Lon Morris College will be fielding a football team for the first time since 1940 when they open the season on Aug. 28 in the Tomato Bowl.

But the Bearcats will not be the only new entry into the crowded collegiate football scene as six other schools will also be sending teams to the gridiron this fall.

In addition, according to the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF), 10 more programs are set to launch between 2011 and 2013.

Highlighting the list is new teams at Georgia State University, the University of South Alabama, Lamar University in Beaumont and at the University of  Texas San Antonio.

“It’s exciting to see the launch of these programs because they are giving players the opportunity of playing at different levels in regions of the country where those options did not previously exist,” NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell said via a press release. “Football’s popularity has never been greater, and the fact that so many schools are embracing it is a testament that more and more college administrators see the value of the sport to a  student’s overall educational experience.”

Programs launching in 2010

University of South Alabama (Mobile, Ala.), NCAA Division I

Georgia State University (Atlanta), NCAA Division I

Lamar University (Beaumont), NCAA Division I

Pacific University (Forest Grove, Ore.), NCAA Division III

Lindsey Wilson Cellege (Columbia, KY), NAIA

Notre Dame College (South Euclid, Ohio), NCAA Division II

Lon Morris College (Jacksonville, TX) NJCAA

Programs launching in 2011-2013

University Texas San Antonio (San Antonio), NCAA Division I

University of North Carolina Charlotte (Charlotte, NC), NCAA Division I

LeMoyne-Owen College (Memphis, TN), NCAA Division II

Ava Maria University (Ava Maria, Fla.), MAIA

Concordia University (Ann Arbor, MI), NAIA

Finlandia University (Hancock, Mich), NCAA Division III

George Fox University (Newberg, OR), NCAA Division III

Presenatation College (Aberdeen, SD), NCAA Division III

Stevenson University (Ownings Mill, Md.), NCAA Division III

Wayland Baptist University (Plainview, Texas), NAIA

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