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.
The following 14 men are the newest recruits to the University of Richmond football team.
The main concern on everyone's minds at Wednesday evening's press conference introducing the University of Richmond's new head football coach was obvious, and understandable. After making his opening remarks, Danny Rocco, who was announced as Richmond's 35th football coach in school history, was hounded by questions regarding stability.
Each time the University of Richmond football team took the field this season, the man who assembled it was absent. Instead of leading the team during an injury-filled 3-8 season, he watched or listened to the games on the radio. "I felt like I should have been there," said Latrell Scott, the former UR coach who resigned 10 days before the start of the season after getting arrested for a DWI.
NEWARK, Del. ? Richmond lost its seventh straight game, all in the Colonial Athletic Association, after Saturday night's 24-10 loss at the University of Delaware.
