The Pacific University Board of Trustees announced on May 22, 2009, that it has approved the addition of football to the school's athletics offerings.

Pacific is a member of the Northwest Conference and will be the conference's eighth football team. Pacific dropped football 17 years ago.

The Board voted Friday to add the program, marking a significant milestone in a four-year planning process. Pacific's 21st intercollegiate athletics program hopes to take to the field in 2010, contingent on raising all of the necessary start-up expenses.

“Athletics is a key component for the continued growth of the university and, in particular, its undergraduate programs,” said Pacific president Phil Creighton. “Our football program will aid our recruitment efforts significantly, helping Pacific to continue to grow into one of the finest health professions and liberal arts institutions in the west.”

“It is an exciting day for Pacific University, Boxer athletics and the Northwest Conference,” said Pacific athletic director Ken Schumann. “I am confident that the university will be rewarded with a football program that will attract top quality student-athletes who will be successful in the classroom and on the field. The program will also add a tremendous amount of spirit and excitement to campus life. I am grateful to the Board in their confidence that we can build a competitive, successful Division III program.”

The vote culminates a lengthy four-year planning process, which has included numerous discussions with faculty, student and alumni groups.

A football mentality served Matt DeGrand well on Sunday night when he took the mound for Wooster in the Scots' winner's bracket final game against St. Thomas at the Division III baseball championships in Grand Chute, Wis.

Wooster and St. Thomas entered the game each having won their first two contests at the double-elimination tournament outside Appleton, Wis. The winner would be guaranteed to play in the national championship game.

DeGrand, who also starts at linebacker for the Scots and led the North Coast Athletic Conference with 113 tackles, hadn't gotten a start in nearly a month and hadn't gone six innings in a game in six weeks.

But he delivered the performance of a lifetime in holding St. Thomas scoreless through seven innings, allowing just three hits and walking nobody. Wooster won, 3-0.

Pat Coleman talked to DeGrand after the game about how football prepared him for his big-game success for a D3baseball.com Feature story.

Who says there's no spring football in Division III? The University of St. Thomas was able to play a full spring game this past week in preparation for its foreign tour.

Division III rules permit a school to play against foreign competition as often as one out of every three years. In getting ready for that trip, a team can have 10 fully padded spring practices.

Since those practices can only involve returning players, no incoming recruits, and only players who are going on the trip, usually there aren't enough players to have a full spring game. But since St. Thomas' foreign tour is to Winnipeg, a seven-hour drive away across the Canadian border, 85 suited up for practice, culminating in a Tommie-Tommie game on Sunday.

The normal Division III spring practice is 16 sessions spread over four or five weeks, without pads or helmets. Only in recent years did Division III schools vote to permit the use of an actual football. St. Thomas' conference, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, restricts teams even further, to seven practices.

St. Thomas plays a Manitoba U23 all-star team. The Tommies went 7-3 last season, losing to St. John's in the closing minute on a disputed call at the goal line and falling to St. Olaf in six overtimes.

Thiel and Albright have taken advantage of the opportunity to play in Canada in recent years as well, while Hope has played in Mexico within the past decade. Every summer, several Division III schools also take advantage of the opportunity and travel to Europe.

The eight football programs formerly set to play under the banner of the North Atlantic Conference have instead formed a new single-sport conference and received active status from the NCAA, putting the group in line for an automatic bid after a two-year waiting period.

The league will be called the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference and will begin competition this fall.

The institutions are Anna Maria, Becker, Castleton State, Gallaudet, Husson, Mount Ida, Norwich and SUNY-Maritime.

"Our college conference presidents voted unanimously to support the new ECFC because we believe that it will enhance the overall student-athlete educational experience at our institutions, expand Division III non-scholarship football opportunities, create an automatic qualifier for the NCAA (playoffs), and focus on sportsmanship, fair play, moral integrity and competitive excellence," said Castleton State president Dave Wolk.

Norwich athletic director Tony Mariano said, "The establishment of the ECFC will offer our member institutions the opportunity to participate in an outstanding regional football conference and provide our student athletes with a competitive and enriching football experience with the opportunity for postseason participation and athletic and academic recognition."

Competition among ECFC institutions will begin in September 2009. Two programs, Anna Maria and Castleton, will begin their first season of collegiate competition in 2009. Five institutions have been playing an independent schedule, while Norwich had been competing in the Empire 8. A full conference schedule will be played between the eight institutions beginning in 2010.