For the 2023 season, William Jewell College’s football games are being temporarily relocated due to the construction of The Link Project, which includes the development of a new amphitheater-style stadium.

The previous Jewell stadium, Greene Stadium, was demolished in June, and while the construction is underway, football games will be hosted at Liberty North High School, according to Jewell’s Assistant Athletics Director for Communication Ellison JaeLynn. This article explores the reasons behind the relocation, the new location’s features and benefits and the anticipated return of games to the Jewell campus.

“The primary reason for moving Jewell football games off campus is the ongoing construction of The Link Project, which involves the creation of a new stadium,” Ellison said. “The demolition of Greene Stadium, the former football and soccer home since 1955, necessitated the relocation. The construction site lacks essential elements such as stadium seating, parking facilities and other amenities required for hosting football games.”

According to Ellison, for the 2023 season, Jewell football games will take place at Liberty North High School. The decision to choose this location was based on the longstanding partnership between Jewell and the Liberty Public School District. In the past, both high schools in Liberty have played their full schedules on the Jewell campus.

“Although Liberty North’s stadium does not match the exact seating capacity of Greene Stadium, it offers a high-quality facility with upgraded technology opportunities,” Ellison said.  “While the seating width may be slightly narrower, the stadium provides elevated seating and also offers seating for visiting fans on the opposite side. The locker room facilities at Liberty North are adequate and within a comparable walking distance to the field, similar to the on-campus facilities.”

Ellison also discussed the expected positive and negative consequences of this change: “The temporary relocation presents several advantages for fans and players. The partnership with Liberty North allows for an outstanding space for the 2023 season, fostering a positive relationship with Liberty Schools. The new location also provides upgraded technology and facilities compared to the aging Greene Stadium. However, there are a few inconveniences associated with the change, such as students having to travel off campus to attend or play games and the logistical challenges of transporting equipment on game days. Nonetheless, these temporary drawbacks will be outweighed by the long-term benefits of a new home stadium on the Jewell campus.”

“The new stadium on the Jewell campus is expected to be completed this winter, in time for the 2024 season. The college eagerly looks forward to returning to their familiar grounds on The Hill. The staff and players have had a positive experience at Liberty North, appreciating the accommodating and tremendous support received from the school. However, the anticipation of a brand new stadium on campus creates excitement and a sense of homecoming for the Jewell community,” said Ellison.

In conclusion with what JaeLynn Ellison said, ”the temporary relocation of Jewell Football games off campus is a result of the ongoing construction of a new stadium as part of The Link Project”. The move to Liberty North High School for the 2023 season has provided an exceptional space for fans and players, showcasing the strong partnership between William Jewell College and Liberty Schools. While there have been some inconveniences associated with the change, the upcoming completion of a new stadium on the Jewell campus promises an exciting future for football games and reinforces the college’s commitment to its athletic program.

The day before William Jewell College’s homecoming football game, the football team released a music video to accompany an original song, “Answering the Call” – the new semi-official anthem of the team.

Written and performed by team members Donte Colum, senior business administration major, and Justice Taylor, senior physics major, “Answering the Call” hypes up the team before home games.

“We wanted to make a song that related to our team and provided energy for our guys and we also play the song as our walkout music for home games where we have played our best football,” said Colum of his brainchild.

Because Colum has been interested in rapping and hip-hop and has previously made other songs, he was excited to create an appropriate song to play over the stadium speakers. He reached out to Taylor to help make the song over the summer, and the two created the beat and lyrics.

“He sent me a couple of instrumentals and I wrote a verse to it. He picked up on the vibe and wrote his lyrics as well as the [chorus],” said Taylor of their collaboration.

The two recorded their song in the Pryor Learning Commons media room before playing it during the first week of practice for the team and distributing it on social media.

The team responded positively after hearing the song and making it the walkout song. They realized that making a music video could be a fun extension onto the song. Colum and Taylor reached out to Sam Sullivan, senior communication major, to produce such a video.

Sullivan is interested in video production, has made videos in the past and had wanted to make a music video, so he was excited to help.

