Football's heart beats at UWM

Club Football gives us the gridiron fix we need to get us to D-I

Words can't express how excited Ben Caya is.

The president of the Panthers club football team, reaching its tenth season, is excited because today, for the first time in three years, the Milwaukee Panthers will be playing a home game - at Shorewood High School a short walk from campus.

"I'd love to get some stands (other then friends and family) in the stands! It's our first home game in 3 years so I'm pretty excited," Caya told PantherU.com.

The game is against Parkside, the scrappy UW school down south in Kenosha that plays D-II in its varsity sports. But the opponent is largely irrelvant. It's the Panthers, it's football, it's practically on-campus, and it's today.

Fall on the east side is a beautiful sight to behold. One of the things that's always been missing from that is the fact that varsity football hasn't been played there since the university cut football as a sport back in 1974.

These guys don't care. Players like Ben Caya and Cody Winkler pay $125 just to have the chance to play football. Stars and starters from their own high school teams, they all ended up as Panthers, without a football team to cheer for and an itch to continue the game on their own.

When the club football team began in 2003, it opened with an undefeated season. And that's the plan for coach Dave Mogensen's Panthers, who hope to match that undefeated season this year.

The current schedule involves five games, four of them within driving distance of UWM - today against Parkside at home, October 14th at Concordia, November 4th at St. Norbert's, and November 10th at Parkside. The lone long drive game is October 27th against Wright State, a fellow Horizon League school that also doesn't sponsor football. Valparaiso and Youngstown State sponsor football at the D-I level.

With a roster of 35 players and 5 coaches, the Milwaukee Panthers begin their trek to an undefeated season against Parkside. What can fans expect from today's matchup?

"They can expect to watch their UWM football team hit hard and beat Parkside. Our players and five coaches have been training together since Summer and anything but a windfall win at home will be a appointment," Caya said. And they want the atmosphere to match their enthusiasm.

"As a team we would love to see an atmosphere like something you would see at an NCAA football stadium. Tailgating, pregaming and loud fans are something UWM has been lacking and we would love to start that here on campus," Caya said.

So what if it's not varsity football? The hits are the same, the game is the same. These football players play for the love of the game, without the creature comforts afforded to D-I football players.

"Our players hit and get hit just as hard as players in the bigger schools. If anything our players are more passionate. Our players do not get scholarships, they don't have special tutors, etc. They play because they love the sport."