THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996 TAG: 9601170463
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Fayetteville State athletic director Ralph Burns jokingly refers to his school's new basketball arena as a ``nice little building to hold graduations and other events in. And we can put a basketball court down and play some games every once in a while.''
Truth be known, the Broncos' new, 4,000-seat arena, part of a larger physical education and recreation complex, is one of the best at the Division II level.
It also carries a familiar name: The Felton J. Capel Arena.
The father of Old Dominion University men's basketball coach Jeff Capel chaired Fayetteville State's board of trustees from 1978 to 1987 and is now vice chairman of the school's foundation board, responsible for fund-raising.
``(Felton Capel) has made some great contributions to our school,'' Burns said. ``We felt it only fitting to name it after him.''
Capel made no direct contribution to the arena's construction efforts - the entire facility cost $11 million - and he had no idea it would be named after him until the school's board of trustees made a public announcement.
Burns said the school named the arena after Capel in honor of his almost 20 years of time, energy and fund-raising efforts for the university. He is, simply, a power broker in his community. And he's proud to have his name on the building.
``It's a fantastic facility,'' Capel said. ``When they had the ribbon-cutting, I couldn't think of anything else other than this is one of the best facilities of its kind. It looks great; it's situated by the football field sitting up on a hill. And it has everything.''
NCAA BIDS: The CIAA will forfeit its automatic NCAA Division II tournament bids should the Norfolk State men's or women's basketball teams win their respective CIAA tournaments.
Norfolk State is ineligible for Division II postseason play because the school has applied for Division I status beginning in 1997.
``Hopefully, if that were to happen, we'd have other teams high enough in the national rankings that they'd be worthy of at-large bids,'' CIAA commissioner Leon Kerry said. ``We never considered excluding Norfolk State from the CIAA Tournament. We didn't do that to Hampton when they were going Division I. I don't like the fact that we could lose a tournament bid, but we won't exclude them.''
In the past, when the CIAA had 14 schools, the top seed from the North and South divisions received first-round byes in the tournament. With only 13 teams, the third first-round bye will go to the second-place team with the best overall record in the CIAA.
FOOTBALL NEWS: Norfolk State's football team might have ended its season, but that hasn't ended the team's campaign.
Defensive coordinator James Garland has formed a group of 10 players who are visiting area recreation centers to speak to youth groups about academics, sports, religion and succeeding in life. The group tries to make one speaking engagement a week.
``These players feel blessed to be in the situation they're in,'' Garland said. ``And they want to share with others. Coach (Darnell) Moore always stresses that we're teaching more than football, we're teaching the humane aspects of life.''
``Many of these players came from low-income homes and communities themselves, some from the communities we go into, so they know the perils some of these kids face.''
The players in the group are Aaron Sparrow, John Quinerly, Lonnie White, Jason Reeves, DeShawn Anderson, Robert Johnson, Chris Williams, Christian Williams, Waides Ashmon and Aaron Hawkins.
The team also organized a food drive that reaped Christmas dinners for seven needy families and is conducting a clothing drive for area homeless shelters. Those interested in lining up a speaking engagement can reach Garland at 683-2495.
MEAC NEWS: Norfolk State seems firmly set in joining the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, but right now it's a conference without a commissioner. Kenneth A. Free was told in December this would be his last year.
The hot name of late is Drake basketball coach Rudy Washington.
Washington is also executive director of the Black Coaches Association, making a move to the MEAC, a conference of historically black schools, seem a natural fit. What might hold him back is the fact that his son, Rudy Jr., has two years of eligibility left at Drake. by CNB