DATE: Sunday, August 24, 1997               TAG: 9708240191

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:  141 lines

NSU GROWS UP TO DIVISION I TRANSITION WILL OFFER HURDLES ON AND OFF PLAYING FIELD FOR SPARTANS

James Wilson was a child growing up in Liberty Park in 1957 when he crawled over a fence and sneaked into Norfolk State football games.

The Norfolk Division of Virginia State College, as it was then known, was a tiny junior school of fewer than 1,000 students. The classrooms, library and lunchroom were all in one building.

Its football team played on a crabgrass field with no place for fans to sit other than on their rumps. That season the Baby Trojans, as they were called, celebrated a 5-1 record that included wins over Morristown, Vorhees and Kittrell.

``It wasn't a big school, but we had spirit,'' says Wilson, a retired fireman who has followed the school's athletic program ever since. `At the end of every game, the students would join hands in a circle and sing the alma mater.

``It's amazing how far we've come since then.''

The scene will be much different Saturday at 6 p.m. when the Spartans make their Division I debut against Virginia State on the site of that same crabgrass field.

In their first on-campus game in four decades - NSU has played most of its games at Foreman Field since the 1960s - the Spartans will be surrounded by 30,000 fans sitting in the new $12.2 million Dick Price stadium. The game will be televised in more than a dozen states by Home Team Sports and other cable networks.

``This will be a momentous occasion for Norfolk State,'' says athletic director Dick Price, a football player from the '50s for whom the stadium is named. ``Nobody would have believed this could happen when we were in school.''

Some questions and answers about NSU's impending Division I debut.

Why did Norfolk State move up to Division I?

Officials say NSU has outgrown Division II. It is a university of nearly 9,000 students with an athletic plant that is arguably the best in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, NSU's new league. In addition to Price Stadium, a 7,600-seat arena and new baseball and softball fields have arisen next to Interstate-264.

How was the decision made to move up?

One man - Harrison Wilson, NSU's president for 22 years - made the decision. Wilson determined a decade ago that NSU needed to move up. He says it was a matter of choosing the right time, and with Price Stadium scheduled to open this season, the timing was right.

Says Wilson, who recently retired: ``When you look at the NCAA requirements, academic and otherwise, they are just about the same in Division I as in Division II. When you have to fulfill the same requirements and have more difficulty getting top athletes, it makes sense to move up. But it was more than that. When people look at your total university, they look at it differently when you're in Division I than in Division II. This was a way of upgrading our image.''

What's the difference between Division I and Division II?

Division II schools, such as Virginia Union and Longwood, are generally smaller and offer fewer scholarships than schools in Division I, which is the highest level of college competition. Division I schools vary in size and athletic ability from UCLA and Virginia to Old Dominion and William and Mary, but generally receive more media coverage and fan support than Division II schools. The difference in talent level of the athletes in Division I and Division II basketball and football are enormous.

What is Division I-AA football?

Division I sanctions football in two categories - Division I-A and I-AA. The I-A schools, such as Florida State and Nebraska, can offer up to 85 scholarships and must play in home stadiums seating at least 35,000. Division I-AA schools can offer up to 63 scholarships. Division II football teams are limited to 36. Virginia is the capital of Division I-AA with seven schools, the most in any state. In addition to NSU, Hampton, William and Mary, VMI, Richmond, James Madison and Liberty are I-AA.

Will the Spartans be eligible for the I-AA football playoffs this year?

Yes, but the chances of getting a bid are nil. The MEAC doesn't have an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA playoffs and league teams haven't won a playoff game since 1982, when South Carolina State beat Furman. The Spartans probably would have to go 10-0 to receive an at-large bid.

Can the basketball team make the NCAA tournament field of 64?

Yes, but probably not for a while. The Spartans can't compete in the conference tournament, whose winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney, until 2005. That's because of NCAA rules designed to discourage schools from moving from Division II into Division I. Until then, the Spartans would have to earn an at-large bid. While that isn't likely to happen, it's not impossible. The College of Charleston, ineligible for its conference tournament in 1994 because it had moved up from Division II four years earlier, received an at-large invitation. The women's basketball team will be eligible for the MEAC tournament in 1998-99 and is eligible for an at-large bid this season.

Are there similar restrictions in other sports?

No. Baseball and track are two sports in which the Spartans could qualify for Division I postseason play. Norfolk State could win MEAC titles in both sports.

Will the Spartans continue to play their traditional rivals?

Some of them. Virginia State and Virginia Union will appear on schedules in some sports. Hampton, a third-year MEAC member, returns to the basketball schedule after a two-year absence. MEAC members Howard and North Carolina A&T are familiar rivals. But long-standing relationships with Elizabeth City, St. Augustine's, St. Paul's and Johnson C. Smith will end in most sports.

Is there a chance NSU will play big-name ACC schools and in-state rivals such as Old Dominion?

Count on it. Basketball coach Mike Bernard will play at North Carolina State and Colorado this winter. ODU is likely to come on the basketball schedule in a few years. NSU played W&M in football twice and sold out both games in the '70s and '80s. Now that NSU is in I-AA, a rematch is possible. Hampton signed a three-game basketball series with North Carolina beginning this season, one that wouldn't have been possible when it was a Division II school. ``We're going to contact people like N.C. State about playing football,'' Price said. ``And we would like to bring schools such as VMI, Richmond and William and Mary to Norfolk.''

Will the Spartans appear on TV more often now that they're in Division I?

Not right away. Only one football game - the opener against Virginia State - will be on TV. The MEAC has a limited TV contract with Home Team Sports for basketball. However, Hampton appeared twice on ESPN last season. The chances for television exposure are surely better in Division I.

Will Norfolk State be able to recruit the type of athlete it takes to compete in Division I?

The jury's still out on that. Coach Mike Bernard says NSU can and will. He notes the school has the largest football and basketball facilities in the MEAC. ``Once we get a young man or woman on our campus, we have facilities that can compete with anybody (in the MEAC) and we have a considerable following to fill the seats in those facilities.'' But the MEAC is one of Division I's lowest-rated leagues. It will be difficult to beat most other Division I schools for recruits.

Hampton made the move to Division I two years ago. Do the Pirates have any advice for the Spartans?

Dr. Dennis Thomas, Hampton's athletic director, says it will be a rough season. ``It's a very arduous process,'' he said. ``A lot of people don't understand the difference in divisions is not just on the athletic field. There are so many things you have to do behind the scenes to make it work. The expectations are a lot greater. You're playing a higher caliber of teams and they expect things to be handled well. Even dealing with the media is different. You have to do so much more than you did in Division II.''

Thomas's advice to Price: ``Tighten up the chin strap. It's going to be a labor of love, but it will be a difficult period of transition.'' MEMO: Staff writer Rich Radford contributed to this story.

Monday: An interview with NSU president Marie McDemmond. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

BETH BERGMAN/The Virginian-Pilot

...the $12.2 million Dick Price Stadium...

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