“I was already good friends with Sam and have nothing but good words to say about him as a person and I knew he was an outstanding part of [our] video shows in [high school] so I reached out to him,” said Colum of working with his high school friend Sullivan to produce the video.

“[Sullivan] listened to our song and agreed to help and pretty much directed the entire video and gave us an outline of good places and times to get some good footage to put together. We then talked to our coaches and got permission to use the weight room, uniforms and football field and the rest was history. Our team was excited about the whole process and I think we all had a great time filming it,” Colum commented on the making of the video.

“We collaborated with Sam on some ideas and recorded the music video week three of the season but decided it would have a greater impact if we waited till homecoming weekend to release it,” said Taylor of the production and release.

The video was released Friday, Oct. 5 – during homecoming week before the team’s homecoming win against Southwest Baptist University – to amp up fans and players for the game.

“I had so much fun making that video with those guys. I love it when a group of people can get together and come up with something creative and fun and work to make a quality video. We got to use the football field late at night and act like a bunch of hooligans. It’s hard work and a lot of fun at the same time. It’s the reason why I want to get into the field of videography and production,” said Sullivan of working on the video.

The “Answering the Call” music video is exciting, spirited and engaging. It’s an expression of Jewell pride and a representation of the football team’s progress and improvement. The video can be accessed here and heard before Jewell home games.

*The Hilltop Monitor has permission from video producer Sam Sullivan to link and feature this video.

Photo courtesy of Sofia Arthurs-Schoppe

Teams collide during an offensive play from Southwest Baptist University

Jewell Cards congratulating each other during the game

Jewell Cards go-get during an offensive play

Jewell player expresses confusion after near-miss

The Jewell Cards nimbly seek possession of the ball

Drummers from the Jewell drum-line entertain audiences during half-time

Jewell’s dance team, the Crimson Dancers, perform for fans during half-time

Jewell player prepares to throw football on sideline

Teams line up for the next play

More information about the event can be found here.

Photos courtesy of Sofia Arthurs-Schoppe

The final score was 14-10 with Bulla Graft, junior business administration major, scoring a touchdown in the second quarter and Will Schneider, sophomore undeclared major, scoring another in the fourth.

The game kicked off at 1 p.m. Saturday after a series of events on campus organized by the Alumni Board of Governors. Several Jewell students, alumni and families of the players attended the game in Greene Stadium and the audience exceeded the number expected for a typical Cardinal game.

Bulla Graft scored the first points of the match with a touchdown in the second quarter.

Mackenna Kemp, junior nursing major, remarked that the game was great from every aspect.

“The crowd was very engaged and excited,” said Kemp. “The drumline did a great job, the dancers were super energetic – they killed it.”

Colton Johnson, offensive lineman and sophomore accounting, business administration and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry major, commented that the win was well deserved.

“It was nice to go-get instead of get-got,” said Johnson.

Jewell Cards go-get at Homecoming game.

During halftime fans were treated to performances from the Jewell Drumline and the Crimson Dancers. It was also revealed that Zeta Tau Alpha and Lambda Chi Alpha (LCA) were the winners of this year’s spirit stick.

President of LCA, Conner Foote, senior international relations and political science major, said that winning the spirit stick was very meaningful.

“We came out and represented. To me winning the spirit stick means more than winning the whole thing because it means we actually showed up,” said Foote. “Homecoming chair, Nick LaDue and Jeffrey Burrow were behind everyone’s good spirits.”

LCA brothers enthusiastically wave spirit stick above crowd.

This sentiment was echoed by drumline leader and LCA brother Chris Seward, junior biochemistry major.

“It’s always awesome getting to play at the football games. Especially during homecoming with all the fans and the energy from the drumline, it’s a great feeling,” said Seward. “With all the spirit we have in LCA not even including ZTA, I wasn’t surprised at all that we got the spirit stick; we’re all here to have fun. and that’s what it’s all about.”

Photos courtesy of Sofia Arthurs-Schoppe.