The dream of playing DePaul football this season is becoming a lot closer to being a reality for the DePaul Football Club (DFC).

The team previously applied for funding from the Student Activity Fee Board (SAF-B) and has been accepted. This allows the club to drastically reduce the cost of pads and keep membership dues down.

The grant goes towards ensuing that the team is here to stay, said Devin Miller, the DFC treasurer.

“The football equipment will be in DePaul’s name,” Miller said. “They’ll be able to store it on an off-campus site, and we’ll be able to keep it for many years to come. This was a one time buy.”

This quarter, DFC has been hard at work, focusing on fundraising and recruiting new talent. Both areas have been successful, Miller said.

In addition, the team has hosted fundraisers to provide outside support for the program. Miller said the team hosted a hot chocolate run to raise awareness and also participated in the McCormick Place expo.

“We’re definitely trying to get our name out there,” Tevin Harris, junior, said. “We need to make sure people know this isn’t going to go away and we’re in this for the long run.”

Currently, DFC practices twice a week at Wish Field. The practices started off with capturing the basics of the playbook; however, as the quarter comes to a close, the team’s focus has narrowed.

Now, Miller said, head coach Carlos Jones holds practices based on position. The team is putting in extra work besides the standard two practice days per week.

It’s the adjustment some players needed. Connor Skelly, a freshman wide receiver, joined DFC after having never played organized football.

“I’ve always wanted to play football,” Skelly said. “I wish I did in high school. I figured, since this is just a brand new program, being a part of it would be a good thing, and that’s happened so far.”

“It’s been fun,” Max McNutt, a freshman, said. “Hopefully when a full coaching staff gets in, we can do more stuff and start seeing more unique things.”

Right now, Coach Jones is the only coach advising the team. By comparison, Loyola’s club football team has a staff of three,

Even as DFC’s practices start to do more they still lack a focus on lineman and hitting since the team has yet to receive their pads, which they expect to receive in the winter, according to Miller.

If all goes well, the team plans to hold a training camp in April, which will give players more experience in pads.

“I know me and Tevin haven’t been hit in three years,” Miller said. “(Being in pads) will give us a good feel on how it is to be hit again, and how it is to hit someone else again. It will bring the realization that contact football is coming back to DePaul, something that hasn’t been here for a while.”

The camp brings DFC closer to accomplishing their goal of being recognized as a legitimate club team. The team will apply in the spring to the National Club Football Association, which will give them access to play other universities in a set schedule.

“Once they see we have our stuff figured out they’ll give us a full schedule our first year,” Miller said.