Citing fears of federal funding cuts to all institutions, once HBCU has reached out to their state government to help fund athletic projects.
Delaware State University asked for 125 million dollars in funds over a period of time to upgrade athletic facilities at Thursday’s Delaware Capital Improvement Budget Committee Hearing, as reported by Sean Greene of Wilmington radio station WDEL.
University president Tony Allen was joined by new head football coach DeSean Jackson and new baseball coach Pedro Swann, an alumnus of the school who played parts of three seasons in the majors.
“Our field is way below standards,” Swann said of the Hornet baseball team’s current home at Bob Reed Field, part of the school’s acquisition of the former Wesley College in downtown Dover. “Our kids work hard every day trying to maintain the field and make the best of what we have, but it’s disheartening every time we go on the road and just see how much better the facility can be when we play amongst our peers.”
Jackson adds that the current football stadium and locker room setup makes it hard for Delaware State to attract top recruits.
“It’s kind of shaming to be able to be in a position where you’re at a Division 1 school and I can’t brag about our facilities,” Jackson said.
The DSU funding plan calls for 25 million to construct a football field house which would include a 50-yard indoor field, upgraded locker rooms, coaches offices and a potential home for the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association’s offices.
The next 10 million dollars would be for upgrades to Alumni Stadium and the DSU Downtown campus athletic facilities, where the baseball, women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse teams play and finally the largest chunk would go towards a new convocation center/arena, replacing 43-year-old Memorial Hall.
“It’s a new era for DSU Athletics. People ask me all the time ‘why should we be focused on athletics?’ It’s because it’s the front porch of the university,” Allen said.
