Jacksonville University drops football after 22 seasons; overall cost cited

Jacksonville University dropped football after 22 years, in a surprise announcement on Tuesday.

It wasn’t the 5-17 record over the last two seasons. It wasn’t the average attendance of 1,807 at D.B. Milne Field for home games.

According to Jacksonville University officials, performance by players and coaches on the field and support of fans in the stands had nothing to do with JU’s decision on Tuesday to drop its NCAA Division I non-scholarship football program after 22 years, three coaches, 233 games, 118 victories and three Pioneer League championships.

University officials said that after a process of more than a year in studying the strategic and financial value of playing football, it was clear that the operational and administrative resources needed for one sport and 100 student-athletes was coming at the expense of the other 19 sports and 450 student-athletes at JU.

Read more: https://www.jacksonville.com/sports/20191203/jacksonville-university-drops-football-after-22-seasons-overall-cost-cited