GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After announcing in late 2013 the addition of the football program to the Davenport Athletic Department, Director of Athletics Paul Lowden is pleased to announce further details and a timeline. This timeline includes the hiring of a head coach and staffing, conference affiliation, announcement of addition to the track and field program and the expected start date for competition.
"We are excited to outline more details of our addition of a football program. We are enthusiastic about moving forward with what will be a two and a half year process.
Hiring a head coach will be the first step in getting the program off the ground. "This position will be posted immediately and our expectation is to have it filled by July of 2014, with the anticipation that this person will immediately develop policies and procedures along with an effective recruiting strategy, said Lowden.
Starting in the fall of 2014, the head coach will begin to look for his coordinators and start recruiting athletes for the following year. "Our goal is to recruit a first class between 40-60 students to enroll beginning in the fall of 2015, added Lowden.
One additional aspect of this timeline is the extension of the Track & Field program. Head coach Scott Cook recently welcomed his first full-time assistant coach (Matt Hewson) and the outlook is to hire additional full-time staff to help manage a program that is expected to be around 75 athletes come next fall. "Track and Field is a program that we have always wanted to grow and now with the expansion of facilities will give us our first ever real home, which will put us in a better competitive situation in the WHAC and nationally. The program is expected to continue to grow in numbers and by the time the fall of 2015 rolls around, should be upwards of 120 athletes.
"Our main focus then shifts to the hiring of additional football coaching staff members who will work with our first class of players in their first full year of practice. The most successful football conference in the NAIA is the Mid States Football Association (MSFA). We are currently in communication with the commissioner about Davenport's future in this conference. We anticipate our first full year of competition to start in the fall of 2016."
The expansion of facilities to accommodate our football program is in the developmental stages. "Over the last 5-6 years, Davenport University has added significant facilities to not only our athletic scene, but also around our campus and around the state of Michigan. It is our plan to continue to build state of the art facilities that can be used by our students, student athletes and campus staff as well as the community. We are fully engaged in this process and will release further details in the months ahead."
Davenport announced in late 2013 that the Board of Trustees had approved for the creation of a football program and will now take the next steps in adding to the fastest growing athletic department in West Michigan.
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