The sun has been much more obliging lately, and migrating birds aren’t the only indication that spring is just around the corner.

Every year at this time there is one thought that ’springs’ up just like a daisy in a garden…

It’s spring practice time for college football.

Colleges all around Aquinas are starting to throw the pigskin around in the 50-degree weather, and for many Aquinas sports enthusiasts, this calls up a recurring question: what would it take to bring a football team to Aquinas?

Sure, there would be some obvious benefits of having the Saints hit the field and go for six.

It would create more events on campus during the fall — potentially complete with tailgates and a student section decked out in maroon and white.

More alumni might come back to visit Aquinas more often, boosting life in an otherwise dull campus atmosphere.

There also might be more students who stick around on the weekends.

So yeah, there are positives, wahoo.

Realistically though, we probably won’t see football at AQ for quite some time.

The most obvious roadblock of this ambition is lack of proper facilities, or even nearby facilities that we could use. A stadium would be needed, most likely with 2,500-3,000 seats, alone costing millions of dollars.

A practice field would be nice too. The turf that AQ has right now is overpopulated with practice from other varsity sports, but it also isn’t the right thickness and length for playing football.

Clearly the weight room would have to have a mega update as well.

All these new facilities added together would make for one hefty check to AQ.

And that’s only the first obstacle.

Along with new facilities, coaches and trainers would have to be hired and brought in, which means spending more money.

Grand Valley State University has a head coach, defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach, running backs coach, offensive line coach, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, linebackers/recruiting coordinator coach, kicker/tight ends coach, defensive line/strength and conditioning coach, three graduate assistants and a video coordinator.

I’ll give you a second to catch your breath.

Moving on, if we have a football team, we’ll need some players, too. A typical college football team has 60-75 players and usually most of them have scholarships.

Let’s say 20 of them have full-ride scholarships. That would be $500,000 right there. The average athlete at Aquinas today gets a $2,000 scholarship.

Beyond the obvious issues associated with adding any new varsity sport, Aquinas would also need to pay for increased insurance.

Right now with 19 different varsity teams, Aquinas is paying $31,000 annually for insurance. That would more than double with the addition of a football team.

Perhaps you are thinking, ‘Hey, we’ll make profit on our ticket sales, alright!’

Well, actually, we won’t.

Typically students get free admission to college football games, and Aquinas students already have free admission to the other varsity sports. Students make up the majority of the audience, leaving some seats that will be filled with alums and neighborhood fans. But these sales won’t ever even come close to breaking even, financially.

It does sound pretty hopeless.

The best case scenario?

Some old money bag that has deep pockets gives Balog a blank check and tells him to make a football team.

It’s possible, yes — but is it probable?

Not so much.

For now, if you want a football team at Aquinas, get a good job, make a ton of money, and give it all to Aquinas. We’ll expect your donation in 10-20 years. Welcome to the world of being an alum.