Let Them Play Foundation, Inc.
Past University Communications On Santa Clara Football

To fully understand the issues involved in this subject, the Let Them Play Foundation presents copies of actual correspondence from the Office Of the President and other SCU authorities on this issue.

The letters were donated to this page from a number of prominent SCU alumni --some involved with LTPF, others not.

These files are large, so please allow time for the pages to download.

Feb. 3, 1993:Letter from Paul Locatelli, S.J. dropping football. This letter relies on University budget-cutting as a chief reason to drop the sport, yet SCU budgets have grown significantly since then.

July 30, 1998: The letter from Paul Locatelli, S.J. inviting alumni to lunch to discuss the issue with him during fundraising for the Malley Center

September 21, 1998: A letter from Paul Locatelli, S.J. following up from the Sept. 10 lunch, acknowledging "we may disagree on the specifics" on what is best for the University.

October 27, 1998: A letter from Paul Locatelli, S.J. to an alumnus: "It would not be wise to initiate a football program in light of the intercollegiate environment..." And what about St. Mary's? "I do not wish to comment on St. Mary's program or its rationale for keeping it," he writes.

December 9, 1998: A letter from Paul Locatelli, S.J. to alumni who attended the luncheon cited above: "It is possible that someone reading the [draft] paper might view the presentation of facts and/or issues as incomplete or even...groundless."

December 9, 1998: Santa Clara's draft letter on reasons to drop football,with its proposed costs for a football start-up. The document allots over five times more scholarships than which were in place in 1993! This overstates costs significantly.

July 29, 1999: A letter from Paul Locatelli, S.J. to an alumnus: "Let me be honest. If someone promised to give us $2 million a year--the cost to have a viable, perhaps decent football program--I would not put it in football...."

August 26, 1999: Santa Clara's public statement on reasons to drop football.

September 17, 1999: A document prepared for Santa Clara's development staff to deflect alumni questions on football. The $2.2 million annual cost is cited again, as is the bizarre statement that SCU would not accept a $100 million endowment gift if it meant adding football.

This correspondence may not be what SCU wants anyone to see again, but it is now part of the public record. Ask yourself: what is really holding back the return of football to Santa Clara?

© 2008, Let Them Play Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable organization incorporated in the state of California. Not affiliated with Santa Clara University. Use of the words 'Santa Clara', 'Broncos', or other descriptions and accounts of Santa Clara Football are used solely within a fair use of same and is provided solely as a means of historical information and context to the public domain. All rights reserved.