Let Them Play Foundation, Inc.
The Case For Santa Clara Football

On February 2, 1993, Santa Clara president Paul Locatelli, S.J. announced the discontinuation of football at the university, a move that stunned and saddened alumni and fans of the Bronco program. Since that day, a small group of alumni and friends of the program have sought the appropriate forum to make their case that football has a place at Santa Clara. Now, via this web site, the Let Them Play Foundation hopes to make its case--a case for football at Santa Clara.

Our discussion starts with the facts of the case at the time Santa Clara dropped football in 1993. A copy of the letter announcing the decision is posted here as well as a number of university documents presented to alumni.

The Santa Clara administration remarked that "the total direct cost of the football program has become prohibitive." Yet, how do other schools play football and succeed, many with substantially smaller budgets? What are the endowments at other schools that can afford football? If the University's numbers and assumptions are to be believed, perhaps the University would have been better off to have studied ways to improve the football program in 1993.

The University's assertion that the cost of football was prohibitive did not take into account a key fact. There were well over 100 players on the team and only 16 scholarships available to share among all the players. This means that over 85 academically qualified players were paying their own way to at the University. Their tuition and fees more than offset the $470,000 net cost of the program and actually resulted in the football program making money for the school. The University did not engage in any study of the football program in 1993 and made a hasty decision without consulting those Santa Clara family members who could have helped the program survive and thrive.

If so, what kind of program should be studied? Santa Clara, in order to maintain athletics in the context of its academic mission, should not seek "big-time" (Division I-A) status. The Foundation believes that a program classified as Division I-AA is the most appropriate and cost affordable for the Broncos. Please see our page outlining the differences between Division I-A and Division I-AA for more details on the subject.

As these arguments are made, a familiar series of refrains echoes from members of the Santa Clara administration. We have summarized these objections and our response in a page titled "Football: True Or False?"