Fall means the college football season is in full swing, but Drexel is missing out on the action, as the school has not had a team since 1973. The main reason for this is due to money, yet many students blame this for the reason why Drexel’s school spirit is lacking.
College football is a large part of the American university experience. This is especially true for large SEC schools with top-tier FBS football teams. But at colleges that compete in the FCS level of football, the experience is less impactful.
While Drexel students can only imagine what a college football game is like, just a few blocks away, students at Penn have their own team to root for, as the Quakers compete in football as an FCS team. In order to fully understand how college football works at the lower Division 1 level, The Triangle went to Franklin Field to watch Penn play the Marist Red Foxes.
The timing of the game was inconvenient, as most Penn students were on fall break. Marist, who came from upstate New York, seemingly had more fans at the game. However, despite the low fan turnout, Penn managed to dominate the game, winning 28-9. The game also showed a glimpse of what a Drexel football team might experience.
For the students who were in attendance, college football at Penn drew diverse reactions. One student, Paul, thought football was beneficial to the community. “Having a football team really boosts school spirit. It gets the community together on Friday and Saturday nights.” However, another fan, Tenji, disagreed. “Look at the student section right now. People are not really invested. There are other things that are more substantial in terms of attracting school spirit.”
Penn spends $3.5 million annually on their football team. This is nearly equal to the $3.1 million Drexel spent on the men’s basketball team last year. The amount Penn spends on football is between what Temple ($4.5M) and Villanova ($1.2M) spend yearly.
For Drexel, creating an atmosphere where football could succeed would be a big challenge. Practically speaking, starting an FBS football team costs anywhere from $75 million to $200 million to start. This amount is much greater than the $31 million Drexel spends annually on all 18 Division 1 teams. Additionally, there is no stadium, as Vidas’ capacity is only 1,500 people.
Conversely, the DAC holds up to 2,500 people, with the average attendance being around 1,600 people per game. Franklin Field holds approximately 70,000 people, but the average attendance this season has only been around 3,900 people. Drexel’s ability to fill the DAC more than two-thirds of the way makes it easier to create a more lively environment and experience for fans.
Penn students had mixed feelings about whether football drives school spirit. As Brianna acknowledged, “I think [football] brings a lot of spirit, but I will be honest in the fact that most of the people who go to our football games are parents and community members, not the actual students.” Rakiyah had another opinion. “Football is always empty. We are not a football school. I feel like the most spirit we have is more so for our basketball team.”
This thinking resembles what many Drexel students believe. “Basketball games are free for students, but still do not have a lot of draw. I think people would find football to be more of a money sinkhole,” says Amos. As Erin points out, “Most people know we do not have a football team when they decide to go here. It did not matter to them.”
There is an argument that football’s impact on school spirit is greater than basketball’s due to timing. Football season starts when the fall semester starts, so students have more excitement to participate. In contrast, basketball season starts in November and runs through Thanksgiving and Winter Break, when most students are worrying about finals or are gone for break. However, basketball’s appeal is that there are more games to attend, creating more opportunities for rivalries and promotional events.
Not having a football team is not the sole reason why school spirit is lacking at Drexel. Rather, it is a combination of factors. The quarter system, co-ops, and ‘grind’ culture leave little time to attend sporting events. A football team would not change any of these barriers, so spending millions of dollars for students to be apathetic about school spirit would not be worth the time or money.
Maybe one day, the conversation about starting a football team will resurface, but for now, students can still brag that Drexel’s football team has been undefeated since 1973.
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity