Title (IX)

I think I want to blog about UNCW football, since I asked my first class to do that.

College sports is a topic that I discussed a lot in my undergrad days, not only with my buddies, but in actual classes. I miss undergrad.

One of the key issues with starting a UNCW football team is money, and as commercials tell us, money is important "now more than ever." For that reason, I'm pretty sure UNCW is not getting a football team any time soon. UNCW has been asked to cut their budget up to 7% for the next few years.

But it's nice to dream, so I think that UNCW should have a football team. In considering the money issue, it's important to point out that football and men's basketball are generally the only college sports that actually generate revenue, football being the more lucrative. So, the school would certainly take a hit in start-up costs, but in the long run it would be worth it. In fact, football and basketball often pay for other sports.

Title IX is another issue that the school would need to deal with in starting a football team. Competitive college football teams usually require about 85 scholarships (for men). That means that, in accordance with Title IX, UNCW would have to create 85 scholarships for women or cut 85 existing scholarships for men. This could obviously cause a lot of problems for other sports, but it could also provide a lot of opportunity for women's sports.

(By the way, I doubt UNCW would start with 85 scholarships. They'd probably rely on a lot of walk-ons.)

I've personally seen the rise of two collegiate football programs in the past decade or so: Louisburg College and USF. The Louisburg College deal sort of stumbled out of the gate with some controversy surrounding promised, but not delivered scholarships and equipment. So that doesn't bode well.

But USF, on the other hand, has experienced a meteoric rise since the program's inception in 1997. Some of you may remember their time in the spotlight during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. USF is a prime example of the best case scenario: rising to national prominence, rankings, and bowl games in less than 10 years.

I imagine a UNCW football team would fall somewhere in between those two. So, it'd be worth a shot.

If only...

QotD:

Which college sport do you care most about?

My take: Basketball. It helps that my college is good at that sport – UNC, not UNCW.