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Saying it was in the best interest of the university and its students, Saint Mary’s University in Winona announced Friday it will not bring back football. The university’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously against a proposal to reinstate the sport. SMU discontinued it in 1955. It is the only school in the Minesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference not to play football.
The board’s decision came after considering information from a task force formed in the spring of 2005 to examine the impact the sport would have on student enrollment, university visibility and issues related to finances, facilities and student life. The panel’s initial report was presented in May, but the board asked for more information.
“There was no single factor which eliminated football from consideration,” said Brother Craig Franz, the university’s president. “It was the result of many.” At the forefront was money. Franz and Chris Kendall, co-chairmen of the task force, estimated the initial investment at between $6 million to $10 million.
It would have included, among other things, the cost of building a stadium, purchasing equipment, paying coaches’ salaries and improving or adding locker rooms, practice and training facilities and offices. [....snip] Winona Daily News
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