THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 5, 1995 TAG: 9510050518
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Recent talk that the Southern Conference would consider adding Richmond, William and Mary and James Madison to its football membership is nothing that hasn't been discussed off and on for eight years, Southern commissioner Wright Waters said.
``Has there been casual conversation? Absolutely,'' Waters said. ``There has been for eight years.
``The Virginia schools have got to decide what they want to do. If they're interested, let's get on with the process. If they're not interested, it's just idle chatter.''
The issue surfaced again last week when it was learned that Richmond athletic director Chuck Boone, who is also executive director of the Yankee Conference, had sent a memo to the conference's other athletic directors, informing them of preliminary talks between the Southern conference and the three Virginia schools.
The talks were prompted, this time around, by fears that some members of the Yankee Conference may be planning to downgrade their football programs, JMU athletic director Don Lemish said.
``That's scaring us,'' Lemish said. ``It would create problems if we were a member of the Yankee, and three or four members left to form a non-scholarship conference.
``A quality football program is a great advantage to our institution. If anything, our objective would be to move up one more level.''
Rhode Island, Maine, Boston University, Northeastern and New Hampshire are considered most likely to downgrade to non-scholarship football. The Virginia schools are committed to staying at the scholarship maximum of 63.
That would seem to make the Southern a perfect fit for the Virginia trio. The Southern Conference is annually one of the strongest in Division I-AA. Last season was the first since 1984 in which a Southern Conference team didn't appear in the national championship game.
``Every school in the Southern Conference is committed to a 63-scholarship program,'' Lemish said. ``The Yankee Conference has been a great conference for us, but in many ways it's been a conference of convenience.''
Richmond joined the Yankee in 1985, JMU and William and Mary in 1993. All three joined not because of natural rivalries, but because it's preferred to play in a conference. For one thing, it's easier to schedule games. For another, it provides more ways of reaching the I-AA playoffs.
But otherwise, as Lemish said: ``There's not a lot of commonality between JMU and Maine.''
Yankee conference schedules are set through 2002, but Lemish said getting out of them is not a problem.
``There is no long-term agreement all institutions have subscribed to,'' Lemish said.
One potential hold-up is the Southern Conference constitution, which does not allow one-sport members. But Waters said that if the three Virginia schools asked to join for football only, he would take the request to the conference members, who could change the constitution.
AROUND THE STATE: Hampton plays at home Saturday for the first time this season, hosting Delaware State. ``I came across one of those (airline) identification tags, and I threw it in the trash,'' coach Joe Taylor said. ``It's great to be home. It was a tremendous challenge all month.'' Hampton's first five games were at Morehouse, at Howard, vs. Grambling in East Rutherford, N.J., at Southern and vs. Bethune-Cookman in Jacksonville, Fla. Hampton improved to 3-2 last week behind the running of fullback TyroneMayer, who rushed for 202 yards. ``When we finished spring ball, he edged ahead of (previous starter) Anthony Smith,'' Taylor said. ``Now people are starting to see why.''. . . Richmond remains the surprise of the Yankee Conference, and perhaps the nation. Picked 12th in the Yankee, the 4-0 Spiders were instead 12th in this week's I-AA poll. ``People are starting to make fun of me,'' Jim Reid said. ``I'm having a difficult time deciding how good we are because I just don't know who we've played yet.'' Richmond has beaten VMI, Massachusetts, The Citadel and Boston University to go 4-0 for the first time since 1985. by CNB