Leatherneck Nation

Someone posted over on AGS that Chicago State is looking at adding non-scholarship football.
Which...if that is true...I can't even comprehend what the thought process is.

No wait...I've got it.

They add non-scholarship football...at the DIII level...as they move all their other sports to DIII. That's the only way I can find that makes sense.

EDIT - here's more info: https://csnbbs.com/thread-919467.html

Still dumb...

Regarding Chicago State, they are taking visits from officials with the MEAC and the OVC in the near future to see about finding a conference home.
https://hbcugameday.com/2022/01/11/sour ... g-options/

ST_Lawson wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 8:40 am Regarding Chicago State, they are taking visits from officials with the MEAC and the OVC in the near future to see about finding a conference home.
https://hbcugameday.com/2022/01/11/sour ... g-options/

 

Pretty easy to build a football stadium on the internet these days.  
 
https://www.footballgroundmap.com/groun ... te-cougars

sealhall74 wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 9:08 am

ST_Lawson wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 8:40 am Regarding Chicago State, they are taking visits from officials with the MEAC and the OVC in the near future to see about finding a conference home.
https://hbcugameday.com/2022/01/11/sour ... g-options/


 

Pretty easy to build a football stadium on the internet these days.  
 
https://www.footballgroundmap.com/groun ... te-cougars

 

While there is a football field there, it doesn't look like there's much seating other than a couple of small metal bleachers: https://goo.gl/maps/N4oPwjJbFRa23eHv6
The better situation at least for the short term, if they can work out scheduling, is to use nearby Gately Stadium: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7084729 ... a=!3m1!1e3
Idk how accurate this is, but this says it holds 8k people: https://stadiumconnection.com/stadium.php?id=1291
I'd guess it's probably more like ~5k based on what you can see from streetview, but that's still plenty to get started for a few years until they can decide to build their own or however they want to proceed. Gately Stadium is about a 1 mile drive from CSU's campus (~1/2 mile as the crow flies).

Still apparently "in process": https://fearthefcs.com/2025/01/10/chica ... n-in-2026/
I still don't see how this is any sort of good idea, especially considering they have barely over 2k students and we're all staring right down the barrel of a looming enrollment cliff.
They are, by quite a bit, the smallest public school in the state (essentially half the size of UIS) and are smaller than schools like Augustana or North Central College.

Wasn’t sure where to put this and felt a new thread wasn’t worth it:

Saw on FB Chicago State has officially started looking for a football HC as they join FCS. Anyone know if they will stay in the NEC? Feel like OVC should try to snag them to keep our regional conference.


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WIU2DC wrote: Tue Feb 11, 2025 10:26 am Wasn’t sure where to put this and felt a new thread wasn’t worth it:

Saw on FB Chicago State has officially started looking for a football HC as they join FCS. Anyone know if they will stay in the NEC? Feel like OVC should try to snag them to keep our regional conference.


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Hope you don't mind, but I moved your post to the Chicago State Football thread.

WIU2DC wrote: Tue Feb 11, 2025 10:26 am Wasn’t sure where to put this and felt a new thread wasn’t worth it:

Saw on FB Chicago State has officially started looking for a football HC as they join FCS. Anyone know if they will stay in the NEC? Feel like OVC should try to snag them to keep our regional conference.


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This Chicago State Football seems like an effort by their administration to help prop up their enrollment. Chicago State has a graduation rate in the teens and is almost entirely a commuter campus. I would characterize it as more like the worst JUCO in the state. 

Chicago State to the OVC?   Absolutely unequivocally NO, a hundred times over no. The OVC should not provide CSU any sort of legitimacy. 

Western Illinois University (in my opinion) has already seen their "brand" diminished. By brand I mean, enrollment, types of students attracted, on field/court success, budget, name recognition etc.  WIU wants zero to do with allowing CSU to hitch their broken down jalopy to the OVC and by extension WIU.