London Lands His 757 Showcase
It’s been rumored for weeks, now the deal is done. The Virginia Cavaliers Football Program will hold an organized practice at Foreman Field on the campus of ODU. The event will be held on March 27 and will be open to the public. UVA could plan any number of booster related activities, but the details of the event have not been announced as of yet.
The strategic nature of the event is obvious. Virginia Tech had kicked the Al Groh led Cavaliers up and down the streets of Hampton Roads when it came to recruiting. Virginia had a few recruiting victories here while Groh coached the team, but Tech brought in 757 players at a ratio somewhere near 3:1 compared to the Cavs. New coach Mike London is determined to change that.
First of all, London hired Old Dominion’s recruiting guru Chip West away from the Monarchs. London already has a history with playing football in the area and he recruited the area for Richmond in his tenure there. Now with a showcase event this spring, London has planted a flag in the 757 in an effort to show area recruits that he’s serious about drawing players out of here.
Considering that Old Dominion will have forty Hampton Roads players on the roster next year, how does Old Dominion see UVA? Wouldn’t UVA be a threat to ODU’s recruiting efforts? According to Rich Radford of the Virginian Pilot, Wilder has confirmed his approval of the event and was quoted as saying, “We think it’s a great opportunity to showcase one of the finest FCS facilities in the country in Foreman Field and expose a different set of fans and potential recruits to our venue. It’s an excellent chance for us to partner with UVA.”
Apparently Wilder thinks that Old Dominion will not be negatively affected by giving Mike London more of a voice here in Hampton Roads. If it were to come down to a choice between Old Dominion and UVA, would a recruit give both equal consideration? Perhaps, but you’d have to think that Virginia academics and the chance to play for a BCS program might outweigh the option to stay close to home and play in the CAA. It’s admirable for Wilder to take on the “bigger guy” and see the partnership as an opportunity instead of a defeat.
As for exposing more fans to ODU and Foreman Field, that’s useful too. There is the pesky problem of capacity, however. Old Dominion filled the stands for every game in 2009, selling out every seat to season ticket holders. If the program continues with that level of success, a stadium expansion has to be on the horizon for S.B. Ballard Stadium.
Tags: Bobby Wilder, Foreman Field, Mike London, Old Dominion, UVA, Virginia