ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 11, 1995 TAG: 9512110114
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
Jon Jarosh and Tim Sprain, the self-proclaimed Wisconsin-La Crosse Wackos, drove 17 hours out of the snow of their home state and into the snow of Virginia. They didn't regret it.
Whether it was fans, local supporters or NCAA officials, most agreed that Salem did an amazing job keeping everything running smoothly this week with the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.
It's what they've come to expect.
``They didn't think anywhere they've ever been could have done what we did,'' said Salem Civic Center and game director Carey Harveycutter. ``From where we were Thursday to where we were Saturday, it was a heck of a turnaround.''
Jarosh and Sprain were impressed.
``I hope we can come back next year,'' said Sprain, whose Wisconsin hometown is named West Salem. ``It couldn't be far enough.''
``I really appreciate the people of Salem,'' said La Crosse defensive tackle Mike Ivey, who helped his team to a 36-7 victory over Rowan. ``They actually made us feel at home. We don't get that feeling a lot of places we go.''
Salem must be getting good at this championship thing. The city has had plenty of practice and will get more by playing host to four more such events in the next calendar year. Ads for the Division III men's basketball Final Four hit the airwaves Sunday.
Harveycutter said the city would not be deterred by the bad weather or the less-than-capacity crowd. He pointed out that the first few years of the Salem Fair were marred by bad weather. The weather was so bad the first year, he said, that the huge tent was torn apart, and the next year, nine people had to be taken to the hospital after suffering injuries in a storm.
Prior to Saturday's game, many in the Stagg Bowl crowd of 4,905 were filling out questionnaires on orange sheets of paper.
The survey was being conducted for the NCAA by the University of Massachusetts' sports administration program. The 22-question survey is being taken at various NCAA championships. A 12-person UMass team did the work Saturday.
``We're interested in demographics, who comes to our championships, what kind of sports they like,'' said Wayne Burrow, an NCAA assistant director of championships and the Stagg Bowl and Division III football liaison. ``For instance, are the people at this game just Division III fans? Are they local or from out of town?''
The NCAA began conducting the UMass surveys last spring at the lacrosse championships at College Park, Md.
Harveycutter said the results of the survey would be made available to his staff, and it would help them with future marketing efforts.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 linesby CNB