ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996            TAG: 9601310035
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER RADFORD


SOME RU STUDENTS NOW PUSHING FOOTBALL AS CLUB SPORT

Like pitbulls with lockjaw, a few students at Radford University have sunk their teeth into the dream of a football team and they won't let a little thing like money get in the way.

Members of the Student Government Association, who initially proposed the university set up a varsity football program within two years, are now investigating the possibility of a club sport.

Financial constraints kept the university from approving the notion of varsity football. Even a club sport, said a George Mason University club coach, demands heavy financial and alumni support.

But Patrick Ware, a graduate student who leads the SGA football subcommittee, remains undaunted. The SGA group is looking at George Mason and other clubs as models and plans to hold a meeting for prospective players at the end of February.

In an open meeting held last fall for Radford students, Ware estimated start-up and first season play for varsity football would cost the university $1.5 million.

That kind of money, said Vice President of Student Affairs Paul Harris, "wasn't feasibly possible.

"The priorities here are certainly academics," he said. "In terms of where football would fall on a priority list, it would come behind quite a few issues."

Harris said starting out with a club, where students incur most of the cost, would be a more acceptable approach. If interest grows, he said, then the university might consider supporting a varsity team.

Without university support, said Joe Pascal, football is an expensive endeavour. Pascal, a guidance counselor for Fairfax County Schools, has an unpaid position as football coach for George Mason's club team.

Pascal said it cost more than $5,000 to start a club team four years ago - money that came not from the university, but from alumni and private business donations.

"People want to see football in Northern Virginia," he said.

The players pay $75 each year for club dues and the team also gets money from gate sales charged during their home games at Fairfax High School.

The team started out playing in their practice uniforms. "We still only have one color uniform - white," he said.

Pascal said there are only a handful of club teams on the East Coast, including Appalachian State in North Carolina. George Mason's schedule sticks to junior varsity teams - such as Navy, Penn State and Bucknell University in New York - with the goal of becoming a varsity NCAA Division I-AA team soon.

Ware said he's hoping Radford Intercollegiate Sports will provide $1,000 for start-up costs. He estimated players will have to fork out at least $400 each for the first year.

The SGA group will hold a meeting for students interested in playing football Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. in Heth Student Center, Lounge C.


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