A lot of people are confused and upset. ETSU officials brought the axe down on a really good football program and are now working on starting a men’s soccer team?
Soccer is a fine sport and ETSU can benefit from having men’s soccer. The question many former Buccaneer football players are asking is, “Why did football have to go?”
Title IX is a legal thing, which requires the male and female athlete population to be proportionate to the number of males and females on campus.
ETSU is about 60 percent female to 40 percent male on a round average. Thus the major case the university made to get rid of the popular sport.
Now that men’s soccer is on the verge of becoming a reality, some former Buc football supporters are skeptical of the true intent to put up the pigskin.
Budget projections have also been mentioned as a reason to pull the plug on the gridiron game. This brings up more questions with fans of football. A multimillion-dollar plan is in the works for a new athletic field on campus.
The amount of money that was spent on the new bell tower, could have kept football afloat for at least one more year. There are also new dorms and a performing arts center currently on schedule to be funded.
I know the funds the university uses for development and building projects comes from a different pile than the dollars that are allocated for the sports program.
Spending a lot of money on the ‘face’ of the campus gives the impression that the school has major financial resources somewhere.
The fact that ETSU raised $7 million dollars for the pharmacy school also implies that institutions, businesses and individuals like Bill Gatton are willing to support school-sponsored endeavors.
ETSU football has contributed to this university and this region. Many former players became police officers, schoolteachers, professional players – Thane Gash, Brian Edwards, Gerald Sensabaugh, Brandon Calton – business owners, the list goes on.
Football is a sport that gives young men a chance to get a scholarship and work on earning a degree.
Some of those former players and some alumni, who were fans of the team, are left to wonder if their contribution to this place meant anything.

Author