When comparing Eastern Mennonite University to other schools in the ODAC, there is one glaring difference: football. Eastern Mennonite is one of the few schools in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference that does not field a football program. In the area surrounding EMU, there are many notable football programs; Stuarts Draft, Riverheads, East Rockingham, Broadway, Wilson Memorial, and Harrisonburg High School. With most of EMU’s student population made up of student athletes, not having a football program could be losing potential student athletes at EMU every year. When comparing the male student population of all ODAC schools that have a football program to EMU, there is a gap; Shenandoah- 1,391, Washington and Lee- 1,079, Hampden Sydney- 877, Bridgewater- 825, Randolph Macon- 702, Guilford- 674 and Ferrum- 561. EMU’s male student population is 464. You can see a noticeable difference in the numbers alone.
Right down the road from EMU is FCS powerhouse James Madison, and it is clear how much support and ticket sales they reel in every Saturday, including many students and staff from EMU. JMU has made Harrisonburg a football town, and EMU not having one is making it lose students to JMU, and other ODAC schools. Everything is in place for EMU to do so, a turf field, an infield on the track that could be renovated for practice, and locker rooms. The only thing missing is the team and funding. The recruiting pipeline for football in Harrisonburg and surrounding cities could drastically change the numbers for EMU if they were to decide to put out a football program.
From my high school football experience and high school athletics experience, a majority of athletes want to continue to play the sport they love, and grew up playing. If they cannot be given the opportunity to do so, the next step is being a fan and cheering on your college’s team. While looking at colleges, it was very hard for me to choose a school that didn’t have a football team, and while I have enjoyed my time at EMU, I feel that not having my own football team to cheer for and support takes a bit away from the college experience I dreamt of. If EMU were to decide to start funding for a football team, the student population would possibly see an increase, especially with athletes for a whole new sport at the school coming in. It would ramp up the support from students, and convocation points could be offered for attendance would be a good way to garner initial support for the team from students who need them. If EMU wants to grow its student body, and revenue from sporting events, football is the way to go.