The MBU football team, now in its second year of existence, has been a monumental addition to the university.
Photo by Ryan Rerich
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With new students, a practice field, locker rooms, coaches and jobs, the additions are bountiful.
Although only one win in two complete seasons, and numerous games ending in heartbreak, the opportunity the team has given me specifically, along with the others involved, is extremely positive.
Being on the field taking pictures and video is one of my passions. With the football team on the field, it provides a new opportunity that would not have been possible without the sport.
The fire and the energy game day brings cannot be experienced in the other sports.
The new field and facility also bring attention to the university that no other athletic construction could bring.
Recruiting students becomes easier and there is now an additional activity to market to incoming students, both athletes and non-athletes.
Football is normally a topic of discussion at any university, no matter what the level. It is the talk in the cafeteria, classrooms, dorm rooms, and just in general conversation.
Being on the sideline during the game provides an alley way for me to talk and converse with other photographers.
It provides me with moments to branch out and get to know photographers in the area and see the art of the trade.
Without football at the university, the opportunities would not be there.
The publicity the team has gotten has found its way to news outlets such as Channel 5 News and The St. Louis Post Dispatch to name a few.
MBU lasted a half-century without the game of football, but with the game that Americans love being played collegiately on Saturdays in the months of fall and early winter, it seems the MBU supporters are enthused.
It will be interesting to see where Missouri Baptist football will be in the future, but I am positive that it will lead to bigger and better things for the Spartans.
I am one of the many individuals benefiting from the football team, but the numerous effects it has made for faculty, students, staff and fans will make a difference in the near future.
Field experience is taken advantage of by students in many different majors, and the relatable knowledge from the football activities will go a long way in the lives of those involved.
There is nothing to substitute an actual game-day operation for the student, and the avenue for experience is provided to the MBU students and athletes who want to be involved.
Triston Buckley 
Emily Retzer