Pard4Life
December 1st, 2006, 01:33 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/01/sports/ncaafootball/02bcs.html?hp&ex=1165035600&en=f95a5cbfc0aa70e1&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Do not look for a football score for Old Dominion University — yet. Old Dominion, in Norfolk, Va., which has made its mark in men’s and women’s basketball, plans to field a football team in 2009.
University officials announced earlier this year that they would bring back football, which was abandoned in 1940. Instead of cutting scholarships in other sports to maintain Title IX balance, the university will also add women’s rowing, softball and volleyball.
The plan was contingent on raising money from alumni and the public. Old Dominion hired George Welsh and Dick Sheridan, the retired Atlantic Coast Conference coaches, as consultants. That means the university will have a Division I-AA team in the Colonial Athletic Association, 63 scholarships divided among 90 players, a marching band and a practice field. Foreman Field, where the games will be played, will be renovated with luxury suites and premium seats. A coach is expected to be hired in January or February.
“It’s exciting,” said Alonzo Brandon, the university’s vice president for development and alumni relations. “The goal was to raise an $8 million endowment for football and all athletics. It’s happening.”
Do not look for a football score for Old Dominion University — yet. Old Dominion, in Norfolk, Va., which has made its mark in men’s and women’s basketball, plans to field a football team in 2009.
University officials announced earlier this year that they would bring back football, which was abandoned in 1940. Instead of cutting scholarships in other sports to maintain Title IX balance, the university will also add women’s rowing, softball and volleyball.
The plan was contingent on raising money from alumni and the public. Old Dominion hired George Welsh and Dick Sheridan, the retired Atlantic Coast Conference coaches, as consultants. That means the university will have a Division I-AA team in the Colonial Athletic Association, 63 scholarships divided among 90 players, a marching band and a practice field. Foreman Field, where the games will be played, will be renovated with luxury suites and premium seats. A coach is expected to be hired in January or February.
“It’s exciting,” said Alonzo Brandon, the university’s vice president for development and alumni relations. “The goal was to raise an $8 million endowment for football and all athletics. It’s happening.”