Is that your uniform number or your age?

Great story.

Mike Flynt was drinking beer and swapping stories with some old football buddies a few months ago when he brought up the biggest regret of his life: Getting kicked off the college team before his senior year.

So, one of his pals said, why not do something about it?

Most 59-year-olds would have laughed. Flynt's only concern was if he was eligible.

Finding out he was, Flynt returned to Sul Ross State this month, 37 years after he left and six years before he goes on Medicare. His comeback peaked Wednesday with the coach saying he's made the Division III team's roster. He could be in action as soon as Sept. 1.

[...]

Flynt's position is still being determined, but he used to play linebacker. Wherever he lines up, he'll likely become the oldest player in college football history. Neither the NCAA or NAIA keeps such a statistic, but research hasn't turned up anyone older than their mid-40s. And even those are rare, for obvious reasons.

"I told him he's an idiot," said Jerry Larned, who coached Flynt at Sul Ross in 1969 and counseled him at the start of his comeback. "I said, `Gosh, dang, Mike, you're not 20 years old any more. You're liable to cripple yourself.' He understands all of that. But he has a burning desire to play. ... He is in great physical condition. He still runs a 5-flat 40 and bench presses I-don't-know-what. He's a specimen for 59 years old."

Before anyone asks, the rules of eligibility are different for Division III than Division I. Basically, in Div III, you have eight semesters of eligibility, and you can use them any time. So, someone who's been out of school for awhile and had participated in fewer than eight semesters' worth of intercollegiate athletics during that time can come back and rejoin a team.

At least, that was my understanding while I was at (Division III) Trinity. We had a similar situation there one year, where a 40-something dude made the football roster. To the best of my recollection, he never played a down - the one time I remember seeing him on the sideline, he wasn't in pads. It's still a good story, even if all he did was play tackling dummy. Here's hoping that Mike Flynt actually gets his name in a game recap or two. Link via State of Mine, who's already envisioning the film treatment.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on August 24, 2007 to Other sports