doesn’t need to be a football school. There are much more important things that funding can be spent on, such as academics, parking, more classroom and etc. In my opinion, football isn’t crucial, and never should be.
How do you know the football wontbe beneficiary in the long run?
I agree with Rhett, football isn’t a need for UVU. All the arguments that I have heard in favor of a football team center around “it could” or “what if” scenarios”. My understanding is that the current sport teams already lose money because students don’t show up to games, I don’t see how football will be any different. They lose money for a variety of reasons (I don’t claim to know all of them). However, a big one is UVU lacks good advertising for their games. Posting on the homepage of their website just isn’t enough. I think student turnover is another big factor. Most students don’t feel invested in UVU because most won’t stay for their whole college experience.
I’m a student at UVU and plan on graduating there and hope they never add a football program. There are far better uses for the University funds than subsidizing a sports team. Even if football ends up making the school money, (which I doubt) I believe that their are better uses of school funds. The ROI of a football team could easily be matched by investing in school infrastructure. Improving the math department curriculum would be an excellent start.
Football would be pretty easy to pull off at UVU
Stadium – Rent Levell Edwards Stadium. Only if there is a conflict rent U of Us stadium. BYU plays some Thursday and Friday games, and a lot of away games. I know UVU students that already walk to BYU games (the stadium is only 4 miles away from UVU but a lot of off campus apartments are much closer and many hold both BYU and UVU students.) There is no need for a third stadium on the Wasatch front or a second in the Provo/Orem area. Work out a contract. In comparison to building a stadium, the rent would be cheap. The only complexity would be in working out the contract with the religious private school to rent it out. U of U isn’t nearly as close, but if there is a conflict with BYU, playing at Rice Eccle’s Stadium would be possible.
Practice facility – Start out with an outdoor field. They already have one, but they could create a new one. Then work on getting a practice field like BYUs west of campus (across the freeway).
Equipment – What does BYU and U of U do with their old equipment? Can you get some of it. Maybe UVU only has to buy some new equipment.
Travel – Get a few Bus and get ready to drive, cause it is way cheaper than flying.
Conference – Start out in the Division II Big Sky (or are you hoping for Division I in the Mountain West?)
Fans and donations – I have no idea how much this would bring, but the alumni association and fan club would probably help out tremendously.
Coaches – BYU’s Doman was a descent offensive coordinator a few years back, when BYU played one of their most difficult strength of schedules ever. I hear he is available. As are many other former BYU and Utah players. You could get them at a very low cost.
Players – A lot of players wash out of BYU and Utah and Utah State. Another Utah team could give them another shot.