A University of Tampa college football team has come and gone, and for most students it is a huge disappointment. A football team would be the necessary addition to make UT “pretty much the perfect school,” said junior Michael Rotter, an avid sports fan.
University of Tampa had a thriving football team back in 1933 playing many of the top teams prevailing today including UMiami, University of Florida, and Florida State. The current playing field for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Raymond James Stadium was the home turf for the former Spartan football team. This comes as a surprise to many incoming students who have not heard of UT’s past time with football. Jocelyn Klemes a junior said “I didn’t even know there used to be a football team at UT until a couple months of school went by.”
Unfortunately the Spartans played their last game in 1974 due to financial issues regarding the amount of money needed to support the football team.
Today UT struggles with school spirit for the other variety of sports offered. “The other sport teams at UT are actually very successful, but not many people are interested in going to the games if it isn’t something like football,” said Lauren Hanlon a senior and also the student coordinator of athletics and intramurals at UT.
Hanlon is involved with many on campus intramural organizations and regarding those individuals whom want to play the sport, “UT offers a men’s and a women’s flag football league with over 25 teams which gets more than 250 students involved each fall semester,” Hanlon said.
How do UT students continue to get their fix on football without the perk of their own school’s team? “I can always go to a Bucs or USF game but it’s not as satisfying at rooting for your own school’s football team, it’s a huge set back for me,” says Rotter. Rotter also mentioned that his roommate and good friend decided to transfer to Clemson University after first semester of his sophomore year because “he really always wanted a school with a lot of spirit and a popular college football team.”
However for the many football fans that remain at the somewhat “spiritless” UT there are other ways they get their daily dosage of football. Many students said they watch college and NFL games on TV and even online they are able to keep up with their favorite teams. Many also engage in a “fantasy football league” where they are able to make their own team up of players and maintain an online team based of the players statistics.
You will always see UT’s Sunday night football hotspots such as Frankies, the Rack and Hattricks along with many other sports bars packed with UT students watching their beloved game. Never the less dorm room couches filled up with avid fans who crave the American sport of football.
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