The sport has the same rules as football, but all of its players are under 172 pounds.
CALDWELL -- A second college in New Jersey has added "sprint football" to its varsity lineup. The sport has all the same rules as NCAA football, but all of its players weigh 172 pounds or less. And, officials at Caldwell University say it will help attract more male students to, and create more of a community atmosphere on and around its campus.
"I think it will be very attractive for our location," said Mark Corino, the Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics at Caldwell, a Division II school.
"(This are is) very competitive, football-wise, and there are a lot of students who don't get the opportunity to play (in college) because of their size."
According to school officials, the sport was created in 1934 at the University of Pennsylvania as a way to give smaller athletes a chance to play collegiate sports. Though membership in the Collegiate Sprint Football League has waxed and waned in the years since, Caldwell will bring its membership up to 10 schools, including Princeton in New Jersey; Chestnut Hill College, UPenn, and Mansfield University in Pennsylvania; Army West Point and Cornell University in New York; Post University in Connecticut; Franklin Pierce in New Hampshire; and the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland.
"It is a pleasure to welcome Caldwell University to the Collegiate Sprint Football League and we are excited about the future of our league," said CSFL Commissioner Matthew Munnelly in a statement.
"Caldwell University will be a great representative for the state of New Jersey. We look forward to a long and flourishing relationship."
Caldwell University's commencement 2015
Sprint football will be Caldwell's 16th varsity sport. It currently has 280 student athletes on campus. Corino estimates that once the school begins recruiting for sprint, it will attract an additional 60 to 70 male student athletes to the college.
In a school that's population is currently split 70 percent female, 30 percent male, Corino said part of the reason officials agreed to add the sport was in an effort to attract more male students.
"It's an enrollment initiative," he said. "It's a good opportunity for the school and the students...and it'll be exciting for the community to have college games to go to on the weekends."
Caldwell is now in the process of hiring a full-time coach, six part-time coaches, and administrative personnel to support the program. It will begin its first sprint football season in the fall of 2017.
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.