Pioneer football coach Butch Henderson received commitments from 40 high school seniors on Wednesday, the first day of the national signing period.  Those 40 will become a part of history at Wayland Baptist as part of the first team to compete on the gridiron in over 70 years.  The official kickoff for the new Pioneer football program is scheduled for Sept. 1 in San Antonio, Texas.

The first Wayland Baptist football game in over 70 years will be played Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012 at Hero's Stadium in San Antonio when the Pioneers take on the University of Monterrey Tech.

The Wayland football team made its unofficial debut at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium on Saturday.  With over two hundred supporters in attendance on a blustery fall morning, the Pioneers capped off their leadership season with an intrasquad scrimmage.  

It's been over a year now since Wayland Baptist announced the addition of football to its roster of intercollegiate sports program, and although the start of the official season is still almost a year away that doesn't mean that head coach Butch Henderson isn't already demanding a lot from the 106 football players currently on campus and enrolled in classes. 

PLAINVIEW, Texas --- One of the most respected high school football coaches in the Texas Panhandle has agreed to become the new head football coach at Wayland Baptist University. Butch Henderson was introduced at a press conference held this morning in the lobby of the Pete and Nelda Laney Student Activities Center.