Well...the team is scheduled to take off in a few minutes [8 am]...Hope this charter is a little more timely than our trip to Vanderbilt...and the result of the game is different at well.

In talking with Coach Clawson, it sounds like Wofford is going to be a tough opponent...very sound...very talented group of upperclassmen. Of course, once you are in the quarterfinals of any tournament the competition is going to serious.

Hope to see a lot of you at the pre-game tailgate at the Marriott that starts at 4. If you decide to stay home rather than make the 5.5 hour drive from Richmond [boo!!], be sure to watch the game on TV.

Thought you might want to see my recent response to a comment...

It will be interesting to hear Friday night who is selected to host the semi-finals.

However, my bet is that if Eastern Washington wins, they will host since they would have already played games in Louisiana and North Carolina. I think the NCAA committee would not have them play 3 straight away games and travel across country again to either South Carolina or Virginia.

And, if Appy State wins, I think the NCAA Committee may have them hosting because they will be able to put 20,000+ in the stands. Unfortunately, the FCS playoffs are structured so that $$ talks.

And Away We Go

I have received a number of questions about why we are playing at Wofford this Saturday rather than hosting the game at UR Stadium.

Since I served on the FCS [then 1-AA] selection committee for 4 years, and know a couple members of the current committee very well, I can shed a little light on the situation.

Some of the more significant factors that go into selecting the host site are:

a. did the school submit a bid to host the event?
b. is the facility appropriate [i.e., quality of field, stadium, lights]?
c. what is the comparitive strength of the teams?
d. what is the projected revenue?
e. are there significant student-athlete welfare issues [i.e., travel]?

Regarding the site of the Wofford game...I am quite certain that all the issues except "e" were pretty even. The Spiders are ranked higher than Wofford, but both of us are champions of good conferences; the facilties are both appropriate; both teams submitted qualifying bids; projected revenues are probably about the same. However, we are on the short end of the stick when you look at the "student-athlete welfare" issue.

The Spiders hosted a first round game and Wofford had to travel to Montana. I would imagine that is what tipped the scale and caused the committee to select Wofford as the host for this week's game.

And keep this in mind...the Spiders have done pretty well on the road....just ask the Dukes and the Blue Hens.

Sorry that its been so long since I have added something to the Jim-nasium...

What a great fb season!!! 9-2 and hosting a first round playoff game Saturday night. And its also nice to be hosting my good friend Mark Sandy. Mark is the AD at Eastern Kentucky and was my second hire here at Richmond. David Walsh, who is now our Deputy AD came with me from NC State and Mark followed shortly thereafter...he was at Miami of Ohio.

Mark and I first met at a basketball camp at Wake Forest University when he was an assistant basketball coach for the Demon Deacons. Soon thereafter, we worked together as assistant basketball coaches at VMI. We remained close friends and it was great that he was a Spider for a few years working on the fund raising side of things.

It will be a great Saturday evening [as long we pummel the Colonels].