The News-Press

Should FGCU play football?

I ask because the topic came up again, much to my surprise, during a recent FGCU basketball game. On this ESPN 3 broadcast, the halftime guest was FGCU President Wilson Bradshaw. I asked him some generic questions. One was, “what did he see for the future of FGCU athletics beyond his retirement (in 18 months)?” He quickly stated, “Football. I don’t think it is a question anymore of if, but when.”

I’m told this is not the first time he has said it recently, yet the answer shocked me. Shocked me because FGCU does not have the money to provide its current athletic department with full scholarships in all sports. How is it going to come up with the money to play football? Because nothing costs money in college sports, like football.

The other reason it shocked me is, I didn’t think FGCU needed to even discuss playing football. Not anymore.

For the record, I’ve almost always been against FGCU playing football. I don’t think it can afford it and I don’t think Southwest Florida will support it. Sorry, most every fan already has a favorite college football team and FGCU will never mean more to them than the Gators/Noles/Buckeyes, etc ...

I say “almost always” because briefly I changed my tune and supported the football notion because I felt FGCU needed it. No one was coming to their basketball games, or any other sports for that matter; the athletic department was struggling for a community identity which meant sports was not doing for the university what it needed to do. I concluded if this continued, FGCU better find the money and start playing football because they are running out of options for folks in Southwest Florida to start paying attention to them.

Then Dunk City happened and well, so much for the need to play football. I mean what could an FGCU football team ever accomplish that would bring it anywhere close to the national notoriety they achieved three years ago? Nothing.

So why would Bradshaw say it’s only a matter of when, not if, FGCU will play football? The only way he would conclude that is if he knew that football was essential to the university’s future. Whether it was to grow FGCU to a certain level or to secure the athletic department’s place in a sports landscape that seems to be about football first and not much else second (hello, conference realignment).

So let’s take him at his word and beliefs. FGCU will be playing football sometime after his retirement (summer of 2017) and soon enough for him to enjoy it (next decade perhaps?).

It leads me back to the one big question. Will you support it? Do you see yourself going to an FGCU football game on a Saturday afternoon or evening (with the Eagles likely only ever getting to the level just below the big-time, a la North Dakota State, Coastal Carolina, Delaware) unless your kid is part of it? I say “no way.”

I hope either I’m wrong or Bradshaw is wrong.

Because if we’re both right, football at FGCU will turn out to be as costly and effective, as all that money we spent buying Powerball tickets this week.

P.S., now if someone reading this actually won the Powerball, could you give Bradshaw at FGCU a call? He’s got an idea for a little retirement gift that just needs a little seed money.

David Moulton co-host “Miller and Moulton” weekdays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on 99.3 FM. His freelance column appears Sunday and Thursday. You can email David at: dmoulton@news-press.com