The rise of schools like Hampden-Sydney has changed the power balance in Virginia. Photo by Stacy Weston for D3sports.com

By Keith McMillan
D3sports.com

A little more than five years ago, thinking the winner of the Hampden-Sydney/Bridgewater game becomes the front-runner for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference title would be nothing short of far-fetched.

But that game still drew more attention than anything that took place at Christopher Newport or Shenandoah. Neither institution had a football program yet.

On Saturday, those four schools pair up to make Virginia a Division III football hot spot, as the Tigers and Eagles meet for the first time since their epic clash last season, while the Captains visit the Hornets to establish a leader in the chase for the USA South Conference title. (Pat Coleman and I will broadcast both games as a D3football.com Game of the Week doubleheader.)

A combination of new programs, dynamic coaches and intensified rivalries have turned football in the Old Dominion state on its ear.

In the late 1990s, Emory and Henry, Catholic and Randolph-Macon were the top teams in and around Virginia. In 2003, none of those teams was above .500, and none are so far this year. Around the time Bridgewater and Hampden-Sydney began their rises from ODAC also-rans to perennial contenders for the NCAA playoffs, new faces hit the scene.

Shenandoah and Averett each began play in 2000, and Christopher Newport followed in 2001.

The result has been an increasingly competitive atmosphere not only during game weeks, but as coaches recruit new prospects.

“Gosh, you’ve added six new schools in the area just since I’ve been here,” says Bridgewater coach Michael Clark, who took over the Eagles in 1995. Clark says Bridgewater is going after prospects who might also consider CNU, Shenandoah, Averett, 1997 startup Greensboro, North Carolina Wesleyan (which began play this fall) or NAIA Southern Virginia, whose first year was 2003. Virginia high schoolers also had established programs at Ferrum, Washington and Lee, Emory and Henry and Randolph-Macon to consider. 

“I don’t think there’s any question that the competition for talent is there,” Clark said. “That said, it’s a big state, a football state. We’ve got to go out and get kids. Those six are out there battling for kids in the same areas, but you’d better not complain about it.”

It might be easier for Clark to say when the Eagles are winning and clearly having success recruiting the state, where Division I-A and I-AA football are also big, but he’s right. There’s no time to lament.

“We recruit the same way we always have, but the talent pool is obviously smaller,” says Emory & Henry’s Lou Wacker, whose teams won eight ODAC titles between 1990 and 2000.

Wasps football may have hit a low point in a 76-28 loss to Washington and Jefferson this week, as they surrendered 49 points in the first quarter, but now is as good a time as any to be a student at the Southwestern Virginia school. Institutions like Emory and Henry, Randolph-Macon and Washington and Lee hold fast to Division III ideals by not giving athletes preferential treatment in the admissions process.

By rule, Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships, but make up the difference with need-based aid, grants and loans.

“As far as Division III is concerned,” says Wacker, “it will always come down to the ability to give financial aid.”

Wacker recognizes that colleges have varying resources and differing philosophies on awarding aid. Emory and Henry, says the longtime coach, chooses to award more aid to better students.

“It’s not just football, it’s the whole school,“ he says. “If you’ve got two kids with the same need, one’s going to get a better package.”

He doesn’t think it would be helpful for the NCAA or anyone else to try to legislate how schools award aid. But Wacker also realizes that Emory and Henry loses lots of kids that might attend because yearly costs are over $20,000.

“Sometimes we’ll get one because he really wants to come here, but usually people will look at the bottom line,” Wacker says.

That’s one place where Christopher Newport comes in. Though its test scores are comparable with many of the Division III schools in the state, its tuition beats them by a mile.

“Twelve thousand versus $27,000? Let‘s face it, that‘s a better deal,” says Captains coach Matt Kelchner.

But, he notes, a comparatively young public university like Christopher Newport hasn’t been able to build the same financial base for admissions as older colleges.

“Randolph-Macon, Hampden-Sydney, they’ve been there a long time,” Kelchner said.

What it all means for football is that there are more opportunities for the prospective college football player in Virginia, but precious few for the schools.

“I think recruiting at any level is always a hustle, a scramble,” says Clark.

“In Division III, it’s a numbers game,” said Shenandoah coach Paul Barnes, who’s been with the northwestern Virginia football program since it began. “It always has been, it always will be, because you have no idea how many are going to pan out.”

Barnes doesn’t focus on size or speed in recruiting.

“We recruit character young men,” he says.

Barnes believes his starting quarterback on Saturday is a prime example of what he’s talking about.

Before rallying the Hornets to victories against R-MC and Ferrum, Jon Hoffman was primarily a punter at Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge, Va. (The starting quarterback on Hoffman’s high school teams, Ryan Smith, was briefly on the roster at Bridgewater, while the running backs signed with Syracuse and Kent State.)

If he hadn‘t been given a shot at Shenandoah, Hoffman might never have been able to try his hand at quarterback.

“When we’re out on the recruiting trail, do we want to get all-state and all-conference guys?” Barnes asks. “Of course. But we’d (just as soon) take a player with average ability, mold him and train him to play beyond his abilities.”

