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NEWS RELEASE

February 20, 2019 Contact Information:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Emily Edwards, Communications Director
Office: (781) 568-9192
Email: e_edwards4@salemstate.edu

SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY TO ORGANIZE FOOTBALL TEAM AND BUILD STADIUM

Recruiting for the team will begin spring 2020 and the first game will be fall 2022.

SALEM, Mass. – Plans for a Salem State University football team, coached by Framingham State Head
Coach and Athletic Director Tom Kelley, are officially underway. Construction of the stadium, which will be
located on the 23 acres that are the university’s current south campus, will begin in spring 2020 and will
be completed by spring 2022.
In order to cover costs of the stadium construction, a $200 million fundraising program has been
launched – $75 million of which has already been raised. The stadium will feature a 900-space parking lot
that students can use during the school week. Inside the stadium, there will be 32,000 seats with
chairbacks, athletic offices, press boxes, concessions, locker rooms, alumni function space, and meeting
rooms.
Salem State already plans to add multiple women’s sports in order to address Title IX issues. These
sports will be determined based on student input via a student survey that is currently in the works.
The football team will begin recruiting in spring 2020, with practices being held at Salem High
School. The team will play in the NCAA Division III New England College Football Conference.
Salem State is pleased to announce that the football team’s head coach will be Tom Kelley, who
will be leaving his current position as head coach and athletic director at Framingham State University.
“It’s hard to leave Framingham State,” said Kelley. “It is my alma mater and where I have worked
for almost 35 years. But the opportunity to create an entire football program at Salem State and oversee
the construction of a new stadium complex is the opportunity of a lifetime. I look forward to the
challenge.”
The decision to create a college football program provides Salem State with an exciting future.
Salem State University Board of Trustees Chairman, Bethany Sanchez, says that the football program will
help the university meet its goals and objectives regarding the student experience.
The university expects an increase in student admission applications, as well as a new annual
revenue stream of roughly $30 million. The university’s sports management degree will benefit from the
hands-on experience of managing a football program. A football team and brand-new stadium will spark
Viking pride among students, faculty, alumni, and the Salem Community.
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Page 2 – New SSU football team and stadium

For more information, please contact Emily Edwards at (781) 568-9192 or by email at
e_edwards4@salemstate.edu.
Salem State University, established in 1854 as Salem Normal School and later called Salem State
College, is a comprehensive, publicly supported institution of higher learning located approximately 15
miles north of Boston. The College enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students representing
27 states and 65 nations, and is the third largest institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.

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