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In February of 1969, a group of Duquesne University students gathered on the 13th floor of St. Martin’s Hall with the ambitious goal of reviving intercollegiate football on the Bluff after a nearly two-decade absence.

The Gridiron Dukes would become part of a rising tide of club football teams from across the U.S. In 1973, they would win a national championship on the hallowed Tartan Turf of Three Rivers Stadium. The friendships formed and the foundation laid, endure to this day.

In Renaissance: The Rebirth and Rise of Duquesne University Football, author Sam Costanzo chronicles how building a football program with the right mix of elements like a committed University administration, savvy management, talented players, outstanding coaches and devoted fans, came into play once the Athletic Committee approved football as a student-run club. Costanzo, A ‘72 and a member of the Duquesne University Athletic Committee, was at the center of it all working from the team’s “front office” in St. Martin’s Hall.

Net proceeds from Renaissance: The Rebirth and Rise of Duquesne University Football will help to provide football scholarships to deserving student-athletes.