State University hired its first ever head football coach Bobby Roam.

The second coach, Rome is tasked with building the school's new division, one football program from the ground up.

And while they don't have a stadium equipment or players just yet, they do have determination.

Here to tell us about the game plan are the Scot president up Chicago State University and body room.

The second the school's new football coach.

Welcome to Chicago tonight.

But boy says thanks to both for joining us.

Thank you so much for having U.S. Coach I want to start with you.

You've got a lot to you've got to build CS use Division, one football program from the ground up.

What are your top priorities?

Well, I think number one, it starts with foundation and founders bus starts.

>> And the community starts from South Side.

Chicago also stocks, the Congo state as We are we want to be attention about we fundraise and we want to fast.

They coach within the community and we want to bring very solid football program to the South side.

Chicago.

That's what Chicago states been doing for many years.

And we just want to continue that tradition on the South side.

>> President's got a what was it about coach Rome that made you all know this is the man for us is the one first of all is it's a natural expansion of what we've been doing in terms of our community working.

I work with our students and building a strong culture.

And when we met him, we looked at his background.

His tenacity, his engagement with students and knew that he was the one for sure that state would bring a football program to CSU.

First of all, we are division one sports program.

As you mentioned, then we have 16 sports teams already in place Chicago State.

We just entered at first into first year in our new conference in Northeast Conference.

But when you look at football and what football does in terms of bringing man man to a campus, also bringing excitement to a neighborhood.

It's a natural expansion of not only our economic development plan, but also our enrollment.

enrollment planned and our plan for better engagement, increase engagement with our students on campus.

He said wouldn't when you look at what Chicago State University just to bring them to campus.

You enrollment yet enrollment.

How what?

How is give me give you the balance right now.

We have.

68% female and what we've also seen in our community is a declining interest African-American males.

Generally higher education and tracks meant as we can tell from even the interest in the program.

So we do believe that football that will not only attract more smail students to higher education but also enhance our campus coach.

How do you plan on recruiting your players?

>> Well, first and foremost, we want to start in the community of the South side, Chicago.

What do we want to expand throughout Chicago?

We want the very best that's first and foremost.

We want to find the best student athletes that's available.

Looking for young men to Some discipline goes to show us beauty and met with little bit of grit as well.

We're going to go out to head to community were going at the local high schools will also go to recruit across the state and we're going to make a priority to recoup right here in the state and ready on the south side of Chicago.

>> I would imagine having the football program at CSU would also sort of provide an opportunity to some players.

You know, some young players might be overlooked by some of the bigger programs for sure, for sure world.

That's the goal of Chicago State has always been known for giving.

>> And overlook students opportunity.

this is the op.

This is the perfect opportunity for us to kind it also as a community and give back.

And so, hey, you know, his opportunity right here, see issue.

And, you know, we want to develop young men, you know, holistically, you home as it developing.

We're talking about from the top of the head down to the soles of the feet were very passionate about that.

We know one thing about the issue that we're going to outstanding education.

That's first and foremost.

And we've also put great football as well.

So we're excited about kicking off the 2026.

>> President Scott, you are starting this program.

Of course, when funding for everyone is feeling tight as we just discussed in that last segment, are you concerned about the financial challenges going forward?

I am.

If we watch anything that happened in are we're we're a public university.

Did you watch the action?

It just came out of our own.

>> General Assembly in the challenges are our state is having with its own finances and budget.

But then we transition to Washington, D.C., and we see the budget bill that's come out of the house.

We believe that their challenge is there for higher education and specifically for Chicago State in the last few months, we've lost on 9 million dollars in grants which have taken that income that comes out of our university.

And that's that's opportunity.

That leaves our faculty and our students.

So we are we are we are concerned and also that that budget bill, slashes funding to students.

terms of Pell Grant and at university that sees 89% of its students receiving Pell Grant.

So those there are some concerns about our own, you know, economics.

And I think the state is not only watching those closely, but we are too.

>> You know, we hear the Trump administration taking aim at a lot of the elite universities, Columbia, not Howard, excuse me, Harvard, Northwestern and others.

You say 9 million dollars, though, for CSU.

What does that mean?

Because this is other schools have some deep pockets.

What is it enough that it doesn't hurt?

But what is 9 million for CSU?

hurt.

means that people who are some who are being funded.

>> their jobs through grant lines are now out of a job.

It means that faculty, they're working on hard things like heart health, education, quantum are impacted by the in their in their research and scholarship so that it does hurt.

And we were, you know, we we just received our first Carnegie Classification as research university.

And we are quickly trying to move to our 2 status.

So we're going to have to fill in those gaps when it comes to research and engagement with our students.

>> When you say fill in those gaps, fundraising fundraising, philanthropy, coach, Rome, when you hear all of that, right, and some of those financial concerns going forward, what does that make you think what role do you play making up for that?

>> Well, for over to our football program in General Chicago State, one 0st, the from vault with a very resilient.

We've always been very resilient and challenge is going to come any time to start a new program scratch.

You they're always going to be challenges for us.

We embrace out.

We embrace those challenges and the same time, you know, we're just going to cost for country focus on the things that that we've been doing for years.

And that's providing opportunity for people in the south side of Chicago Hawaii.

Opportunity for me, young men and young women throughout the city of Chicago.

those are the things that we're going focus on so obvious that we, you know, those things happen and far raises is going to be a big part of that, you know, going on community and Gracie myself in the community also went out there.

So listening, you know, that look like, does that mean, you know, attending games from some of the CPS high schools that you might be looking at?

Who's football?

course, of is going to begin to be just a ton of football games is going to.

>> have understand that what they do on a day-to-day basis, you know, showing up to their off-season schedules, sewing you see yourself to the head, football coach is on my no one is community in particular, the football coach my father's to the show man.

So for me to just walk up and a high school when they got recruit young men take the young man from, you know, that's not going to we're going to go out to make English with with the head football coach.

Get understanding that IPO minimal to bring into our situation and have a plan for for so I'm excited about that.

You know what I like?

I said 2026 when we kick off will be in the school.

So recruiting a student athletes here and Chicago where do you anticipate playing home games?

Where would you love to play for like to >> Well, first, well, I would say it I like to play at a place that makes sense for Chicago State University.

You know, he's got to make sense for us first, you know, and first of we want we want the community to be involved.

We want you won't want to create a nice solid sustainable for a long, long time.

So we have not decide site of where we're going to play yet.

But all in all, it's going to make sense for Chicago State and we're going in that direction and we're excited about being abused to pick a venue where the play tell you what, once we kick the ball up and I go matter where we go, play Chicago State show up.

So matters that show up matters that you win.

That is where we'll have to leave in best of