The Bulldogs are coming back, and Wilberforce University is seeking partners to help build the team, the stadium, and a new era of football history. 

Eighty years after Wilberforce University last fielded a varsity football team, the wait is almost over. 

In Fall 2027, men’s tackle football is scheduled to return to Wilberforce University, restoring a storied athletic tradition and opening an exciting new chapter for the nation’s oldest private Historically Black College and University. 

The countdown to kickoff has already begun. 

Head Football Coach Earnest Wilson has begun recruiting the student athletes who will become the foundation of the revived Bulldogs football program. Recruiting efforts are underway as Wilberforce searches for young men who are prepared not simply to play football, but to make history as members of the University’s first football team in eight decades. 

For Wilberforce, however, bringing back football requires more than assembling a roster. 

A team needs a home. 

Building a Home for the Bulldogs 

As Wilberforce prepares for its first game in Fall 2027, one of the most important components of the University’s long-term football vision is the development of a stadium capable of serving student-athletes, alumni, fans, and the surrounding community. 

A stadium would be more than a place to play football. 

It could become a new gathering place for the Wilberforce community: a home for Saturday football, Homecoming traditions, student activities, alumni gatherings, community events, and other University programs. Most importantly, it would give generations of Bulldog student athletes a place they can proudly call their own. 

The facility would also represent a tangible statement about Wilberforce’s continued growth and its investment in the student experience. 

 

But building a collegiate football stadium requires significant financial investment. 

Recent projects demonstrate just how widely stadium costs can vary depending on capacity, construction type, and amenities. Davidson College completed a 5,000-seat stadium plus a 54,000-square-foot field house for $45.8 million in 2024. The University of North Alabama reports a projected $65 million base cost for its new stadium, which is designed for more than 10,000 spectators and includes a premium tower, weight room, suites, stadium club, and other amenities. 

Smaller, more phased approaches can cost considerably less. Wichita State, for example, reported approximately $11.8 million for a phase of its stadium redevelopment that included 5,800 seats, utilities, lighting, restrooms, concessions, parking improvements, and other infrastructure.  

Those examples should not be interpreted as an estimate for Wilberforce. A reliable Wilberforce stadium budget would require a feasibility study, architectural programming, and site-specific cost analysis. They do, however, illustrate an important point: the scope of the vision, and the partnerships assembled to support it will help determine what Wilberforce can build. 

 

An Opportunity for Corporate Partners 

That is why Wilberforce University is seeking corporate sponsors, major donors, foundations, alumni, and community partners who want to help turn the vision of a revitalized football program into reality. 

The opportunity extends beyond stadium construction. 

Launching and sustaining a collegiate football program requires investment in uniforms, helmets and protective equipment, recruiting, scholarships, coaching, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, travel, nutrition, technology, operations, and student-athlete development. The University’s existing football initiative identifies these areas as significant needs and emphasizes that long-term success will depend upon philanthropic and community partnerships. 

Corporate investment can also create opportunities for partnerships associated with facilities, program operations, student-athlete development and potentially naming and recognition opportunities. The University is already seeking support for stadium construction, major gifts, corporate sponsorships, endowed scholarships, and naming opportunities as part of its football initiative. 

For companies committed to higher education, workforce development, athletics, community engagement, and the advancement of HBCUs, Wilberforce football presents an opportunity to become involved at the beginning of something historic. 

Restoring a Championship Tradition 

Football at Wilberforce is not a new story. It is a story being resumed. 

In 1931, the Wilberforce Green Wave finished 8–0 and captured the Black College National Championship under Head Coach Harry C. Graves. That team outscored its opponents 201–30 and defeated an unbeaten Tuskegee team that had won 35 consecutive games. 

Football disappeared from campus following the historic 1947 separation that led to the formation of what is now Central State University. 

Now, a new generation can write the next chapter. 

The young men being recruited today will have the rare distinction of becoming the student-athletes who brought Wilberforce football back to the field. 

The corporations and donors who invest today will have an equally distinctive opportunity: they can help build the foundation upon which the next generation of Wilberforce football will stand. 

 

More Than Football 

The return of football also supports a larger institutional vision. 

University leaders see athletics as another avenue for attracting talented students, increasing enrollment, strengthening retention, developing leaders, and reconnecting alumni with their alma mater. The University’s existing football plan identifies a strategic enrollment goal of 1,500 students and views football as one potential contributor to enrollment growth, student retention, and alumni engagement. 

A football stadium can amplify that impact. 

On game days, it can bring alumni back to campus, introduce prospective students and their families to Wilberforce, create sponsorship and hospitality opportunities for businesses, and strengthen relationships between the University and the surrounding community. 

And every time the Bulldogs take the field, they will provide another opportunity to tell the Wilberforce story. 

 

The Road to Fall 2027 Starts Now 

There is much to accomplish before that first kickoff. 

Players must be recruited. Equipment must be purchased. Coaches and support systems must be put in place. Partnerships must be developed. Resources must be secured. And the vision for a permanent home for Bulldog football must move from concept toward reality. 

But the work has begun. 

Recruiting is underway. Corporate and philanthropic partners are being sought. And Fall 2027 is on the horizon. 

Eight decades after the final whistle sounded on Wilberforce football, a new generation of Bulldogs is preparing to take the field. 

The question now is not whether Wilberforce has a football legacy. 

It does. 

The opportunity before the University: and before those who believe in its future, is to determine what the next chapter of that legacy will look like. 

 

Catch the Dream. Embrace the Vision. Help Build the Future of Wilberforce Football. 

 

For information regarding corporate sponsorships, major gifts, stadium support, naming opportunities and other transformational investments in Wilberforce Football, contact Dr. Grant L. Winrow, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, at 937-502-3715 or gwinrow@wilberforce.edu. 

Media Contact
Lena Arnold
larnold@wilberforce.edu
937-708-5532