UNC Wilmington has a lot to offer and I think that anyone who is a student or faculty member can vouch for that. The university has a wide variety of majors, clubs, dining areas and sporting events. Not to mention, this is a beach school with Wrightsville Beach being only a few miles down the road. However, one thing that UNCW lacks that many feel is one of the best parts of the college experience is a football team.

Many major universities within North Carolina show their school spirit by attending football games. East Carolina University, UNC, North Carolina State University and Duke University all have football teams, just to name a few. It seems like the place to be this time of year and also seems to be one of the things that students look forward to the most.

So, is UNCW missing out? Would our overall school spirit be boosted if we had a school football team? It is hard to say. I think that our school lacks school spirit in some ways but overall I think we show our pride pretty well. It is not like UNCW does not have any athletic events at all and I have yet to meet a person who has never attended a UNCW basketball game.

There is a lot of behind the scenes at work that goes on when it comes to financing, running and promoting a college football team. First, we need to consider how much college costs in general. It varies depending on where you go and what financial aid you receive, but I think we all know the truth; college is expensive and for some it is expensive for a long time. According to The Huffington Post, college tuition has risen 30 percent since 2000, on average. But how does this relate to college football?

After looking at the data closely, schools with strong college football teams have seen tuition rates rise between 55 to 65 percent, according to The Huffington Post. Many are wondering if this rise in fees is to further fund the athletic department.

Not to mention, the budgets that schools make when it comes to athletics and other school programs. The Huffington Post also reported that the University of Akron just cut around 215 jobs along with 40 million dollars from their budget, yet they agreed to sign head football coach, Terry Bowden to a 2 million dollar contact, meaning he takes home about 400,000 dollars a year.

It is kind of crazy to think about how much of your tuition and overall college fees goes into athletic programs, especially if you attend a school with a large sports following such as Ohio State. So, in the grand scheme of things, is it really that terrible that our school doesn’t have one?

I will be the first to admit that college football games are fun. I have been to a few at ECU and you can tell that the student body really gets into it. But, I think that we still have that energy here at UNCW without a football team. 

“Midnite Madness” is a highly anticipated event and in general our basketball team has a pretty big following on campus and within the community. Not to mention, the absolute uproar that ensued when UNCW’s track and field program was threatened. It is very clear that students here care about sports and have a lot of school spirit without a football team, just come to campus on Teal Tuesday.

I think any school would like to have a football team. But, UNCW is using some of its money for other things around campus such as potentially remodeling Morton Hall and the newest addition to UNCW dining, The Hub, reported WECT. Yeah, college football is a fun and great way to show school spirit but UNCW is using its money for other things and, quite frankly, we can and do show our love for our school without it.