Hartsville, SC (July 3, 2019) – With help from Collegiate Consulting, Coker College recently completed a feasibility study assessing whether to add football to their athletic program. The all-inclusive study reviewed multiple areas, including price, facilities, competitive opportunities and community support.

In early March, Collegiate Consulting spent time on Coker’s campus interviewing key stakeholders and holding a series of focus groups to begin the process of assessing if a football program was feasible for the school. External research, facility tours and the sharing of key data were all a part of the study’s process. Like all studies, the final report included what effect football would have on Coker’s enrollment, as well net tuition and Title IX implications, though Coker did add acrobatics and tumbling in fall of 2019.

The addition of football comes with some expected challenges, such as the cost of additional staffing and the expenses that would come with updating and adding the infrastructure required to support the extra athletes. The community and students showed enthusiasm for the sport, saying it would bring more “school spirit” to the campus as well as a reason to stick around Hartsville on the weekends.

“Football studies are always fun for us and we were excited that Coker gave us the opportunity to work with them on theirs, meet their key stakeholders and spend time with them on campus,” stated managing director Russell Wright, “We look forward to working with Lynn and team again, should they bring football to campus or not.”

Collegiate Consulting, an Atlanta-based consulting firm dedicated to helping universities expand their athletic departments, have had success in the past, having worked with the University of West Florida to establish their football program in 2016, a program that finished as Division II national runners-up in 2017. Collegiate Consulting also assisted Stetson University with the start of their program, which started in 2013. In addition, the company has also successfully worked with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida A&M University, to name a few of its Florida clients.