After forming last April, the Miami University club football team is ready to begin its inaugural season when the RedHawks take on Xavier University 1 p.m. Sunday.
The idea for a club football team at Miami stemmed primarily from the president of the team, senior Andy Bahr.
Club football plays full contact football with the same rules as the varsity football team; the only main difference being that the club team does not compete with other NCAA Division-I football teams.
The team plays in full pads and designed their own uniforms. The team's jerseys design will be very similar to the varsity football jerseys, but will be black and white instead of red and white to show the difference between the two squads. They also have designed their own playbook that fits the identity of the team, according to Bahr.
A club football team is uncommon amongst American universities, as most colleges do not offer an alternative method to play football in college other than at the varsity level. Typically the schools don't have enough funding or cannot find someone who is ready to put in the effort and time to start the team, Bahr added.
Miami's club team is one of only two teams in the state of Ohio. The other team resides at Xavier-Miami's first opponent.
Club football is set up in part to be a team for students who were unable to make the varsity team.
The majority of the players were involved in football at their respective high schools.
Officer and offensive tackle/defensive end Nick Powell is among this majority.
"I've been playing football for about seven years now," Powell said. "I planned on trying out for the varsity team, but I'm a pre-med major and I found out about the club football, so I figured I would go with that."
The club football team is also something for those students who enjoy playing football, but do not want the pressures that can come with playing football at a Division-I program.
"This football should be a lot more fun," Powell said. "There's not nearly as much pressure."
The team is being coached by a handful of Miami graduates who are currently living in Oxford, one of which is Gerry Myers.
"We have some kids here that could for sure play Division-III," Myers said. "We probably even have a couple that could play MAC football."
Fellow coach Jay Fry is also very impressed with the level of athleticism of the players.
"Some of these guys have some really good speed," Fry said. "I'll be surprised if those other teams can outrun our receivers."
The players are not shy about expressing how gifted they feel the team is.
"We have so much talent on this team right now," Powell said. "We have a lot of athletes, now it's just a matter of getting everything in order."
The team currently has 30 players on its roster and some of the players will play on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
The team practices at the field behind the rugby fields, just past the horse stables, holding practices similar to what one would see on any football field.
"I had some really intense football in high school," Powell said. "I would say it was probably on par with the practices we have here."
The team has been practicing for roughly a month, normally three or four times a week, and although the team started up relatively quickly, the players feel confident in their abilities.
"Even in a short time, the team should be alright," Myers said. "We have some good kids and they all play hard."
The club team will compete in the Midwestern Club Football Conference (MCFC), which was originally created by Xavier. The other teams in the MCFC are Marquette University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
They will play five games during their inaugural season, with the first three games played at Yager Stadium. They will then travel to SIU-E and Xavier.
