Centenary College, a private liberal arts college located in Shreveport, LA has announced that they are bringing football back to campus after a 50-year absence.
The school announced today their plans to bring football back, and added that they've already received gifts of over $1.25 million to ensure that the plan comes to fruition.
From the school's release, and Director of Athletics and Recreation David Orr:
"With the growing enrollment within the department of Athletics, we have an opportunity to add college football to the arsenal of athletic programs and expand the reach of supporting successful opportunities for future Centenary student-athletes."
"Additionally, this is an opportunity to engage the Shreveport-Bossier City community with Centenary College, through arguably the most community-engaged sport: football."
Centenary previously fielded football teams starting back in 1894 through November of 1941, and briefly attempted to bring it back in the 1960's.
Back in the 1920's and 1930's, Centenary not only fielded a football team, but they were beating teams like Baylor, Rice, SMU and even Texas A&M and LSU.
The school will begin to prep the existing facilities to accommodate football, including improvements to Mayo Field (where the men's and women's soccer teams and men's lacrosse currently plays).
Most of the other sports at Centenary are a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, but the league does not have football, so the release states that applications to join a conference will begin immediately.
Also starting immediately, is the program's search for a head coach. A hire is expected to be made in "early 2022."