Congrats to former FCS Winston-Salem State

[hebmskebm]

The Rams are going to the D2 National Championship game in Alabama next week after throttling West Texas A&M in the semifinal game, 41-18. xbowx They will play Valdosta St. Game is on 1PM EST next Saturday on ESPN2.

[WileECoyote06]

Something told me to go to that game. What a special moment for the Rammmmmmss. Ironically, the CIAA was in the old Southeast region for years until the Carolinas Conference forced them out because the CIAA imprint expanded to include Lincoln of Pennsylvania. This is the first championship game that features teams from contiguous states, since Mississippi College and Jacksonville State played back in the late 1980s.

Go take out Valdosta!

[Southern Swarm]

Lets go Blazers


Southern pride!!!! :D

[BluBengal07]

Rams!

[Sonic98]

The Rams are going to the D2 National Championship game in Alabama next week after throttling West Texas A&M in the semifinal game, 41-18. xbowx They will play Valdosta St. Game is on 1PM EST next Saturday on ESPN2.

I'll have to remember to turn to coverage of the game. I missed the first half of the SWAC Championship watching Memphis Tigers basketball. They play Louisville this week, so I don't expect to catch a lot of the WSSU game either but I really want the Rams to pull it out.

[WataugaDave]

Winston-Salem State - Bad stadium:
http://www.d2football.com/images/stadium/winston_salem_stadium_2.jpg
(and you thought the track at Kidd Brewer was annoying)

Good football:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28jKu8rX19Q
(they were CIAA champions that year)

I feel like they really could contend very well at the FCS level, but it's all about being able to pay for it.

[ASU_Fanatic]

A guy that played at my school when we won state starts for them. Hope they win

[GATA_OneMoreTime]

Go Blazers!

[eaglesrthe1]

Winston-Salem State - Bad stadium:
http://www.d2football.com/images/stadium/winston_salem_stadium_2.jpg
(and you thought the track at Kidd Brewer was annoying)



With the fencing, that looks like a 1/2 mile NASCAR track.

[Mr. C]

With the fencing, that looks like a 1/2 mile NASCAR track.

It is Bowman-Gray Stadium. It is a stock car track.

[Eaglesrus]

Valdosta State's long snapper is the son of a couple who are part of our tailgate group, so GO BLAZERS!

[WataugaDave]

It is Bowman-Gray Stadium. It is a stock car track.

It used to be NASCAR back in the day and still hosts racing events. The school tried to buy it back in June. It's currently owned by the city, just like Joel Coliseum where Wake Forest plays basketball, but the track has been losing a lot of money in recent years.

However, the General Assembly didn't approve the money for WSSU to go through with it. I'm not entirely sure if that purchase would have meant the end of racing there or not. Of course it would be nice if they didn't have to play football from the inside of a racetrack, but any new stadium wouldn't be as close to campus as Bowman Gray, which is a HUGE help with turnout. And obviously money is tight as the move back to D-II indicates.

[ASU_Fanatic]

That is terrible good lord they should just play in a local high school stadium

[WataugaDave]

That is terrible good lord they should just play in a local high school stadium

That wouldn't work at all. Look at the picture. Even with the racetrack they have a full house. Bowman-Gray's capacity is 20,000. I went to high school in Forsyth County, I promise you none of the stadiums in the area could handle 1/5th of that crowd. This is Allen, Texas.

[ASU_Fanatic]

That wouldn't work at all. Look at the picture. Even with the racetrack they have a full house. Bowman-Gray's capacity is 20,000. I went to high school in Forsyth County, I promise you none of the stadiums in the area could handle 1/5th of that crowd. This is Allen, Texas.

well if they're consistently filling stadiums shouldn't they have the money to build their own stadium?

[WataugaDave]

Yes, but, they'd have to borrow at least some money, and the General Assembly is just not having it. Here's the article from their attempt to buy Bowman-Gray - http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/article_b0553e15-69aa-55f4-a34e-ecb2d58ea5c1.html. If they couldn't greenlight $7.5 million to buy the stadium that already exists, how would they ever get the money for a new one?

Plus, one of the huge benefits of Bowman-Gray is the proximity to campus. WSSU, however, is boarded by downtown and the Greenway, nowhere to build a new venue that close, especially when you factor in parking. The best scenario is that the city and state realize that the Bowman Gray races are wasting money and they let WSSU have the stadium to modify for football.

[appsfan]

That is terrible good lord they should just play in a local high school stadium

My high school (Parkland) used to play its games there (as well as Reynolds). Before that, Bowman Gray was Wake Forest's home field... You could say they are doing what you suggested :-) Good luck Rams.

[The Eagle's Cliff]

well if they're consistently filling stadiums shouldn't they have the money to build their own stadium?

Here's a good article on why HBCU Alumni don't have a good donation rate. I was unaware of this until a friend of mine who graduated from Jackson St. talked about it. Schools in the SWAC and MEAC will have 50K+ at their "Classic" football games, but that level of support isn't reflected in donors.

