Cheyney University dropping football

Cheyney defensive back Blaine Lewis-Thompson took time from his studies Thursday evening to listen to some music. The freshman from Chichester High School needed a break after the bombshell he and his teammates received a day earlier that the university decided to drop the football program.

“I’m hurting,” said LewisThompson, who saw action in all 10 games for the Wolves, either on special teams or on defense. “I feel like I lost a piece of myself.”

Two-way tackle Dave Fuller, a redshirt freshman out of Upper Darby High School, was still trying to make sense of the situation. He heard rumors that the football program was in trouble, but figured it was just gossip.

“I’m shocked and confused,” Fuller said. “I don’t know why they had to suspend the program.”

Head coach Chris Roulhac said university president Aaron Walton Cheyney’s cited Cheyney’s ongoing financial woes as the main reason the school decided to drop its football program after 104 seasons of competition.

That, though, did little to ease the pain of the players like Lewis-Thompson and Fuller, and all the other underclassmen whose lives have been turned upside down by the decision.

“There are three other sports that don’t benefit the university

at all,” Fuller said. “It just doesn’t make sense to me why they had to drop football.”

The decision to drop football left more than 100 players in limbo. Do they stay or do they transfer? Lewis Thompson, who also runs track, said his plans are to stay at Cheyney.

“For me, academics have always come first,” said Lewis-Thompson, who is majoring in liberal studies with concentrations in business, political science and Spanish. “I came here for my education. The opportunity to continue to play football and run track was a bonus, and I can still run track.”

Fuller is exploring his options.

“Cheyney was a last resort for me because of my grades,” said Fuller, who played in three games in 2017 after sitting out the 2016 season as an academic casualty. “It was my last option to play football again. If I want to continue to play football I have to think about transferring, but a lot of schools don’t have my major (hotel,

restaurant and tourism management).”

The news hit alumni hard, too. Former Chester football coach Charles Cole played two seasons for the Wolves after transferring from Temple. He went on to receive his degree from the university in 1995.

“Wow,” said Cole, who earned All-Delco honors as a senior at Chester in 1986. “I’m speechless. I knew the school has some financial issues, but I didn’t expect this. I’m surprised my phone or Facebook hasn’t blown up. I didn’t see this coming.”

Some, though, did, like Cheyney Hall of Fame member Jimai Springfield. He was recruited to play both sports at Cheyney, but chose to concentrate on basketball after an All-Delco career at Chester High School.

“When you don’t have the funds and you have trouble competing in your conference, this is the kind of thing that usually happens, but it’s still a shame,” Springfield said. “I feel for the former players who crawled in the dirt and gave their heart and soul to that program and the kids on the team today who tried to keep it going. It’s sad that it has to end this way.”