Club Football remains undefeated due to cancelled season

A running joke amongst the student body and alumni is that Xavier's football team has gone "undefeated" since the program was disbanded in 1973. But this season, Xavier's club football team will also go "undefeated" by virtue of cancellation.
After just one game of National Club Football Association league play, Xavier's club football program canceled all remaining games in the 2012-13 season. The team's Twitter feed posted a message announcing the cancellation on Sept. 19, after what they described as "player injuries depleting the football program's roster to a level which [creates] a safety concern."
Head Coach Sean McCormick identified a number of factors that contributed to the decision to cancel the season. According to McCormick, the program struggled to retain interest despite recruiting over 30 incoming freshmen as the new students were "overwhelmed by the University atmosphere" and feared they would fall behind academically with a commitment to club football.
This lack of incoming players was compounded by injuries that left the program with fewer than 21 healthy players, a number the coaches and staff felt would leave remaining players vulnerable.
"To continue against teams as Miami, which have 88 players on their roster, was not an issue of toughness or commitment, but rather it became an issue of safety," McCormick said in an e-mail. "Club football is every bit as physical as any NCAA Division II or III level of play."
The Musketeers played a scrimmage against Thomas More College on Sept. 9 and lost their season opener against the University of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Sept. 15 before cancelling the season. Their schedule originally included an additional five games over the next three months, against opponents like Wright State University and Ohio State University.
McCormick confirmed that the cancellation was final, but that he, his staff and players are determined to build the program up again to field a team next fall. He said that freshmen recruiting has already begun and that the program has purchased a number of advertisements designed to help raise awareness.
"Xavier University club football is not going away. There is a Japanese proverb which I know our players get tired of hearing, but [is] true: 'Fall down seven, get up eight!'" McCormick said. "Xavier football can really be something special for everyone. We welcome all support."