Small Colleges, Short Of Men, Embrace Football
By Bill Pennington, The New York Times, July 10, 2006

Kevin Bosworth's football career here at Shenandoah University amounted to all of 10 plays, across four years otherwise spent watching from the sidelines. No matter. A reedy tight end, Mr. Bosworth wanted to play football, and the college was starting a team. Some small American colleges, eager to attract men to increasingly female campuses, have taken notice of how many students like Mr. Bosworth can be lured to attend by adding football teams. Officials at these colleges say football can bring in more tuition-paying students than any other course or activity — and not just players themselves.

At a time when the image of major college football has been sullied by academic, recruiting and sexual violence scandals — and as some prominent colleges eliminate football to cope with federal gender equity regulations for athletics — many smaller institutions have embraced the sport. Since their football players generally do not receive scholarships and are not blue-chip recruits, officials at small colleges say the players tend to exhibit less of a sense of entitlement, leading to fewer academic and discipline problems.

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