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Small colleges are starting football programs, hoping to boost enrollment as student shortage looms
The programs are among 10 four-year colleges that started or restarted football this season as schools seek to offset declining enrollment, the National Football Foundation said.
- This season, Azusa Pacific University and Whittier College restarted their football programs, joining 10 other four-year institutions attempting to reverse declining enrollment. Both schools previously dropped the sport for financial reasons, with Azusa Pacific ending its 55-year program in 2020 and Whittier cutting its 115-year history in 2022.
- Small private colleges face severe enrollment drops as the U.S. high school graduating class shrinks, projected to fall by nearly 13% by 2041. Administrators view football as a 'marketing anchor' that can attract students and boost campus life, even if the primary motivation is generating revenue.
- Private gifts have funded start-up costs for schools like Whittier and Azusa Pacific, with over $800,000 raised for the latter. Mount Mercy University invested $2.1 million in a 9,000-square-foot football facility, driving enrollment to 1,450, with some 60-70% of students participating in athletics.
- A 2024 University of Georgia study found that while adding football creates a one-year jump in male enrollment, overall enrollment patterns remain similar to non-football schools. Tuition revenue per student often fails to increase even during the first year of a new program.
- Seven schools have already announced plans to start programs in 2027 or later, as colleges continue athletic expansion. Institutions see this as a necessary, if risky, 'last-ditch' effort to keep their doors open as the pool of prospective students tightens.
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Associated Press News+18 Reposted by 18 other sources
Small colleges are starting football programs, hoping to boost enrollment as student shortage looms
Ten small four-year colleges and universities started or re-started football programs this season. The National Football Foundation says that's the most in a single year since 2013.
·New York, United States
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Leaning Left10Leaning Right3Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
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- 50% of the sources lean Left
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C 35%
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