THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 1, 1996 TAG: 9609010234
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: 104 lines
It was a nice game, but Hampton's 16-7 win over Grambling last year was not what you would call a classic.
It was, however, a Classic. The 25th annual Whitney M. Young Jr. Classic, to be exact. Hampton and Grambling slugged it out in front of 58,222 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Their bands battled at halftime.
Their fans mixed in pregame tailgate parties and at postgame ``after'' parties.
Hampton will do it again this year, when it makes its fourth straight appearance in the Whitney Young Classic Sept. 28, against Virginia State.
And that's not the half of it, classically-speaking.
The Whitney Young game is one of four ``Classics'' on the Hampton schedule. The Pirates open their season today vs. Clark Atlanta University in the Labor Day Classic at the Georgia Dome. They play Howard in the Coca-Cola Urban League Classic Sept. 13 at RFK Stadium. And they meet Florida A&M in the Circle City Classic Oct. 5 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
The Pirates play as many games in NFL stadiums as they do at home.
``I don't know of any football team, for sure any in Division I-AA, that's playing in the professional stadiums we're playing in,'' said Dennis Thomas, Hampton's director of athletics.
A handful of Division I-A teams play home games in NFL stadiums. But Hampton's far-flung schedule is unusual for a Division I-AA team, particularly one that moved up from Division II just two years ago.
What's behind it?
Money, mostly.
``Several years ago, (Hampton President, Dr. William Harvey) charged me with generating as much money as possible in the athletic department,'' Thomas said. ``One way you can do that is by playing promotional games.''
If last year's paydays are an indication, Hampton should make $300,000 to $400,000 from its four ``Classic'' games this season. The Whitney Young game netted Hampton about $125,000 last year, according to Carl Nesfield, a spokesman for the game. A spokesman for The Circle City Classic - which has filled the 60,000-seat RCA Dome the last three years - said a team could ``easily'' clear $100,000 from that game. Payoffs for the other two games were not available.
Sounds like easy money. But Hampton has been positioning itself to play in these games for years, Thomas said.
``We've worked extremely hard to position ourselves in the promotional market, in terms of presenting a quality product on the field,'' Thomas said. ``They're looking for a total package: a band to put on a halftime show, the alumni following to put people in the stands. There are a lot of variables.''
``Classic'' games are a staple of Black College football. Most games are part fund-raiser, part social event. The Whitney Young and Circle City games raise money for college scholarships. The Coca-Cola Urban League Classic raises money for The Urban League.
The games also can raise the profiles of schools involved.
``It's really a recruiting plus, not just for the athletic department, but for the entire university,'' Hampton football coach Joe Taylor said.
For those reasons, competition to play in the games is stiff.
Thomas came to Taylor with a plan to start pursuing the games in 1992, Taylor's first year. Taylor told him the team wasn't ready.
``I felt we had to reintroduce a winning tradition first,'' Taylor said.
Taylor wasted little time doing that, going 9-2-1 in 1992 and 12-1 in 1993. Now, Hampton's winning record, and its status as one of the nation's best-known historically black colleges make it attractive to game organizers.
``There's a real draw to that school,'' said Maudine R. Cooper, president of the Greater Washington Urban League, which sponsors the Coca-Cola Urban League Classic. Jim Fletcher, a staff member with the Circle City Classic, called Hampton ``up and coming.''
And that keeps Hampton coming and going, all season. Taylor said he doesn't mind the travel, and the fact that Hampton will have just four home games.
``When you're competitive, it really doesn't make a lot of difference where you play,'' Taylor said. ``The field is still 100 yards long, and 53 1/2 yards wide.
``It can get tiring, though. Last September we traveled 10,800 miles. That was a little murderous.''
Hampton would probably be less willing to hit the road if fan support at home wasn't so tepid. Last season, Hampton played in front of 58,000 in New York and 25,000 in Washington, but averaged 5,469 for five home games. The final two, against Fayetteville State and Morgan State, drew 2,034 and 3,190, respectively.
``For whatever reason, our fans won't come here, but they'll go to New York or D.C.,'' Taylor said. ``Grambling did it for years. They couldn't draw at home, but could draw on the road.''
Thomas said Hampton doesn't draw well at home because many of its students are from outside the area, and leave the area after they graduate.
``Our student population from outside Virginia is in the 60th percentile, the high 60s,'' Thomas said. ``Our home base is all over the country. That's why we play all over the country.''
The result is that the Pirates see more of the country than most Division I-AA players.
``I love the travel,'' said quarterback Matt Williams, who, like many Pirates, had never flown before coming to Hampton.
Receiver Michael Jenkins said playing in big stadiums is nice, but ``if the stands are not full, it's no different than playing at home.''
For Hampton, ``home'' is where the money is.
Hampton University
vs. Clark Atlanta
Where: Georgia Dome (71,280) in Atlanta.
When: 3 p.m.
Last year's records: Hampton 8-3, Clark Atlanta 5-5.
Radio: WGH 1310-AM; tape-delayed, 5 p.m.
Outlook: Hampton steps down to play Division II Clark. The Pirates feature two 1,000-yard rushers in Lamonte Still and Tyrone Mayer. Look for them to try to control things on the ground. by CNB