Reasons Why Salem State Does Not Have a Football Team

Athletics at Salem State University are very popular, and looking at the list of intercollegiate sports that the university offers, there's one major sport missing from it ... football. Football has become one of the most popular sports in the United States over the last 50 years and has quickly become a favorite among people of all ages. However, out of the eight state universities in Massachusetts, SSU is one of the two that doesn't have a football team, with the other being the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. So why doesn't SSU have a football team? "Well, the primary reason why we don't have a football team is mainly due to the fact that we don't have the facilities," said Tim Shea, director of athletics at Salem State. "Where would we practice? Where would we store equipment?" Shea said that the school doesn't have the locker room space to house a football team. In fact, the school would have to build or expand the locker rooms so that they could accommodate two teams of about 80 players each. In addition to that, a field house would have to be built with rooms for the teams, trainers, referees and staff, such as the coaches. Plus, the money to maintain these facilities and sustain the program would make it more expensive. Shea added that facilities such as public restrooms would be needed and storage space for equipment would be another factor too. An expanded weight room would be needed as the one in the Wellness Center is way too small for an entire football team to use regularly. Aside from new facilities, another big reason why a football team is non-existent is because of the cost of incorporating one into the athletic budget.

"You have to take into account the salaries of the coaches and that's going to total more than $400,000, and then you have to factor in benefits such as insurance as well," he said. The coaches' part of the equation is pretty big. Shea said that the school would have to hire a minimum of six to eight coaches, and that two of them would have to be on the payroll full-time. In addition to the coaches, the university would have to shell out money to hire two more athletic trainers, and a full-time facilities' maintenance manager to maintain the new fields and buildings. As far as equipment goes, Shea said they'd have to buy uniforms as well as field equipment such as tackling dummies to support the program. "In total, you're going to need a few million dollars to start a football

program, and that doesn't include the money that's going to be needed to keep the program running," said Shea. "It's very expensive." Shea added that this would affect other programs too. Some

might have to get eliminated in order to accommodate a football team.

"Intramural sports and clubs would suffer a lot if a football team was added, as they use our athletic facilities a lot," Shea said. "Money would be taken from them, and from some intercollegiate teams, and that isn't fair. I just don't advocate eliminating successful programs." The only other alternative for students who still want to play football is with the university's intramural flag football team. "Even though it's too late to sign up and play, our program has about 75 participants who meet every Sunday night at Alumni Field," said Scott Kaufman, facility manager and intramural director at Salem State. "The program is co-ed and it runs from mid-September to Thanksgiving." A few SSU students chimed in about a football team, and although they didn't seem interested in playing, they did seem interested in the program in general. "I think it'd be fun to tailgate and have a good time," said Paul Jones, a sport management major. Joe Depres, a communication's major, said he'd be interested in watching a few games if the school had a team too. When asked if a football team is in the future plans for Salem State, Shea said that it isn't and his priority now is maintaining the newly formed women's lacrosse team and establishing a women's hockey team. Right now, it looks as if a football team is just wishful thinking.