College Football: 6 defunct programs we’d like to see reborn

6. George Washington Colonials

Year started: 1881

Last active season: 1966

Consider that Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia combined to produce 108 blue chip high school recruits in the five seasons between 2013 and 2017. Maryland and Virginia, the two power-conference programs in the general vicinity of D.C., arguably do not take advantage of that talent. Since 2011, the Terrapins have gone 38-61 in its move from the ACC to the Big Ten. The Cavaliers are 39-60 in that same time span.

Until 1966, the George Washington football team played its home games at D.C. Stadium, now RFK, along with the NFL’s Washington Redskins. GW’s president said that the program annually lost $254,000, while attendance woes were attributed to a lack of interest and the absence of today’s Metrorail (which started in 1976).

The D.C. metro area, the nation’s sixth-largest, has 6.1 million residents and is starved for a good football team. Yes, the Redskins might keep fans from attending Colonials games and an on-campus stadium would be nearly impossible considering the tight quarters of real estate in the nation’s capital. But the Redskins have won one playoff game since 2000 and the RFK Stadium  would be an exciting home venue for a GW D-I squad (as long as it could share with the MLB’s Nationals).

It’s fun to imagine heads of state and other national leaders dropping in for a Colonials football contest (aside from an occasional Army-Navy appearance). Also, consider regional rivals for George Washington: Maryland, Virginia, Navy, or even Temple. And how could the Colonials avoid playing a Revolutionary-themed annual series against the Minutemen of UMass?

For a conference fit, the Colonials could seek to join the AAC to play the latter two teams, or they could take part in recreating the aforementioned Yankee Conference against other northeastern foes.