Five Reasons Why HBCU Alumni Don't Give Back
http://www.hbcudigest.com/five-reasons-why-hbcu-alumni-dont-give-back/

[WataugaDave]

Here's a good article on why HBCU Alumni don't have a good donation rate. I was unaware of this until a friend of mine who graduated from Jackson St. talked about it. Schools in the SWAC and MEAC will have 50K+ at their "Classic" football games, but that level of support isn't reflected in donors.

Five Reasons Why HBCU Alumni Don't Give Back
http://www.hbcudigest.com/five-reasons-why-hbcu-alumni-dont-give-back/

Well, reason 1 is not applicable, the only reason they didn't stay in FCS was because of money, they're one of the top programs not just among HBCUs, but in D-II period. I think 4 and 2 are problems that universal but compounded by HBCU graduates having lower incomes. And 2 is definitely a problem that Winston-Salem State faces. UNCC doesn't exactly serve the rich and powerful of society either, but they were able to get the money they needed without petitioning the General Assembly for it.

[fc97]

Well, reason 1 is applicable, the only reason they didn't stay in FCS was because of money, they're one of the top programs not just among HBCUs, but in D-II period. I think 4 and 2 are problems that universal but compounded by HBCU graduates having lower incomes. And 2 is definitely a problem that Winston-Salem State faces. UNCC doesn't exactly serve the rich and powerful of society either, but they were able to get the money they needed without petitioning the General Assembly for it.

uncc is not wssu. they are bigger. they have an almost guaranteed return on investment, if not in the program, but in exposure for the school and city. they are the primary school in the market for local biz. where wssu is a good, but second tier team in the city and share the market already with wake, elon, a&t, guilford and app. there's no return on that sort of investment for them. and local biz is already focusing on the primary team, wake.

and for the one that said they should play at a high school. which one, none of the area high schools have the sort of size or good facilities required. the only one that comes close would be simeon in high point that is already shared by central, andrews and southwest guilford and seats right at 20,000.

[M Ruler]

Valdosta State's long snapper is the son of a couple who are part of our tailgate group, so GO BLAZERS!

So, let me see if I understand this, these parents blow of their son's college football games to go and watch Georgia Southern??? I know Georgia Southern is good but I would think they would be more apt to attend their son's games.

[Eaglesrus]

So, let me see if I understand this, these parents blow of their son's college football games to go and watch Georgia Southern??? I know Georgia Southern is good but I would think they would be more apt to attend their son's games.

On occasion, such as when Valdosta State recently played in Minnesota. Then there's the annual Valdosta State bye week. They also played on a Thursday night this year, so they attended both games. But no, if they play in Valdosta on the same day as a GSU game, or play an away game that's not too far away, they'll go to the VSU game. Believe it or not, we always welcome them back with open arms the next game after they've been to VSU. Oh, an aunt and uncle-in-law of this player are also members of our group.

[gr8ness97]

So close, but the team seem to implode in the championship game.

Here's an article about WSSU's Division I/FCS thoughts , 3 years later (Although I disagree on the title)


Division I gambit a distant memory for Rams

John Dell/Winston-Salem Journal

There’s not much talk on the Winston-Salem State campus these days about “that Division I thing.”

As the WSSU football team prepares to play Valdosta State for the NCAA Division II football championship Saturday, the focus, quite naturally, is on that game. But there was a time, not long ago, when alumni and fans were divided after the administration stopped the transition to Division I.

“I remember that day vividly,” senior safety Malcolm Rowe said this week.

“That day” was Sept. 11, 2009 — the day Chancellor Donald Reaves announced that WSSU would remain in Division II and end the costly move to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Division I.

By the time the 2009 football season ended, WSSU was 1-10, and the athletics department was in deep turmoil.

[theasushow]

Winston-Salem State - Bad stadium:
http://www.d2football.com/images/stadium/winston_salem_stadium_2.jpg
(and you thought the track at Kidd Brewer was annoying)

Good football:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28jKu8rX19Q
(they were CIAA champions that year)

I feel like they really could contend very well at the FCS level, but it's all about being able to pay for it.

This stadium was the basis for the show "Madhouse" that came on the history channel a couple years ago. (a show about saturday night short track racing...it was very entertaining)

[Laker]

On occasion, such as when Valdosta State recently played in Minnesota.

They should have come up- it was a beautiful day, right around freezing. Of course the night before it snowed and the next day it snowed over a foot. But Saturday was nice. :)

[superman7515]

Sounds like Coach Maynor could be leaving Winston-Salem State to take over as the next head coach of the Florida A&M Rattlers.

[gr8ness97]

Sounds like Coach Maynor could be leaving Winston-Salem State to take over as the next head coach of the Florida A&M Rattlers.

Thankfully for us, this didn't come to fruition.