Two students have created a club football team at Ohio University
Starting Spring Semester next year, Ohio University students and Athens residents will have another Bobcat football team to root for.
Co-Presidents Sam Evans and Bo Graham took an idea that started as a flag football team and worked it into what the two hope can become a full-contact team at Peden Stadium next year.
“It was funny because (Graham), beforehand, actually had this idea like a week in advance, and then me and a couple of my buddies had been playing flag football together, and we thought ‘why not do it?' ” Evans said. “When I talked to the (National Club Football Association) guy, I found out that he (Graham) called him and set us up with our contact information, and we kinda just met up from there, and that’s when the whole small process started.”
The procedure for a team to be recognized as an official club is one that takes time and requires patience.
It is an eight-step process that includes naming five student officer positions and a faculty-staff advisor, recruiting interested athletes around campus, waiting a full academic year to be potentially accepted by the Competitive Sports Office and then serving a one-year introductory period before being able to accept full membership, according to the Ohio University 2015-16 Club Sports manual.
As of now, Evans and Graham said they are waiting out their one-year introduction period.
Evans and Graham said they started the club with a Twitter account in late October 2015 and have been actively recruiting throughout campus ever since. The two co-presidents said their goal is 52 players and that "they are close to that number."
“Ever since then, we’ve just been trying to get the word out," Graham said. "We set up tables at Baker and really, the big thing we have to focus on now is just fundraising."
The club has several fundraising plans to pay for player packages that will include practice gear and apparel. The club said its fundraising ranges from players selling coupon cards to local businesses sponsoring the team.
Evans and Graham have attempted to split the responsibility of fundraising equally between themselves and the players. Their philosophy was that if the players sell coupon cards on their own it will provide an incentive to get their equipment cost as low as possible and the co-presidents can acquire local businesses to fund the team costs as well.
At the time of publication, Evans and Graham said they couldn't provide the exact funding for the sport until March, since they don't want to "scare away" recruits to the team.
“What we’re doing right now is working with BSN Sports, which is also the same company that outfits our varsity football team,” Evans said. “We’re getting a hell of a deal with BSN. What they’re gonna pay for all our helmets, shoulder pads, practice gear and jerseys is probably half the cost of what it would be outside (of BSN).”
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The team has been able to take advantage of practice locations that the varsity team used during its season, such as Walter Fieldhouse, while it waits the full academic year before it can begin competition. The club also hopes to secure Peden Stadium, not only as its practice field, but also for hosting its home games.
“We would like to play all our home games at Peden, which we’re probably looking at three-to-five home games,” Evans said. “If OU is playing home on a Saturday we would just take the field and play our games on Sunday, like Miami does the same thing if the varsity team is away they’ll take the field on Saturday.”
The goal for the new Bobcat team is to compile a six-to-eight game schedule for the first year.
The team already has six games guaranteed within the Great Lakes East Conference. Other schools in the conference include Miami University, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wright State and Oakland University.
@Matt_Fout
mf056713@ohio.edu
