UWF Football Feasibility Committee to Finalize Recommendation June 1

May 11, 2011

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida Football Feasibility Committee will meet one final time on Wednesday, June 1 to finalize its recommendation to UWF President Judith Bense. The committee agreed unanimously to recommend football for the university in its meeting on Tuesday, and they will finalize the wording of the recommendation in the June 1 meeting, scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the Alumni Room in Building 12 on the main UWF campus.

The football feasibility committee is comprised of 12 individuals representing the university and the community, and the committee’s meetings are the next step in the process in the university’s decision regarding the potential addition of an intercollegiate football team.

The committee identified the following points to summarize and highlight its findings:
- The most critical issue is resources, particularly financial resources for program operations and facilities. Athletic operating budgets will need to increase significantly, facilities must be planned and constructed, and the university must be able to manage the additional facility management and infrastructure costs associated with a program expansion of this scope.
- The next most critical issue is gender equity (Title IX). While this is to a great degree also a resource issue it is also an issue in flux nationally due to changing interpretations and applications of Title IX and the three-prong test process.
- There is general agreement that adding football and other new sports will have a positive impact on student life and the campus climate. The experiences of other institutions suggest that athletic programs create fund and friend raising opportunities that benefit the institution beyond the athletic department.
- There are numerous essential elements associated with successfully adding football and additional sports. These items will be identified in the committee’s final recommendation.

To follow the committee’s progress, visit the football feasibility page online at www.GoArgos.com.

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