Football 

At their Nov. 8 meeting, the Board of Trustees voted to eliminate the JJC football program. The two primary factors that contributed to this decision were the high costs associated with operating the program and need to balance gender equity among sports offered at the college due to Title IX requirements.

While JJC is committed to maintaining a robust athletics program for its students and for the community, the cost to operate the football program is the highest of all sports offered at the college. As you may know, there are only two other community colleges in Illinois—Harper College and the College of DuPage—that offer football programs.  Because of this, when developing each season’s schedules, more games must be played out-of-state, which increases operating costs due to travel expenditures.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice requires colleges and universities across the country to be in compliance with Title IX amendments, which generally address providing equal athletic opportunities to men and women. By eliminating the football program, the college will be more balanced in its athletics offerings to both genders and be in compliance with this federal law.

Our belief has always been that our athletes are students first. To that end, we will continue to provide academic support to our players to ensure their educational success through the rest of their time here at JJC. We will also continue to offer them winter and spring training opportunities. Since the decision was made, the college’s athletic director, Wayne King, has met with the team and coaches to share information and answer questions. Should you have additional questions that have not been answered here, please feel free to contact him at (815) 280-2210.

Dr. Frank Zeller
Interim President