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Seton Hill to add football
The "likely" is necessary because school president Dr. JoAnne Boyle spoke in terms of 99-plus percent certainty, even as newly hired football coach /executive director of athletics Chris Snyder sat nearby.
The hiring of Snyder and the planned start-up of a football program for the 2005 season, which had been reported last week in the Tribune-Review, were expected to be confirmed at this late morning press conference.
A white football helmet sporting a decal of the college's Griffin mascot sat on a podium, a football leaning rakishly against the facemask. Baseball caps embroidered with "Griffins" and "Seton Hill University Football" were distributed, as were small foam footballs.
But, when it came time to speak in absolute terms, Boyle left herself some wiggle room.
"We think we're ready, but we don't know for sure," Boyle said after her public comments.
It is the job of Snyder, late of Bethany (W.Va.) College, to erase that partial percentage point of doubt. He expects to succeed.
"Oh, yes. Definitely," Snyder emphasized.
The scheduling of the press conference before an absolute, 100-percent commitment to adding the sport seemed curious. But Boyle considered it a concession to prudence and due diligence.
"We need to keep evaluating whether we can afford it and whether football would be good to us in terms of recruiting better students," she said.
Earlier, Boyle had announced that Seton Hill's enrollment is at a record level of more than 1,700. Efforts to expand the school's attractiveness have included adding sports. Football seemed a natural next step.
"We know that Western Pennsylvania loves its football," Boyle said, adding that of 24 small liberal arts co-ed colleges in southwestern Pennsylvania, all but five offered the sport.
While Snyder does not yet have a guarantee there will be a football program, and has no home field, no practice field, no equipment, no schedule and no definite starting date, he already has begun the recruiting process.
"I have feelers going out," he said. "There's not a question in my mind that this area is so talent-rich for kids who want to play college football that we can bring kids to Seton Hill University to play football.
"You go into a high school and you can say you have the opportunity to be the first member of a first-ever university football team. It's a heck of a recruiting tool. You're going to play for four years. You have the opportunity to start as a freshman. Plus the education they're going to receive. It's an easy selling point."
What's tougher is funding it all. Seton Hill would play under the auspices of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), which allows schools to grant up to 24 scholarships per season in football; 96 for any four-year period.
Neither Boyle nor Snyder would pinpoint costs for starting a football program, although Boyle said a seven-figure estimate would be much too high.
Besides the cost of the scholarships Seton Hill would need to spend approximately $700 to equip each player, according to figures supplied by another university. That's just for game uniform and protective equipment. Practice gear would be extra. Additional costs would include footballs, blocking pads and sleds. The school needs to invest in a practice field. It will have the expense of travel for games, renting a field for home games, insurance, the coaching staff, medical staff and various other miscellaneous costs.
Scheduling is another matter, although Snyder quipped, "I'm sure being a first-year program, we'll have tons of phone calls, everybody trying to schedule us for homecoming. I don't think finding games will be very difficult."
There also is speculation that the American Mideast Conference, of which Seton Hill is a member for basketball, would consider adding football as a conference sport. A conference spokesman said that might be given "slight consideration" at an upcoming meeting.
