Soccer to eventually return to Loyola

Loyola is looking to add intercollegiate soccer to the list of Wolfpack sponsored sports. Wolfpack soccer would be making its return after being retracted in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

"Men's and women's soccer are in our long range plan to expand the athletic program," Michael Giorlando, athletic director and men's basketball coach said.

Though he did not specify a timeline for the return of soccer, he said the school is looking at its budget to see if the expansion is possible. "We need to increase our financial resources for all that goes into having an intercollegiate program," he said. "This includes increasing our coaching, training and administrative staff to support the teams."

While Loyola was able to bring back most of its intercollegiate, sports, soccer was removed after 2005.

"There were several challenges that faced our soccer program after the storm," Giorlando said. "One was facilities- as all of the facilities that we used for soccer prior to the storm were unavailable.  Many playgrounds and fields had been trailer sites for people after the storm."

Giorlando also cited financial complications that contributed to the discontinuation of the soccer team, and said, "The decrease in enrollment following the storm caused a significant reduction to our student fees."

Among the many factors considered in the possible reinstatement of the team is the conference itself. "We look at the landscape of our conference and if there are other similar institutions that we can compete against."

As of right now, 13 schools have men's soccer teams in the Southern States Athletic Conference and 14 schools have women's teams. The way the conferences are currently aligned, Loyola's soccer team would join the SSAC's Western division, which contains two nationally ranked teams, including Auburn-Montgomery William Carey, which had five of it's players named National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American last year.

As Loyola considers expanding the number of sports offered, it is still looking to gauge interest from the student body. Giorlando said that one way to gauge interest was to have a club team active on campus. There is currently no club soccer team on campus.

Aside from the lack of facilities and financial strains, Giorlando noted that the main reason for the retraction of soccer was a lack of student interest following the storm.

One of the main reasons soccer has a chance to return is the rising level of interest in Loyola sports overall. "Over the course of our recovery from Katrina our department has grown from 71 student athletes to over 120 that are expected to compete in 2010-11," Giorlando said.

Though its return is not granted and no date has been given for its possible return, a bigger staff would still be needed to accommodate soccer. "This includes increasing our coaching, training, and administrative staff to support the teams," he said.

The return of the soccer team is dependent on many factors. Students interest, the availability of facilities, and the cost of hiring staff are amongst the chief issues that Loyola will address as the university tries to help revive Loyola soccer. Regardless, Loyola students who want to play soccer will have to play intramural soccer this fall.

Hasani Grayson can be reached at

hkgrayso@loyno.edu