OAKLAND CITY, Ind. (WEHT) The Oakland City University Mighty Oaks are preparing to take the football field for the first time in decades.

“It is going to be like nothing else. You have to be here to see it,” says Austin Davenport, the quarterback.

“Not many college students have the opportunity to have an inaugural year of sports, especially football,” says Hunter Johnson.

Students like Hunter Johnson are not the only ones excited. When studying off campus, Johnson says he sees businesses showing OCU spirit.

“It is a great feeling to be a part of something like this,” Johnson says.

Out of all of the universities in the Tri-State, Oakland City University is the only one that has a sprint football team. Unlike regular college football, players on a sprint football team have to weight less than 178 pounds on game day. The school says this opens the door for students who may feel ‘undersized.’ Students say this will not only help the school to stand out, it will also draw a bigger crowd.

“I am from Evansville and football is a big thing in high school. But none of the other universities have a college football team, so I think that this is really big for this area,” says Gehrig Tenhumberg, an OCU student.

There are over 50 people on the football team. Davenport says even though the team has been together for less than one year, they are already stating to feel like a family.

“I mean it only took us the first time seeing each other and we are all connected. We are ready to play,” he says.

Davenport says he has played on football teams before, but leading university’s first sprint football team feels different.

“It is going to be something special. I cannot wait to just show people like who we are and what we can do because we have been working on this for so long,” Davenport says.

Kickoff against the Bellarmine University Knights is at 1 pm Saturday at Wood Memorial High School’s football field. Before the game, everyone is invited to tailgate on Franklin Street outside of the high school at 10:45.

“It is a great week to be a Might Oak for sure… and we are here to cheer them on,” says Abigail Mathany, an OCU student.