Transparency Item: This is the opinion and perspective of this writer.
Coming to Pepperdine, the fact we didn’t have a football team never really bothered me. I can count on one hand the number of football games I attended in high school. Not because I didn’t care, but because my school’s team wasn’t that good.
This brings me to my first point as to why Pepperdine does not need a football team; there is no guarantee that we would be any good. And, if we end up not being good, then no one goes to the games anyway and Pepperdine would lose money — a lot of money.
A football team would cost Pepperdine a lot of money, millions to be more specific. Not only would there be the need to build a team but also a stadium.
In 2023, The State University of New York at Cortland spent a total of $4,628,397 on their football team, according to the D3 Playbook. Now, that’s for an already established team. So, it’s reasonable to assume having a football team would cost Pepperdine even more than that.
Finally, while creating a football team could theoretically improve school spirit, it would also have the potential to change campus culture as a whole.
Pepperdine is known for being a small, liberal arts college, and the students who come here pick the school knowing it doesn’t have a football team. They pick it for other reasons, whether that’s the size of the student body or the incredible study abroad opportunities.
By introducing a football team, Pepperdine would be opening itself up to inviting in students who don’t really care about all the incredible opportunities and rather just care about how much of a role football plays.
While one could make the argument having a football team would raise school spirit, that’s only if we’re good. And yes, I know Pepperdine had an award-winning football team before moving to the Malibu campus, but there’s no guarantee that would remain the same if Pepperdine were to add a new football team.
While the allure of a Pepperdine football team sounds great in theory, in practice, it’s not exactly the most practical decision and would inevitably change Pepperdine culture, possibly for the worst.
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Contact Alicia Dofelmier via email: alicia.dofelmier@pepperdine.edu