Photo illustration; source photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com

Eastern University will be adding football to its athletic department starting next fall, and would bring the number of NCAA Division III football programs to 240. The Eagles will begin competition in the Middle Atlantic Conference in the fall of 2023.

“We look forward to the many ways this will positively impact the student experience at Eastern,” athletic director Eric McNelley said. “With the addition of football as well as cheer, dance, and a pep band, students will have more opportunities to engage with our athletic department in a variety of ways.”

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Eastern is a member of the MAC Commonwealth for most of its sports. The school, which has 1,328 full-time undergraduates, but only 467 of them men, is in St. Davids, Pa., northwest of Philadelphia. The enrollment data is current as of the school's most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Education.

Eastern will join Albright, Alvernia, Delaware Valley, FDU-Florham, Lebanon Valley, Lycoming, King’s, Misericordia, Stevenson, Widener, and Wilkes as MAC members sponsoring football. Barring further changes to the MAC football sponsorship lineup, this would give the MAC 12 football programs, and the ability to sponsor a 10-game season plus a conference title game as an 11th regular season contest.

A number of schools dropped football, left Division III or closed during the pandemic. Becker, MacMurray and Wesley closed, Iowa Wesleyan and Louisiana College went to the NAIA, St. Thomas moved to Division I, Emory & Henry moved to Division II and Occidental and Maine Maritime disbanded their football programs. At its peak, Division III had 252 football programs.

While much of the groundwork has been done behind the scenes, today’s announcement officially marks the beginning of a search for a coaching staff and the start of a recruiting push. The addition of football marks another big step in the university’s ongoing growth initiative.

In regard to location, the university signed an agreement with nearby Valley Forge Military Academy regarding the use of their football and track facilities. The location is less than a mile from Eastern’s campus and will provide a space that will be accessible and conducive to community celebration and excitement.

Work is already being done to resurface the football field and track, and to update the indoor facilities. Eastern’s strength and conditioning staff is already in process of updating the weight training facility on site, and several current Eastern teams have started offseason workouts in that space.

In making the announcement to the Eastern community, president Ron Matthews shared, “I am pleased to see the arts, athletics, and our community as a whole come together to celebrate a new chapter in our Eastern legacy and future. I look forward to programs sparking school spirit, more campus events, increased enrollment opportunities, and different experiences for our student body.”

Leading into this announcement, Eastern Athletics has been in an unprecedented period of growth. This past summer, the department hired full-time assistants in athletic communications, athletic training, and several key programs.

The 2022 season may feature a mixture of JV or club and varsity programs before a full schedule begins in 2023.