Former University of Richmond athletic greats Sean Casey (baseball) and Lou Wacker (football) will be inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in late April.
The University of Richmond football team has not been able to win close games this season before Saturday's 46-43 win at Delaware (7-4, 4-3). The Spiders had lost the five games that have been decided by seven points or fewer this season. Richmond (5-6, 3-4 CAA) led Saturday's game by as much as 19 points in the second half and did not trail until Delaware running back Andrew Pierce scored on an 11-yard run with 45 seconds left, giving the Blue Hens a 43-39 lead. The Spiders looked doomed to lose another close game, but Richmond quarterback Michael Strauss led a 75-yard drive that concluded with a three-yard touchdown reception by sophomore Reggie Diggs to give Richmond the victory. "They brought that blitz on that last play," Strauss said, "and right when I saw them come, I knew I had that one-on-one on the slant." Richmond defensive lineman Kerry Wynn said a lot of people could have written the Spiders off once they fell behind, but Strauss' ability to lead the offense on the game-winning drive said a lot about him. Strauss led Richmond's offense, completing 35 of his 46 pass attempts for a school-record 543 yards and five touchdowns.
The University of Richmond athletic department annually budgets an undisclosed amount so the football team can sleep in hotels the night before home games, a practice common among almost every team in Division I football. It is not the athletic department's policy to give exact budget figures, but athletic department officials said this undisclosed amount came from private donations specified by the donor. Danny Rocco, Richmond's head coach, said the tradition was necessary for game-day performance.
There was one major difference between Reggie and Stephen Barnette when they committed to attend and play football at University of Richmond: Stephen would be a full-scholarship player, but his identical twin Reggie would not. "I was looking for a package deal," Stephen said.
Things didn't look good for the Spiders. Senior John Laub had suffered a broken ankle in a game at University of New Hampshire, and to make matters worse, University of Richmond lost the game.
Student Activities introduced a student tailgating opportunity before the football game against Virginia Military Institute last Saturday that received mixed feedback from the university community. Starting this year, any student organization can register with Student Activities for free to have one parking spot in lot R20, which is near the Carole Weinstein International Center and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, said Tonya Dawson, Student Activities' assistant director of programming. The new system is more accessible to students and places a strong emphasis on the integration of all student organizations, said Alison Keller, director of Student Activities. "There hasn't been anything comparable to this before," Keller said.
This fall marks the first season that the football players on the current University of Richmond roster were not members of the national championship team, but the effects of the 2008 win are stronger now than they were five years ago. Before quarterback Eric Ward led the Spiders to their big win, the football program did not have a great reputation.
Transfer junior quarterback Michael Rocco will not be eligible to play for the Spiders in the 2013 season, after leaving the University of Virginia this past semester. After starting all 11 games for Virginia in 2011 and eight games in 2012, Rocco decided to change schools, looking for a fresh start to his football career, he said.
Some student-athletes believe that the $15 million designated to renovate the Robins Center should be dispersed throughout the athletic department rather than focusing specifically on improving the existing basketball and football facilities, said Matt Zink, center fielder for the Spiders baseball team. Zink understands that basketball is a revenue-generating sport, he said, but he would like to see more equal distribution of funds set aside for renovating athletic facilities.
Scouts and coaches from NFL teams across the country attended Spider Football's Pro Day on March 19 in Robins Stadium. The athletes that participate in Pro Day have exhausted their eligibility, since they either graduated in December or will be graduating in May, coach Danny Rocco said.
Sixty-four roster spots opened after the dismissal of the men's soccer and indoor and outdoor track and field teams last fall.
Sophomore linebacker Eric Wright has become a respected leader on the University of Richmond's football team, not only because of his talent, but also because of his moral character and religious devotion. "The Sunday right before I was coming to Richmond, I received the Holy Ghost and was baptized in Jesus' name," Wright said.
Last year's "Fourth-Quarter Frenzy," created to encourage University of Richmond students to stay until the end of home football games, has been moved to the first quarter, with one unique addition. "We know for sure that students will still be there in the first quarter," said Vaughan Moss, director of marketing and sales in the Richmond athletics department.
Richmond football player Jimmy Speros pleaded guilty to misdemeanor hit-and-run and reckless driving charges.
Latrell Scott, who resigned as University of Richmond's head football coach before the start of last season, was hired as James Madison University's tight ends coach Friday, according to a release on JMUSports.com. Scott, who led the Spiders to a 6-5 season in 2010, resigned just 10 days before the start of the 2011 season after being arrested for a DWI.
Last spring, CBS and Turner Sports reached an agreement with the NCAA to pay it around $11 billion over 14 years for sole broadcasting rights of the NCAA basketball tournament. That's almost a billion dollars every year. There are similar big-money agreements in football, baseball and other sports that involve exclusive broadcasting rights in exchange for payment to the NCAA. So while the NCAA has been whoring itself out to the likes of CBS, ESPN and Fox for millions and sometimes billions of dollars, it must be fine with its players attempting to make a buck off of their abilities while still in school, right? I bet you can tell where this is going.
The University of Richmond hosted its NFL Pro Day on Friday. Coaches from nine NFL teams watched six former Spiders practice in Robins Stadium. The six players who participated in the Pro Day activities were Aaron Corp, Tremayne Graham, Tre Gray, Richard Muldrow, Michael Parker and Colin Pehanick. In addition to the Richmond players, there were also four players from Liberty University and two players who were independently represented. "We had a really good turnout of NFL coaches for our Pro Day this year," said Danny Rocco, Richmond's new head football coach. The NFL teams represented at Pro Day were the Browns, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Giants, Jets, Redskins, Saints and Vikings. The players were assessed in various drills, including the bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 40-yard dash, shuttle run, long-shuttle and three-cone drill.
University of Richmond offensive lineman Jimmy Speros is scheduled to appear in court at 9:30 a.m.
Richmond football offensive lineman redshirt sophomore Jimmy Speros was arrested Wednesday afternoon on felony charges of hit-and-run causing personal injury, and if he is convicted could face up to 10 years in prison, according to a report by Nick Dutton and Angela Pellerano of CBS6. According to NBC12's Andy Jenks, Speros was later released on a $3,500 unsecured bond on Wednesday and will appear in General District Court today. According to CBS6, Speros, who was driving a pick-up truck, collided into an SUV that was going east on Patterson Ave.
Martin Parker won two football championships in high school, one at Richmond in 2008 and will now add another championship ring to his collection.
