Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 11, 1995 TAG: 9503140057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: |By ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
VMI athletic director Davis Babb confirmed Friday the Keydets will face the Flames, an NCAA Division I-AA team, for the first time Sept.9 at 1:30 p.m. at Alumni Memorial Field in Lexington.
VMI originally was slated to travel to Division I-A Vanderbilt that day, but Commodores officials instead moved to strengthen their schedule with I-A Louisiana Tech.
Babb was left to negotiate a settlement with Vanderbilt, the only I-A opponent on the Keydets' schedule for '95, and scramble to find a replacement.
``We tried to find a I-A school, but after a while we realized we weren't going to get one at this late date,`` Babb said. ``Our interest then was to get a home game with someone that would create a lot of state interest.''
Babb still is negotiating a financial settlement with Vanderbilt but said he wasn't bitter over the incident.
``It's a tough situation and one that a lot of I-AA schools are facing across the board,'' he said. ``All we can do is make the best of the situation. I think this is going to be good for everybody.''
Liberty was 5-6 in 1994. VMI was 1-10 last season.
by CNB