Athletics Feature
Siena Heights to Add Football
and Begin Play in Fall 2011
By Doug Goodnough
Yes! Football is coming to Siena Heights.
After completing a thorough five-month
exploration process, SHU President Sister
Peg Albert, OP, PhD, announced at a May 3,
2010, press conference that the university
is starting intercollegiate football that will
begin play in fall 2011.
“This is a historic and significant day in the
history of Siena Heights University,” President Albert said. “The decision to explore
football was a very comprehensive and collaborative effort. We first asked if football
fit the mission of Siena Heights University,
because this is not just about athletics, but
expanding the mission of this institution.
We believe that football will not only give
opportunities to a new group of students
at Siena Heights, but will help build community, which is what we are all about.”
President Albert said the decision was made
to move forward with football based on the
recommendation of the Football Task Force
she established in January. The task force
was led by SHU Athletic Director Fred Smith
and included SHU faculty, staff and students
as well as board members and members
of the community. This task force gathered
extensive information, including how football would impact the athletic, academic,
financial and student life areas of SHU. After
this information was compiled and presented, the SHU Board of Trustees met May
1, 2010, and approved the plan to begin
football, which was the final step in the
approval process.
“Adding football at Siena Heights has been
talked about for years, but this was the right
time for us,” Smith said. “I was impressed
by the way our community came together
and looked at all the factors involved in
this decision, which were many. I would
especially like to thank all those who were
involved in the process. I am thrilled to have
helped lead this exploration process and
believe football will enhance the university
as well as our athletic program.”
Siena Heights also introduced the coach
who will begin Siena Heights’ football
tradition. Veteran coach Jim Lyall was introduced as Siena Heights’ first head coach.
With more than 20 years as a college head
coach as well as being a former player at
the University of Michigan under the late
legendary coach Bo Schembechler, Lyall
will bring his combination of leadership,
experience and character to Siena Heights,
according to Smith.
“This is a historic and significant day in the history of
Siena Heights University.”
“Since the very first day I came over and
interviewed with Sister Peg, her focus is on
the students here at Siena,” said Lyall, who
served as a consultant during the exploration process. “Everything she does is pointed
in that direction. How do we make the mission come alive here? How are we going to
affect these young men and young women
at Siena Heights for really the rest of their
lives. … Having the opportunity to talk with
Sister Peg, I know how important the mission is to Siena Heights University and that
a program could be built around that whole
idea of helping young men become competent, giving them purpose, meaning in
their lives. And teaching and modeling ethical behavior. That has to be
the foundation of the program.”
Lyall said he and new offensive/recruiting
coordinator Jeff Hancock will begin recruiting student-athletes immediately. The
Saints, who will become the only Catholic
college or university in Michigan to offer
football scholarships, will play a junior varsity schedule beginning in fall 2011. SHU
has been accepted for membership in the
Mid-States Football Conference, one of
the top NAIA conferences in the country.
Siena Heights will begin conference play
in the fall of 2012.
“We need to have young men who understand the whole meaning of character and
integrity,” Lyall said. “Because we don’t have
any senior leadership right now, it’s going
to be important for us to recruit a certain
type of student-athlete. We’re going to
target captains. We’re going to going to
target players from programs that have
been successful.”
The Saints will also compete on a new, oncampus, artificial grass outdoor stadium
(left) that is expected to be completed by
the start of the 2011 season.
“We want to be an attacking offense, defense as well as special teams,” Lyall said
of the style of football he plans to bring
to SHU. “The coaching staff that we are going to be able to assemble, the aggregate
knowledge is going to be phenomenal. …
The ball will be in the air. It will be highpaced and it will be an exciting
brand of football.” u
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