Grand View College is the latest Iowa school to add the sport of football. The Des Moines College will field a squad beginning with the 2008 season. Athletic director Troy Plummer says school officials believe adding football will boost enrollment and add to the atmosphere of the growing campus.
Plummer says that’s what they talked about as they asked what they could do to increase enrollment. And he says they felt football could really increase the atmosphere on campus. Plummer says the studies show that for every two football players, one other person will come with them, a girlfriend, relative or something like that.
Plummer says adding football is a lengthy process and they want to do it the right way. He says they took a lot of time to talk to other schools that have added football and tried to look at all the information, so that the program is in conjunction with the overall campus mission and in line with the other sports.
Plummer says they hope to name a coach soon. The program will join the Mid-States football association in 2009 and Plummer says it is not clear if they will play a junior varsity or varsity schedule in 2008. He says he’ll leave that decision to the incoming head coach once the coach is on board. Plummer says if the coach feels competent they can compete at the varsity level, then they will try that, otherwise they’ll go the j-v or club route. Football will be the 13th sport offered by the school.