Ravens football was gone for 14 years before it returned to Carleton in 2013, prompting the school to reinvent the program with players and coaches new to campus. It was exciting for alumni, faculty and students to have such a massive and generously funded program added to the Ravens roster.
“We want to build and rebuild a proud culture at Carleton University just using football as one of the many points that can make it proud,” J.R. Edwards, the executive director of the football team told the Charlatan in January 2014.
Now at the end of the team’s second season, the Carleton athletics community has demonstrated Edwards’ desire come to life much more readily than he may have anticipated.
Since its startup last year, Carleton has depended too much on Ravens football to “make it proud.” The program has been overemphasized by the Carleton athletics department in proportion to other teams, doing a disservice to those athletes, coaches, and support staff.
Oct. 16’s Hall of Fame ceremony is one example of how Ravens football has been awarded more attention than it deserves on campus this year.
In opening speeches made by athletic director Jennifer Brenning, Carleton president Roseann Runte and master of ceremonies Arash Madani, there was undue emphasis on Ravens football and the improvements that the team has made this season.
A men’s basketball player, a men’s fencer, a women’s water polo player, and a men’s hockey team builder were inducted for their contributions to Carleton that were made while the football team was struggling before its disappearance in 1997, and during its hiatus.
Mens’ hockey, women’s hockey, and women’s rugby have been added to the list of varsity sports at Carleton during this period, but trailed behind football in a ceremony included with homecoming celebrations already focused on the football game against the University of Windsor Lancers.
Another example used during the Hall of Fame ceremony of the Ravens’ recent athletic success was renovations to the athletic facilities, which depended on Ravens’ football.
“There was a lot going on,” Brenning said. But a whole lot of it seemed to have to do with football, at a ceremony where no football players were inducted.
There is a difference between celebrating former athletes for how their successes led up to our current program growth, and letting it overshadow the other teams being honored.
Enthusiasm for Ravens football can be attributed to the team’s major upswing this year, improving to 4-4 after losing all eight games last year.
Football is a popular sport, and it had an audience at Carleton even before the program came back.
Runte told Carleton Now in 2011, “The students indicated that they really wanted football, alumni indicated that they would really like football, even the faculty said football would be fun.”
It’s true that Ravens football needs to be given enough attention to attract donations that the team relies upon in full for its annual $800,000 budget, but Ravens football had already collected more than its annual budget between the end of last season and the middle of this one. Their facilities have already been renovated. They aren’t hurting for more financial support.
The team is still in its infancy, but there’s no reason why it deserves special attention. Our new and previously existing programs could use some marketing attention too.
