The College of Idaho announced Monday plans to re-initiate football at the school for the first time since it was cut to save money in 1977.
(Old pics of College of Idaho football >>>)
This time around, the timing was finally right.
"When the positives outweigh the negatives, it would actually be an income stream if it's done right," said former football player and College of Idaho trustee Ron Bitner.
Startup costs will be substantial, but athletic director Marty Holly said former players have told him for years they'd be happy to donate money to Coyotes Athletics - but only if there's a football program again.
Holly has great expectations and a short timeline. Renovating nearby Simplot Stadium - where you can still see the outline of the baseball infield four years after it was filled in - is a major task.
"We need some sort of locker room facility," Holly began, "and I don't mean to be vauge but we need to determine what our needs are."
"We need coaches offices, an expanded weight room, a training facility," he continued. Plans are to house all of the school's outdoor sports in the new facilities - and make the facility improvements contribute to the entire athletic program, not just football.
Students were skeptical, multiple college officials said. How will 100 new jocks fit in to the small campus community?
"They supported it," college president Dr. Marvin Henberg said, "but with conditions."
"Those conditions were pretty much the same as the faculty put on it; that we recruit for excellent students first."
Henberg and Holly have four criteria essential for the program. Three relate directly to recruiting quality students and young men. The fourth - and least important initially - is winning.
"We're going to do this right," Holly said.
The school is seeking membership in the Frontier Conference in football only. NAIA football powerhouse Carroll College of Helena, Montana sits atop that conference, joined by four other schools in Montana and Eastern Oregon University.
The conference is loaded with Idaho native football players, particularly at Eastern Oregon, where nearly a third of the roster calls Idaho home. Carroll, Montana Tech and Rocky Mountain College also have substantial football ties to the Gem state already.
"We introduced ourselves to [Frontier Conference leadership] at the general conference and they invited us to their conference meetings in June," Holly said.
The Frontier Conference is exploring expansion opportunities but has not offered any official invitations yet.
"They've given us every indication that we fit everything they want," Holly said of potential membership.
The school hopes to capitalize on the talent boom caused by the success of Boise State football with the lure of playing college football at home - but not as a Bronco.
"There's a whole heck of a lot of students who are a little bit to small, or maybe a step too slow, but they're very fine athletes. They'll compete well at this level," said Henberg.
The current cycle of exploring the return of football lasted about two years, Holly said. The closely examined other schools from across the country which have recently started football programs from scratch.
Those lessons helped form the college's current plan - and Holly continues to solicit advice.
[Boise State coach] "Chris Petersen's voicemail to me today was actually returning my call. I'd like his input on our plan - we'd be crazy not to ask for it," Holly said.
As for hiring a coach of their own, the current plan calls for that person to be in place by January 2013, for a full season of recruiting freshman for 'zero year' starting in fall of 2013. Those 'zero year' freshman would hold spring football drills in early 2014 before the debut season the next fall.
"There's a void, right now, in this valley and in this state where some pretty doggone football players don't have an opportunity to stay home and play before their families," Holly told KBOI 2.
"All of which just lends to, 'let's start football, let's bring in great kids, let's win.' The whole valley won today."
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Potential Opponents from the Frontier Conference
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