South Dakota’s last four-year college without a football program is getting ready to put a team on the field. Officials with Mount Marty College are beginning a three-year plan to make Lancer football a reality. The school announced its decision during a press conference on Tuesday morning.
Lancer Athletic Director Chris Kassan said the Mount Marty Board of Trustees and coaches in other sports are excited to offer another sport in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
“Currently, Mount Marty is the only co-educational institution in the GPAC without a football program. This is a great move for the Lancers—we already have a lot to offer potential football student-athletes," explained Kassan. "For example, by the fall of 2020, the fieldhouse will be complete, and our players will benefit from training in this first-class building. Now, since I took this job, the two most frequent questions I received were ‘When will we build that fieldhouse?’ and ‘When will we add football?’”
Kassan answered that question by announcing the search for a head coach will start in May, with the first game set for the 2022 season.
“Hopefully, we’re gonna be able to support the program to make it as successful as possible as soon as possible," said Kassan. "You know, that’s our hope, and I think that given what Yankton has as a football town, I think there’s an expectation to win and win quick; and we’re gonna do the best we can to meet those expectations.”
Mount Marty will play home games at the current field for Yankton High School, Crane-Youngworth Field, which was home to the former Yankton College team - the Greyhounds. The existence of the Greyhounds football program ended with the closing of Yankton College 35-years ago.
