There's a Football Revival Goin' On

Within the last two years, five historically Black colleges have dusted the cobwebs off their football programs.    
By Craig T. Greenlee

Strange as it might sound, football's
recent revival at the smaller Black colleges is all about the bottom line. True, it is an expensive sport to maintain. That's why schools dropped the sport in the first place. Football consumes a sizable chunk of the operating budget regardless of whether you're a national champion like Oklahoma or as small as Allen University of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
Yet the game has an alluring upside as a main attraction and moneymaker. Those are the chief reasons behind football's resurgence at those schools with student populations of 1,500 or less.
Within the last two years, five historically Black colleges have dusted the cobwebs off their football programs, most of which had been dormant for decades. Each school has its own unique game plan for its football future, and all are committed to making sure the sport remains a vital element of the college experience on their campuses.
Because of football, enrollment at Paul Quinn College (Texas), Lincoln University (Mo.), Edward Waters College (Fla.), Stillman College (Ala.) and Allen University (S.C.) has increased by more than 50 percent. In the case of Paul Quinn and Stillman colleges, the influx of football players has drastically changed the ratio of males to females on those campuses. Prior to football's arrival, women outnumbered men 2-to-1, now the mix is 50-50.
But there's also another plus. As these schools bring back football, incoming players who didn't get football scholarships from the bigger schools now have more opportunities to attend college. Additionally, a larger number of students participate by joining the band or the cheerleading squad, two spin-off
benefits of football.
"Larger enrollment means more money for the school," says Bob Smith, head football coach and assistant athletics director at Allen University. "Instead of this being a suitcase campus, the kids have a reason to stay here on the weekends. It is a drawing card."
Rosemary Lewis, vice president for student affairs at Allen, agrees. Lewis anticipates that Allen's enrollment (currently 542) will increase to 700 by the time the fall semester begins. "Football helps us recruit more students," she says. "They want to know if we have football and that's not surprising. Students want to attend a school that offers what other colleges offer."