College football may be in a widespread state of flux, particularly as the courtroom drama percolates around the House Settlement this week in Oakland, California, but Chicago State is full-speed ahead.
The school is launching its football program to compete at the NCAA's FCS level, and now the program has its first leader.
Chicago State officials on Tuesday named Bobby Rome II the school's first-ever head football coach.
"The future starts now," Rome said in a statement, "and we are ready to get going."
The school touted in its release a candidate pool of more than 230 applicants that it said ranged from the NFL to college and high school ranks; it also said former pro players had inquired about the job. Sources told FootballScoop in recent weeks that among those candidates deeply vetted at Chicago State was former record-setting Alcorn head coach Fred McNair.
Rome II has three previous stops as head coach, most recently at Florida Memorial where he posted back-to-back winning seasons in 2023-24.
A former standout-player at North Carolina, Rome II had brief NFL stints with both the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. He's coached at the high school level, served as the interim for the former Carolina Force and got his first full-time head coaching post at Virginia-Lynchburg. He also was head coach for a season at Central State.
Chicago State, which has an enrollment of almost 2,500 students, plans to launch its football program in 2026.