The wait was finally over.

After not having fielded a varsity football team since 1962, Saint Vincent College returned to the field last season, competing in a slate of games it hoped would jump start the program.

The Bearcats, however, struggled mightily in their comeback, week after week having the look of a team that, well, hadn't played in 45 years. The rebirth served as more of a rude awakening than anything else, with the Bearcats finishing the campaign a dismal 0-10, while being outscored by a whopping 500-111 margin.

But, oddly enough, somewhere along the way, the rapidly accumulating bumps and bruises began to be trumped by a far different feeling -- optimism. At a time where much more established programs would likely be taking a step back to re-evaluate their future, the Bearcats could see their future -- and it is bright.

"We had some of our best practices as an 0-8 and 0-9 team," said Saint Vincent coach Bob Colbert. "I think the biggest challenge was keeping the players' morale to the point that they didn't want to give up on us. The way we were practicing when we were 0-8 showed me they were buying into what we were trying to do."

Today, on the very same field where the Steelers are gearing up for their season, the Bearcats will do the same when their training camp convenes. But unlike their professional neighbors, the Bearcats' goal will be as simple as they come.

"I just want to have an overall improvement. I want to be more competitive. And I want to be in position to win games," said Colbert, whose younger brother, Kevin, is the director of football operation for the Steelers.

Steadily distancing itself from its first season will be a big step in the right direction for Saint Vincent, and not just because of the winless record. Having served as an assistant coach at Bridgewater College (Va.) -- a perennial Division III playoff participant -- in the eight years prior to joining the Saint Vincent community in 2006, Colbert had a great feel of what type of competition the Bearcats would be facing in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. The players, though, didn't have a clue, and quickly realized they would need to become bigger, stronger and faster if they wanted to compete.

From a schematic standpoint, Colbert and his staff's primary focus will be to improve the team's run defense. Opposing offenses ran at will on the Bearcats a season ago, and because of that, will undoubtedly attempt to do so once again.

To help its cause, Saint Vincent will hit the field with a new defensive alignment, as well as a new defensive coordinator, Shawn Rohrer. It'll be Rohrer's job to implement more of a 3-4 alignment in place of a 3-5-3 scheme the Bearcats displayed last season.

"We have to be able to stop the run. That's been the main emphasis we're going to put on our team in preseason camp," Colbert said.

Not having enough players is one issue the Bearcats won't have. As of last week, Colbert said 135 students had made commitments to attend training camp, including an astounding 71 recruits.

Colbert and company briskly expanded their recruiting radar in the offseason, luring in players from central Pennsylvania, Florida, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Canada. Among the former WPIAL high school standouts jumping into the mix are Jimmy Rockovich (Franklin Regional) and Joe Yezovich (Woodland Hills).

"We recruited 71 players, and we were a team that lost 10 games and wasn't competitive," Colbert said. "I think that says that a great number of players are buying into the fact that this can work, and shows that we can continue rebuilding.

"We're going to be a better football team. How many victories that will translate to, I can't say. But we'll be way more competitive, that's for sure."