After years of waiting, Loyola University Maryland has finally installed a football program, much to the school’s excitement. In an unexpected twist, the team will compete at the Division I-A level, and will be placed in the high-powered SEC, surprising many college football fans.
Loyola’s new football squad will hold its inaugural season this fall, and will play its home games at Ridley Athletic Complex.
“We are thrilled to finally say that we have a football squad,” Loyola President Father Lion Brinnane said. “This should provide plenty of excitement for our students heading forward.”
Loyola’s next step is to find a head coach, and the top candidates for the job are former Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden and former Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick, both Super Bowl-winning head coaches.
Once the new coaching staff is in order, open tryouts will be held in July and August. The new head coach will have a lot of recruiting to do, and may have to reach to the bottom of the barrel to find interested individuals with high school football experience.
Loyola Football will compete in its first-ever game on Saturday, August 30, in a non-conference road game against the defending champion Florida State Seminoles. Heisman Trophy-winner Jameis Winston will likely pose a devastating threat to the newly-formed Greyhounds squad.
Matchups against Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Louisville will close out Loyola’s non-conference schedule before beginning SEC play.
The Hounds will then face Auburn, LSU, Texas A&M, Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida to round out the season. Finding a way to win just one of those games would be the biggest accomplishment in the history of Loyola athletics.
“I’m not sure why they put us in the SEC, I mean, we’re not even in the southeast of the United States,” said an anonymous Loyola student. “But I guess it’ll be kind of cool seeing a team like Alabama come to Ridley.”
Some students are not particularly thrilled about this turn of events.
“I’m not so sure about a football team here,” said another unnamed Loyola student. “I don’t want our undefeated record to be broken.”
Barring a remarkable act from above, Loyola football’s undefeated mark since the school’s formation will end this fall. Buckle up for an interesting first season.