The Story
Why Football Didn't Play
On Saturday, September 27th, Zable Stadium was to host the
Tribe’s first home football game of the year against the
University of Maine. Then, Isabel. In a story that has become all too familiar,
students and staff alike sought repose from the storm’s
wrath before facing well over a week of cleanup efforts
before the reopening of the college. The athletic
department, in the week following Isabel, faced the unique
hardship of trying to coordinate and reschedule athletic
events that otherwise would have been held on campus. Three
events were relocated: Field Hockey played on VCU grounds in
Richmond, men’s soccer played in the Old Dominion Stadium in
Norfolk, and volleyball swapped the locations of their two
matches with UNC Wilmington.
Then, there was football. Coming off a rough loss on
the road against Northeastern, the W&M football team looked
forward to playing in Williamsburg for the first time this
year. This was not to be. Extensive tree damage and
prolonged power outage was still a fact of life on Tuesday,
September 23rd, when school President Timothy Sullivan
canceled the football game.
The decision was met with immediate concern and
criticism. University of Maine athletic director Patrick
Nero called the decision “inconsistent” with efforts to
reschedule and relocate other William and Mary athletic
events. A Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial bemoaned
the “ill-advised” decision of the W&M administration. Even
ESPN, a network not apt to carry news on Atlantic 10
football, highlighted the game cancellation as another
unfortunate turn of events precipitated by Isabel.
Some efforts were made to play the game, however.
The University of Maine offered to host the game in Orono,
pay the Tribe’s travel expenses, and donate any proceeds
from the game to a William & Mary hurricane relief fund. Reportedly, Maine
also considered playing the game at an alternate location in
Virginia, still offering to pay the Tribe’s travel expenses.
William and Mary declined both offers. Because of
these events, the Atlantic 10 office in Philadelphia awarded
Maine a victory and William and Mary a no contest. The
decision reflects an effort to avoid penalizing either
school, but also special sympathy towards Maine’s efforts to
play the game. The resolution was met with guarded
enthusiasm in Orono: Nero said the A-10 decision was “a very
fair resolution” and referred to the “difficult context in
which William and Mary officials have had to cancel the
game.” Curiously, following the A-10 announcement, the Maine
athletic department took down a web posting of more
unfettered and reactionary comments of Nero made immediately
following the William and Mary decision to cancel the game.
William and Mary consistently defended cancellation
of the game, arguing concerns of safety and problematic
logistics precluded any attempt to play the game. Tribe
athletic director Terry Driscoll said, “The Athletics
Department’s priority before, during and in the aftermath of
storm has been to do whatever possible to maintain the
safety of student-athletes and fans, while not threatening
the integrity of the program. The current safety concerns on
campus prevent us from hosting any event at this time.”
School officials worried about the safety of people who
would be visiting the campus if the game was played at home:
The availability of parking, removal of debris from walk-
ways, and constant supply of power were all factors that led
to the cancellation of the game in Williamsburg. Moving the
game, Driscoll added, didn’t seem prudent. “We just don't
feel that we're able to pick up and take our team for the
fourth week in a row someplace and provide the type of
preparation and support we need,” he said.
President Sullivan echoed similar concerns about
campus safety and the earliest possible resumption of
classes. In a press release describing the school’s
decision, Sullivan stated, “Regrettably, to host a football
game or accommodate a hastily arranged effort to transport
our football team to an off campus location is not a
priority of equal urgency.”
The school’s decision seems reasonable in its own
right, but concerns over safety seemed inadequate to players
anxious to play at home. “We wanted to play,” said starting
left guard Ryan Lumm. Head Coach Jimmye Laycock has yet to
publicly comment on the game’s cancellation, and the games
cancellation reportedly spread frustration throughout the
ranks of Tribe players and staff.
Without a home stand, the Tribe suffered another
unfortunate road loss to Delaware on Saturday October 4th.
Football will now play their home-opener this Saturday
against Massachusetts at one o’clock at Zable stadium.