Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 29, 1993 TAG: 9308310047
SECTION: COLLEGE FOOTBALL PAGE: FB3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
From the time he was in grade school, Brian Crist pictured himself playing college football - big-time, scholarship football.
"I always envisioned myself as a Division I player," said Crist, who played for his father, David, at Blacksburg High School. "I think every player pictures himself signing a [grant-in-aid]."
It wasn't easy giving up the dream.
"Up until March of my senior year, I thought I would play Division I no matter what, even if it meant sitting on the bench," the quarterback said.
Crist considered going to Virginia or Wake Forest as a walk-on before making a commitment to Hampden-Sydney, a Division III program.
"Virginia was my second choice," he said. "[Virginia] Tech asked me to walk on, but they had signed Maurice DeShazo. I knew what it was like for walk-ons. The reason I picked [UVa and Wake] was I thought I would get a fair shot."
In the winter of his senior year at Blacksburg, Crist received phone calls virtually every night from Division I and Division III coaches.
"In talking to my dad, I just decided I wanted to play rather than sit," he said. "To be honest with you, I still wonder if I could have played.
"Realistically, I think I made the right decision. I guess I realized that as a sophomore and certainly by the time I was a junior, [but] every year I thought about transferring."
A walk-on quarterback, Treg Koel, started for Virginia Tech last year against Miami. Walk-on Rob Riddlebarger held for kicks for two years at Virginia and, in 1991, played a series of downs against Georgia Tech on ESPN. Both earned scholarships.
There are no athletic scholarships in Division III, so Crist and his family have had to pay more than $17,000 annually for tuition, room and board.
Crist won a Montgomery County scholarship worth approximately $800, and he receives a Pell Grant from the government that is based on factors such as family income, number of people in the household and children in college. The Pell Grant limit is less than $2,500.
"My younger brother can't understand why we can't have certain things," said Crist, who also has a job in the Hampden-Sydney weight room. "He wants to play football in college, too, so maybe one day he'll learn."
After playing sparingly during his first two years at Hampden-Sydney, Crist started seven games last year. He helped lead the Tigers to victories in their last three games and a 6-4 record.
Crist said there are similarities between the programs at Hampden-Sydney and Blacksburg. That shouldn't reflect badly on Hampden-Sydney, which has many amenities other Division III programs don't enjoy.
"We go down to Guilford [N.C.] on the night before the game," Crist said, "but, when they come here, they drive up in the morning. We played at Washington and Jefferson a couple of years ago and the facilities where we dressed were terrible.
"I think our [facilities] are possibly the best around. We've got the open lockers and, some of these other places, you have to share a locker and take turns getting dressed."
Crist said he went to Hampden-Sydney to play football and admits he sometimes gets frustrated when others aren't as committed.
"I wish it were more of a big deal to some people," he said. "It's as much of a social event as a game. The thing that stands out for me about Division III - good and bad - is that the school doesn't revolve around football." The thing that stands out for me about Division III - good and bad - is that the school doesn't revolve around football.
by CNB