Mount Marty College to Add Football in 2022

It's been more than 30 years since the city of Yankton had its own college football team to root for, but all of that is about to change.

Mount Marty College says it begin fielding a football team in the fall of 2022.

The private Yankton university made the announcement at an on-campus press conference, Tuesday (April 2).

According to Lancer Athletic Director Chris Kassin, the school has entered into a partnership with the Yankton School District to play games at Crane-Youngworth Field.  In exchange for use of the facility, Mount Marty will contribute money toward the installation of an artificial turf playing field there.

In December of 2018, Mount Marty used gifted funds to purchase land adjacent to Westside Park. That practice field will serve as a practice field for the football and soccer teams.

The Lancers will play at the NAIA level in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

A search for the program's first-ever head coach will begin next month.

The last time a college football team called the city home was Yankton College in 1984, the year the school closed its doors after more than 100 years.