NAIA football team raising money for title rings

Athletic programs can be lucrative for universities, but not so much at the NAIA level, where football national champion Southern Oregon University is using a fundraiser to purchase rings for staff and players.

The NAIA national championship, where the Raiders beat Marian College (Indiana) 55-31, was played in front of 1,941 fans — slightly less than the Division I College Football Playoff title game. Because NAIA schools don’t carry their cash in wheelbarrows, they were forced to find alternative means for purchasing championship rings.

From the university’s website:

The 2014 NAIA champion Southern Oregon University football team is asking for your help.  The Raiders are in need of assistance to honor the members of the team and coaching staff by purchasing championship rings.

Unlike the NCAA Division I level – where the championship rings are already paid for – the Raiders have to purchase their own. Each ring costs approximately $250.  You can honor a player or position group by donating to the “Ring ‘Em Up” campaign. Your gift will help create a lasting memory for our National Champions.  Help us commemorate (and decorate) this historic group of SOU student-athletes.

Anyone interesting in donating to the team’s fundraising campaign should click here. According to CBS Sports, as of early Wednesday morning the team had raised about $14,000 of its $37,000 goal.