Athletics have a long and storied tradition at Saint Louis
University. The baseball, basketball and volleyball teams are some
of the best in Conference USA, and let’s not forget about the
soccer teams, second to none. But like most America, I think of one
sport first when it comes to college athletics: football.
What greater experience is there than spending your Saturday
watching collegiate warriors battle it out on the gridiron? Some
elite universities in America are known almost entirely for their
football programs. Nobody thinks about Miami University’s excellent
marine biology program–the first thing that comes to mind are
those nearly unstoppable Hurricanes.
Where does SLU fit in the college football puzzle? Nowhere. Why
not? Honestly, I don’t know; however, I have been thinking about
the plausibility of a Billiken football team.
There are five things that every college football team requires:
a playing field, a practice facility, a coaching staff, a
recruiting staff and, of course, a mountain of money.
The playing facility would be easy to cover in St. Louis, for a
cost. The team could use Robert R. Hermann Stadium for little or no
cost, build a new stadium for no less than a million dollars–the
most likely move–or, give a healthy stipend to the Rams and use
the Edward Jones Dome. The latter option would give the “Football”
Bills a reliable playing field and lots of seating.
The practice facility would be a little more tricky, especially
if the team played at the Edward Jones Dome. Sure, the footballers
could split practice time with the soccer team, but the transition
from grass to turf would be a difficult one.
A coach would not be hard to obtain, but a good coach is a bit
harder to find. Rick Neuheisel thought his career was over. After
he got fired from his job with the Washington Huskies for betting
on an NCAA basketball tournament pool. This minor rule infraction
has, sadly, overshadowed Neuheisel’s outstanding coaching record. I
assume he would love the chance at a new start with an upstart
Division I-AA college football team.
That’s another matter–the whole conference deal. The NCAA would
never let a first year program go straight into Division 1-A: I
mean, come on, do they really need another Baylor? If the team
became a I-AA, however, it wouldn’t be able to compete in
Conference USA. The only thing close is the Gateway Conference,
home to such powerhouse teams as Western Illinois and Northern
Iowa. But I digress.
Recruiting players is of primary importance. Without players,
there is no team. Plenty of students around campus would be willing
to play. Football players from local high schools would love the
chance to compete at the collegiate level and never leave home.The
biggest roadblock is clearly money. The stadium alone would cost
about $7-10 million to build. The coaching staff in its entirety
would cost about $2 million.
One cannot forget equipment; that alone would cost over half a
million dollars. Then there’s recruiting budgets, scholarships and
marketing expenses. Totaled, it would cost about $15 million to put
together a competitive football team.
The only way to afford such an endeavor would be to hike every
student’s tuition by about $2000, exploiting SLU’s “best buy”
status for all it’s worth, or to beg for alumni donations, both of
which are unfeasible options.
For now, the dream of a Billiken football team exists only in
the realm of NCAA Football 2004 on my PS2, but, if SLU ever lines
up with the likes of Cincinnati, Louisville or Mizzou, I’ll be
there.
