Conclusion

Throughout the history of Trinity football, there have been many ups and downs in terms of success on the field. The low points and droughts in the program have many underlying explanations, including plenty of decisions by the school’s administration. President Calgaard put Trinity athletics at a disadvantage by raising the academic standards to be accepted into the school, as well as the required course work that students had to complete while attending the school. By putting strict emphasis on academics, the athletic programs suffered and warranted very little support around campus. While this lack of encouragement continued throughout the late 90’s, the football program began to improve its play and has seen much more prosperity than it had in the past. Sports fans are attracted to winning teams, but support towards present day Trinity athletics still suffer because of its melancholy reputation throughout the 70’s and 80’s, and its continued demanding academic standards. By analyzing primary sources in the Trinity Archives and Special Collections and the Trinitonian, I was able to piece together many reasons as to why there has been a drought in Trinity Football. It seems the school has not given the athletic programs much of a chance to succeed, although the resiliency and dedication of its student athletes have brought the school out of this self-inflicted athletic slump.

Overall, Trinity’s football team has endured many hardships throughout its past, including lack of support from fellow students, and an administration that has puts athletics behind all else. Even with these obstacles, the team has managed to gain some success thus far through the twenty-first century with eight conference championships in the 21st century. This success has not changed the way that students and administrators view the athletics programs around campus, but this success surely shows ways in which Trinity football has improved over its long history.