CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. Nothing makes the phone ring or brings in the e-mail quite like winning. The University of Richmond Spiders have won big on the football field this year, and the phones are ringing all over campus. “A lot of people are calling, old friends who suddenly have become Spider fans,“ said Richmond president Dr. Edward L. Ayers. “It’s such an extraordinary story for a school of our size and selectivity to play at this level. It’s a remarkable accomplishment by our coaches and student athletes.“

In this Friday’s FCS championship game against Montana, the Spiders hope quarterback Eric Ward will carry the team to title.

Too many coaches and fans have a common lament for the lack of success of their college football programs: We can’t recruit enough dumb guys. They say it in a different way, of course. They present a college’s academic standards as an obstacle to drawing top-flight players, as if the best players can’t handle challenging classes and are averse to getting a good education.

The University of Richmond will play the first indoor football game in school history Saturday in the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals.

Injuries kept University of Richmond defensive ends Lawrence Sidbury and Sherman Logan out of last December’s Football Championship Subdivision semifinal at Appalachian State. Today, we learn how much difference UR’s top two defenders can make.

“That should be an embarrassment” is what UR Athletic Director Jim Miller said about the FCS playoff system that has allowed Appalachian State to stay at home for the fourth consecutive postseason. Richmond (10-3) plays at second-seeded ASU (11-2) tomorrow in the quarterfinals. If the Mountaineers can advance to the semifinals, they will go through four consecutive years of FCS playoff competition (three games each year) without leaving home until the championship game at a neutral site in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The top four teams in the 16-team FCS field are the only seeded participants. They are awarded home-field advantage. Otherwise, acquisition of a first-round home game is linked to financial commitment. Eastern Kentucky won its league title (Ohio Valley Conference). UR finished third in the Colonial Athletic Association South Division. The Colonels submitted to the NCAA a $50,000 bid to have a first-round home game. Richmond’s bid was in the $65,000 range.

It has been 46 years since the University of Richmond completed a four-year run of victories over longtime rival William and Mary. This season’s senior class has the chance to duplicate that feat Saturday, when the seventh-ranked Spiders (5-2, 8-3) face No.16 W&M (5-2, 7-3) in Williamsburg. “It would mean a lot,“ said backup QB Will Healy, one of 11 seniors on the squad. “It’s a big rivalry. We have a lot of respect for William and Mary. We have a lot of coaches who have coached with [W&M] Coach [Jimmye] Laycock.