Oregon Public Broadcasting

Pacific University in Forest Grove has announced it will add a football program as early as next year.

Wednesday, the private school said it will begin a national search for a head coach in the next few months.

Ethan Lindsey reports.

Pacific University’s future Division III football team doesn’t know where it will play.

The 3000-student college is huddling with Forest Grove to play at the city’s Lincoln Park Stadium. But it’s not a touchdown, yet.

Pacific doesn’t know when the football team will officially kick-off – the fall of next year is a goal, but 2011 is just as likely.

And the university doesn’t know who will be on the roster. That last question is really the impetus for creating the team.

Ken Schumann is the school’s athletic director.

Ken Schumann: “One of the things we feel it is going to bring is it will recruit as many as 100, by year five, outstanding student athletes. And we are somewhat enrollment driven so that is a very attractive thing.”

At a small school like Pacific, tuition from 100 new student-athletes could score millions-of-dollars per year.