Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 26, 1995 TAG: 9508300022
SECTION: COLLEGE FOOTBALL PAGE: CF-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The game's first two years in Virginia have been marked by cold, wind, rain and snow, but NCAA officials still say some amazing things. Consecutive sellouts of the Division III championship game can do that. Salem will go for three in a row at 1 p.m. Dec.9.
Wayne Burrow, the NCAA director of championships for Division III, said, ``I don't believe there is a site in the country that can rival what Salem does for the championship.''
Steve Bamford, head of the Division III football committee, said, ``The standard by which all national championships are measured is Salem. No question about that.''
Another NCAA official, Tim Clark, said ``the people down there are really gung-ho about this,'' and he has never even been to a Stagg Bowl.
So what does someone from Salem, someone like civic center director Carey Harveycutter, say? ``I just pray for better weather,'' Harveycutter said.
That has been a problem, but it may be the only one. The two Stagg Bowls that have been contested in Salem have been so successful the city is guaranteed three more through 1997 and likely many after those. But before the backslapping and congratulations get out of control, it must be noted that other cities have sniffed Salem's success.
Thanks to Salem and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, the official host for the game, people want to have the Stagg Bowl come to their town. Two localities - Daytona Beach, Fla., and Meridian, Miss. - have expressed serious interest, although they have not made a formal presentation. Other cities ``look for games that are sellouts,'' Burrow said.
The Stagg Bowl wasn't a sellout before Salem got its hands on it. Bradenton, Fla., the previous site, had the weather part down pat. It may have been far from many schools, but to Northern college students, Florida in December is hard to beat.
Thanks to a unique, enthusiastic approach to Division III athletics, Salem beat it.
``They didn't have any intention to move it whatsoever,'' said Forrest Jones, Salem's assistant city manager, who helped deliver the city's presentation in 1992. ``But they liked the commitment from the community and they liked that it was a valley-wide event.''
Stagg Bowl week has taken on the attributes and image of Super Bowl week - on a smaller scale.
``It's the biggest game [the schools involved] ever play and we treat it that way,'' Harveycutter said.
The week adds another event this year in the form of the YES (Youth Education through Sports) Clinic. The NCAA sponsors these clinics at selected championship sites each year. College coaches and student-athletes engage children ages 10-18 in fun activities and discussions centered around the theme of collegiate athletics.
This is the first time a YES Clinic will be held at a Stagg Bowl. It will be held at the new Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium the morning of the game. The first 500 children to register will participate, with applications available in late October through local secondary schools and the NCAA. ``It's always exciting when it's the first time for somebody,'' said Clark, who runs the program.
With the YES Clinic, the local interest and the constant upgrading that has happened (Bamford said he was ``positively shocked'' when he saw the new boxes last year at Salem Stadium), the Stagg Bowl isn't likely to go away. Further aiding Salem's cause is the addition of Joe Bush, the football coach/athletic director at ODAC member Hampden-Sydney, to the football committee. Bush, a Roanoke native, will represent the South region. Bush already has said, ``The way the area has supported it, it would be tough to move it.''
Nobody, from Salem or the NCAA, seems to want that to happen. Both sides have said they will stick with the current arrangement as long as the other will have it. ``It's really a perfect marriage,'' Burrow said.
``We've been real pleased,'' Jones said, ``except for the weather.''
Getting the cooperation of the NCAA is one thing. Getting the cooperation of Mother Nature is another.
by CNB