Mercer was not like most start-up programs in 2013. For one, Mercer wasn't really a start-up program in the truest since of the term; the Bears played in the first college football game in the state of Georgia (a 50-0 loss to Georgia in 1892) before dropping the sport in 1941. But, most importantly, a brand new program can only dream of reaching half the success Mercer enjoyed in its debut season.
Coached by Bobby Lamb, Mercer went 10-2 and finished one game shy of a share of the Pioneer Football League championship. The Bears finished second nationally in rushing offense (277.9 yards per game), 13th in scoring offense (38.3 points per game), 12th in rushing defense (117.3 yards per game) and first in red zone defense (91.8 percent). Mercer joined Auburn as the only Division I teams to post an 8-0 home record.
But, most importantly, is what surrounded those eight home games. Mercer, and the Macon, Ga. community surrounding it, absolutely caught fire around its football program.
The Bears drew 12,127 fans for the season-opener against Reinhardt, and then 10,027 two weeks later against Warner. Attendance dropped in week three for Division III Berry, but then rose for each of the final five games, from 8,150 for the conference opener against Drake to 12,027 for the season finale defeat of Stetson. Mercer averaged 9,379 fans per game, nearly 70 percent higher than second-place Stetson.
"They really needed something to get out and root for, something to get out and holler and scream for," said Mercer president William Underwood. "Football provided an opportunity for people who are proud of their alma mater to come out and do just that.
"Football has energized our student body in a way that nothing else could have."
Mercer was a brand-new program, 72 years in the waiting.