To many, Westmoreland County in August means Steelers football camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, but the pros are only the start.

Football is busting out all over the county, with one local university fielding a football team for the first time this year and another planning to restart a program it abandoned 30 years ago.

In Greensburg, at a place where quiet prayer and ladylike politesse once reigned, Seton Hill University soon will host the clash and grunts of strapping football players.

"Academic programs and majors come and go, but if you look at the history of American higher education, you'll see that one constant is football," said Seton Hill President JoAnne Boyle. "It has great persistence, and a real centrality. It lasts. It's American. And we're in a particularly American environment, football-wise, in Western Pennsylvania."

Through most of its history, Seton Hill was a women-only institution run by the Sisters of Charity, but the past decades saw it "go co-ed" and expand rapidly.

This fall, Seton Hill is joining the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics football program and competing in the Mid-States Football Association. By this time next year, the football team and 17 other of the college's Griffin varsity sports teams may be playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association -- the vaunted NCAA, Boyle said.

And to make it all happen, the teams have three new $2 million practice fields, part of the university's ongoing capital improvements program: two natural grass surfaces and one artificial turf. Work recently started on a new field house with an 1,800-square-foot weight room and a locker room with capacity for 140 people.

"The coaches and recruits and anyone else they can round up are out there now, watering those fields by hand every day," the president said. "That's not in their job description, but they're really determined not to let the grass get scorched, to keep that perfect surface."

Head Coach Chris Snyder expects almost 120 players when training camp opens Aug. 7.

"Just about all the equipment's here, all brand-new, still in the boxes," said sports information director Jason Greene. "We're ready to roll."

Seton Hill home games will be played downtown at Offutt Field, home of the Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions. The field was upgraded recently with new turf, bathrooms, locker rooms and concession stands.

Seton Hill's first game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sept. 10; they'll host McDaniel College. Other home match-ups include Ohio Dominican, Wesley College and Tiffin University. Season tickets are on sale now.

Even as Seton Hill steps into the NAIA, St. Vincent athletic department is stepping out after more than 50 years of membership. The college announced recently it is joining the NCAA's Division III and the Presidents' Athletic Conference in fall 2006, vaulting St. Vincent athletes to a higher league of competitiveness and visibility.

As part of that plan, St. Vincent plans to resurrect its football program in 2007, after a 30-year lull.

St. Vincent President James Will said many graduates recall fondly the college's glorious 1949 season, when the football squad won the Tangerine Bowl.

"While that is a cherished memory, I have a new vision of a sunny Saturday afternoon in early September 2007, when a new generation of Bearcats emerge from the locker room and are greeted by students and fans ... . It will make a big difference in campus life, boost the pride of our alumni and provide a wonderful, new connection to the community."

St. Vincent will compete with seven current PAC member schools, including old rivals Westminster, Grove City and Washington & Jefferson.

"Re-aligning with the NCAA Division III and the PAC is a long-term investment," Will said. "We're excited to announce the return of football."