Chicago State University hired its first-ever head football coach, Bobby Rome II.

Rome is tasked with building the school’s new Division I football program from the ground up. The university doesn’t have a stadium, equipment or players just yet.

“No. 1, it starts with foundation, and that foundation for us starts in the community,” Rome said. “It starts on the South Side of Chicago and Chicago State. We want to be intentional about the way that we fundraise and we want to find stakeholders within that community.” 

CSU is Rome’s fourth head coaching position. He most recently worked at Florida Memorial University, an HBCU, from 2022 to 2024. He was selected from a pool of more than 230 applicants, including NFL, college and high school coaches, as well as former NFL players.

CSU Athletics is composed of 16 intercollegiate teams involving more than 165 student-athletes who compete in basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, women’s triathlon and volleyball — and now football.

“When you look at football and what football does in terms of bringing men 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 plan and our plan for better engagement and increased engagement with our students on campus,” CSU President Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott said.

CSU is a predominantly Black public university: 68.7% of the student population identifies as Black, with 6.07% identifying as White and 5.51% Latino. Approximately 68% of full-time graduate students are women, while 33% are men.

“We’ve also seen in our community a declining interest of African American males, generally in higher education, and football attracts men, as we can tell from even the interest in the program,” Scott said. “We believe that football will not only attract more male students to higher education, but also enhance our campus.”

According to the Illinois Board of Higher Education, there has been a 29% drop in enrollment of Black students in Illinois’ higher education system since 2013. CSU has experienced a significant decline in enrollment since 2010; however, the university is currently seeing a turnaround.

Based on a CSU 10-day census report, student retention has increased and the university is seeing steady undergraduate enrollment inclines. CSU’s student enrollment included a 14% increase for the 2024-25 academic year. The report states the university’s overall retention rate was 67%, up 5% from the previous year.

The school hopes to increase its Black male demographic with Rome’s recruitment strategies for new players.

“We want to find the best student athletes that’s available, and we’re looking for young men that can show us some discipline, that can also show us obedience, and men with a little bit of grit as well,” Rome said. “We’re going to go out there, hit the community. We’re going to hit the local high schools. We’re also going to recruit across the state, and we’re going to make a priority to recruit right here on the South Side of Chicago.”

Though the season doesn’t start until 2026, the program aims to create opportunities for players, prioritizing education while anticipating potential financial obstacles.

Illinois lawmakers just passed a $55.2 billion spending plan supported by $55.3 billion of revenue, including just over $1 billion in new taxes and revenue changes. At the federal level, President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” narrowly passed through the U.S. House of Representatives and is expected to face some pushback in the U.S. Senate. The bill is expected to cut taxes by $3.75 trillion but also increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

“We believe that there are challenges there for higher education and specifically for Chicago State,” Scott said. “In the last few months, we’ve lost $9 million in grants, which have taken income that comes out of our university, and that’s opportunity that leaves our faculty and our students.”

While these are growing concerns for both the institution and the football program, leadership is preparing for ways to overcome.

“Challenges are going to come any time you start a new program from scratch,” Rome said. “We embrace those challenges. We’re just going to concentrate and focus on the things that we’ve been doing for years, and that’s providing opportunity for people on the South Side of Chicago, and providing opportunity for young men and young women throughout the city.”

---