Kelchner says Christopher Newport focuses on getting players out of Tidewater, an area that spans from Norfolk and Virginia Beach to Newport News and Williamsburg. They’ve also recruited well in the Richmond area, and plan to make an added push in Northern Virginia this year.

With some teams expanding their territory and others boasting tremendous success (Bridgewater has four consecutive seasons of 10 or more wins, while Hampden-Sydney’s media guide cover reminds us that the Tigers were the top-scoring team in all NCAA divisions in 2003), finding diamonds in the rough like Hoffman might be all some teams in Virginia can do to stay afloat.

Titanic clashes
Saturday will provide the best weekend of matchups so far this season, including two between top 10 teams. From the Pacific Northwest to Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio, this is the weekend where teams can really hop in the conference driver’s seat.

In Virginia, the defending ODAC and USAC champions take on the 2003 runners-up as October begins. How much it will mean at kickoff time is debatable, but clearly Christopher Newport and Bridgewater wanted to be prepared for their conference clashes.

The Captains played three non-conference opponents (Rowan, McDaniel and Bridgewater) who were a combined 24-10 last year, a .706 winning percentage. Bridgewater’s four opponents were 29-13 (.690).

CNU, which beat the Eagles 21-16 on Saturday, play a tough non-conference schedule by design. The common theory is to get some tests before conference play begins. Each team has a shot at the automatic bid that goes with its conference title.

“We say ‘let’s play a Top 25 team every week if we can,” Kelchner says. “We want to play Rowan, McDaniel and Bridgewater. I’d like to play St. John's or Mount Union if we could. If you’re a competitor, don’t you want to play those guys to see how you stack up? Our guys right now have played three national-caliber teams that could go deep into the playoffs.”

Clark sees it both ways; he likes the early tests, but wouldn’t mind having a bye week to get his players healthy before playing Hampden-Sydney. The 2-2 Eagles have played McDaniel, Shenandoah, Hanover and CNU.

“I think in some respects much of my early scheduling is a marriage out of necessity,” Clark said. “Basically, you get who you can get.”

And though the standards the Eagles have set have folks asking Clark what’s wrong with his team, playing a strong early schedule may help in the long run.

Shenandoah’s Barnes thinks it will.

“I really tried to align our out-of-conference schedule to give us tough games,” he said. “I enjoy playing Bridgewater. I enjoy playing them down there. People go ‘Man, you’re crazy,’ but I know I have to go to (places like) Ferrum and Methodist, and we go to Maryville next year. I want our kids to be prepared for that.”

And perhaps, having played Bridgewater, Ferrum and CNU in successive weeks, prepared for what lies ahead.

“I tell people, where we need to go, if the ultimate goal is to win the national championship, there’s going to be a few Saturdays in a row where you’re going to have to play a tough game, get right back and do it again,” Barnes said.

Five games to watch
No. 1 Mount Union at No. 4 Capital: The Crusaders cruised in the biggest test to date, beating Wittenberg 49-16. But nothing compares to playing Mount Union. Perhaps that’s why Capital passed up choosing an Oct. 16 date with Muskingum for homecoming, opting to play Saturday’s Purple Raiders game in front of alumni. Capital hasn’t beaten Mount Union since its playoff team from 1987 did the trick, and the 35 points the Purple Raiders hung on the Crusaders last season were the fewest since 1991. 

No. 2 Linfield at Pacific Lutheran: This Wildcat team is as good as any perhaps ever, but the rivalry with the Lutes has remained tough even when one team is less talented. Last season, Pacific Lutheran held Linfield to a season-low 241 yards of offense, but the Wildcats forced four turnovers and scored twice in the fourth quarter for a 19-10 win. Linfield hasn’t played since a 46-35 win at UW-Stevens Point Sept. 18.

No. 3 UW-La Crosse at No. 9 UW-Stevens Point: The going gets even rougher in the WIAC, as preseason favorites clash. UW-La Crosse was one of only two teams to beat UW-Stevens Point last season, 24-21. The Pointers have only played one Division III opponent, Linfield.

No. 16 Rowan at New Jersey: The Profs hit the road on a Friday night in hopes of avenging a 22-20 loss in Glassboro last season. Rowan’s games against Christopher Newport, Division II Southern Connecticut and Western Connecticut are better competition than New Jersey playing Cortland State, I-AA La Salle and NAIA Southern Virginia.

No. 12 Hardin-Simmons at Howard Payne: The Yellow Jackets fancy themselves ASC contenders again, and host the Cowboys in what could be a shootout. HSU won 37-35 last season, lost 51-48 the year before and won 49-26 in 2001.

Also keep an eye on: North Central at No. 10 Wheaton, Rose-Hulman at No. 11 Trinity (Texas), Allegheny at No. 17 Wooster, Lycoming at No. 22 Ithaca, No. 25 Wartburg at Simpson.

Friday night lights
No. 20 Johns Hopkins will host Dickinson under the lights, joining Rowan and the College of New Jersey not far to the north.