Football Culture at a Football-less College

At most colleges in the South, Saturdays in the fall mean one thing: football. Packed stadiums, tailgates as far as you can see and entire campuses that revolve around the 22 men on the field. But at Lipscomb, there is no team to cheer for. For some, that absence feels like a missing piece. For others, it has created space for a different kind of community.

“Football consumes me,” said senior Dylan Swindle. “I’ve made it a part of my life by involving friends in it and making community around it.” 

Swindle was born and raised an Alabama Crimson Tide fan. Despite not having a team at his own school, especially one to Alabama’s standard, he still finds ways to enjoy the sport that’s loved by so many with others. 

Sophomore Will Blackmon echoes that perspective with a slightly different angle. “It’s been a big part of my life even before college. So, not having a team doesn’t change much. It still takes up a lot of my time watching it.” 

For Blackmon, fandom extends beyond campus. The Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys on Sundays, SEC powerhouses on Saturdays and even video games like EA Sports College Football 26. Many students at the school have even created a Lipscomb team on the game with the new Team Builder feature and included their friends as teammates. Lipscomb’s lack of a program doesn’t erase the passion, it simply shifts where it is directed.

Many students would also agree with Blackmon that it really hasn’t affected their love for the teams they were fans of before coming to a football-less school. It can even create more opportunities for friends to bond over their teams and rivalries, or even give insight into different football cultures and traditions as students bring their fandoms from all over the country. 

With about 60% of Lipscomb students being commuters, weekends on-campus can feel quite empty. Without something like a football game to draw commuters back to campus, it seems to those who are on-campus during the weekend like there is nothing going on. Some students even choose to go to other in-state college football games at places like Vanderbilt or the University of Tennessee – Knoxville. This can affect attendance at other weekend sporting events at Lipscomb as well with less bodies on-campus.  With good football available to watch on their couches at home, why would commuters choose to come back and watch other Lipscomb sports?

At Lipscomb, football may not take the field, but football culture still thrives among students.