By Ariana Manos

Volume 67, No. 3

Malone’s football program ran for 26 years, from 1993 and disbanding in 2019. The news of its discontinuation came as a shock to many, especially those athletes and coaches who depended on the program for their jobs and scholarships. The Board of Trustees’ decision to cut football reduced annual expenses by a million dollars.

Fortunately, affected students in the program were taken care of; a commitment from the university was made, promising to continue financial aid for those that chose to stay at the university.

During the program’s lifetime, the Pioneers posted seven winning seasons and had many successes with individuals. A Malone alumni, Ashton Dulin ‘18, continued his football career in the National Football League (NFL) playing for the Indianapolis Colts.

However, the football tradition hasn’t completely ceased. A team in the 2021 Davenport Derby dedicated their couch to the memory of Malone’s football team. Additionally, the program was honored through the Mayor’s Bowl flag football tournament on October 3.

The tournament consisted of four teams, two representing Walsh and two representing Malone. The single-elimination rounds started with the Malone teams playing each other and were followed by the Walsh teams doing the same. The winner from each was then to compete against each other, forming an intense showdown between the long-standing rivals.

“I decided to help coach in the Mayor’s Bowl because I wanted to beat Walsh and have fun being around football,” said John Evins, a sophomore coach for a Malone team. “Our team’s mantra was ‘JV squad’ because we wanted to keep an underdog mentality when we played. Our preparation involved scouting, practicing, and memorization of the playbook and audibles we