Anderson University has announced plans to field a football team by the fall of 2024.

“After years of discussion, careful consideration and operating from a position of academic and financial strength, Anderson University’s Board of Trustees is adding a Trojan football program as its next successful athletic team,” President Evans Whitaker announced Oct. 4.

“In the past several years, Anderson has experienced exponential growth in enrollment, added innovative academic programs, and enjoyed the best national and regional rankings in the history of the university,” Whitaker continued. “With this firm foundation, and the magnificent gift we’ve secured, the time is right to offer Trojan football to our community.”

Upstate philanthropist Melvin Younts has pledged a $3 million challenge gift, and university officials are seeking partners in reaching a $6 million goal needed to launch the school’s football program and construct facilities on campus.

The Trojans will be the 10th school in the NCAA Division II’s South Atlantic Conference with a football team.