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WSSU's football game against Florida A&M to be on ESPNU
Rams hope that national exposure will be boon to recruiting
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Published: May 13, 2008
Winston-Salem State's football game with Florida A&M next season has been moved to Thursday, Oct. 9, to accommodate television.
The Rams and Rattlers will play in Tallahassee, Fla., in a game that will be seen on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. Chico Caldwell, the athletics director at WSSU, said that being on national television in prime time is a bonus.
"That's one of the reasons we went to Division I," he said. "This gives us more exposure and to be playing on a Thursday night will be beneficial. So, we are excited that the MEAC decided to put this game on television."
The MEAC and ESPN have a television contract to air at least four games this season, according to Caldwell.
Even though the Rams are not eligible for the MEAC championship, they will receive the television revenue from the conference.
"It's a sharing type of thing with the revenue from the television contract with all the schools," Caldwell said. "I'm not sure how much we'll receive, but we are a part of it."
Being on television isn't new for the Rams. Last year's game against Florida A&M in Indianapolis was broadcast on the NFL Network.
Being on one of the ESPN channels, however, can be a bonus for recruiting, according to Coach Kermit Blount.
"That's always a plus, to be able to put our university out there … where our name is plastered all over television," Blount said.
The Rams have begun a good rivalry with the Rattlers since joining the MEAC. In 2006, the Rams lost 25-21 in Tallahassee, and last year in Indianapolis, the Rams won 27-23.
"So far, so good," Blount said. "Hopefully, we can continue to build the rivalry and keep making it a good one. We know that they have had an outstanding history in this conference, and we respect that."
Adding a little more fuel to the rivalry is that Bill Hayes is the athletics director at FAMU. Hayes is a former coach at WSSU and coached Blount when Blount was the star quarterback at WSSU in the late 1970s.
Blount downplayed that added dimension to the rivalry.
"Coach Hayes is in an administrative position down there and deep down it means a lot, but actually when we get down there to play the game, it's not going to matter," Blount said.
Blount, who will be in his 16th season as WSSU's coach this fall, is 87-69-3 in his career. He needs three wins to pass Hayes (89-41-2) to become WSSU's all-time leader in victories.
■ John Dell can be reached at jdell@wsjournal.com.
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