Mary Collins, administrative assistant to the Registrar, shared her emotional story as the “Football Mom.”

“The mama bear comes out in me when someone starts messing with my boys,” she said to Palmer and Ellis. “Principia football has absolutely nothing to do with numbers … it has to do with the young men who play it.”

Between bouts of applause, she continued, “I don’t care how hard it gets for you, Principia football is a right idea.”

Ellis’s recollections of the meeting were positive in a later email, which is included here in its entirety:

“I was happy for the occasion to answer questions about the suspension and ultimate discontinuation of football,” Ellis wrote. “I realize my responses may not have pleased those folks desiring a reinstatement of the program, but overall, I think the meeting provided a forum to address student concerns and to offer greater insight into the decision making process. I think Ron Meyer should be applauded for his handling of the meeting and for the effort he made in bringing the football issue forward.”

“To the many former football players in attendance, I would offer that the decision was difficult, yet I feel the right one for Principia College. It is not a commentary on the Herculean effort we witnessed each Saturday as you gave your heart and souls to the game.”

“You can be proud of your accomplishments and association with our football program–we certainly are, and I truly hope that you will carry with you what you gained from your football experience as you pursue other activities that not only enrich your lives, but the lives of those you touch within and outside the Principia community.”

Meyer’s response, an email fully included here, was less enthusiastic:

“The football meeting last week exposed some fundamental flaws and inconsistencies in the administration’s reasoning for ending the program. They maintain that the discontinuation process was open and that ‘it worked.’ My only question is: for whom? I presented the facts I had found over break, including over 70 interested players and multiple coaching candidates, and they claimed to have this information all along. I can tell you one thing for certain, no one knew we had these numbers; to claim that this process was open puzzles me.

“In the end, I feel like the administration laid out their stance when I asked them if they would bring back football if we resurrected Vince Lombardi and had 100 players. They had no answer, and I have yet to figure out why. I think Monday’s meeting left many folks in the community wondering if a lack of players and coaches was the real reason for ending — and refusing to bring back — Principia Football.”