{"id":516,"date":"2011-03-15T08:57:38","date_gmt":"2011-03-15T08:57:38","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2012-03-07T16:23:59","modified_gmt":"2012-03-07T21:23:59","slug":"football-returns-to-stetson-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2011\/03\/15\/football-returns-to-stetson-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Football Returns to Stetson University"},"content":{"rendered":"

DeLand, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 Get ready for the return of Hatter Football!<\/p>\n

Stetson University is starting the process to join the prestigious Pioneer Football League with the first game in fall 2013. Long ago considered a pigskin powerhouse in Florida, Stetson has not had a football team since the 1956 season. The football announcement website is www.stetson.edu\/football<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"1906<\/a>
Stetson Hatter team, 1906. Click for high-resolution image.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new NCAA Division I program in Women’s Lacrosse \u2013 which has become wildly popular since it started a year ago as a club sport at Stetson \u2013 will also be added at the same time.<\/p>\n

The university currently has 15 intercollegiate sports, with most of those played in the Atlantic Sun Conference.<\/p>\n

Following approval by the Stetson University Board of Trustees last month, the next formal step toward a new football program was to establish a partnership with the City of DeLand for shared use of Spec Martin Football Stadium at Earl Brown Park.<\/p>\n

The DeLand City Commission approved that partnership in a special meeting today, Monday, March 14. The agreement calls for the city to finance capital improvement needs for the stadium in return for an annual rental fee from Stetson and an agreement to share revenue from sponsorships and advertising, as well as a commission on concessions and parking. Stetson has a similar agreement with the city for use of Melching Field at Conrad Park for baseball.<\/p>\n

“We are thrilled to work together with the city on the prospect of re-introducing Hatter Football,” said Stetson President Wendy B. Libby. “The city and Stetson have been bound together since the late 1800s, and our health and vitality go hand-in-hand.”<\/p>\n

Stetson’s interest in beginning a non-athletic-scholarship football program began in the fall of 2009 with the reports of a number of on-campus committees suggesting that such a program along with NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse would:<\/p>\n