Tim Hightower may already deserve a championship ring. Not the one that accompanies an NFL title, which Hightower and the Arizona Cardinals will shoot for today. We’re talking about a ring that signifies a 2008 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title. Hightower, a Cardinals rookie, was not a member of the Spiders team that beat Montana 24-7 on Dec. 19 for UR’s first Division I championship. Then again, he was, in a way.

Generally, small guys shoot free throws well and big guys struggle from the line. Not at UR. Twenty games in, the only Spider with more than seven FT attempts who is shooting better than 68.5 percent from the line (70 percent is considered good) is 6-9 Jarhon Giddings (76.6 percent). Overall, the Spiders have made 65.1 of their foul shots, which in the Atlantic 10 Conference ranks 13th among 14 teams.

Maybe next year. Maybe when the University of Richmond is a veteran team, surer of its offensive identity, more physically developed, these scoring blanks will fill in. But last night, there were stretches where the Spiders played young, which they are, and lost to Saint Joseph’s 68-58 before 4,312 at the Robins Center.

Saint Joseph’s 6-9 senior center Ahmad Nivins scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the St. Joseph’s Hawks humbled the University of Richmond Spiders 68-58 last night at the Robins Center. Saint Joseph’s (5-0 Atlantic 10, 12-7) led by 18 with 12 minutes to go. The Spiders (3-2, 11-9) endured a couple of scoring droughts—one midway through the first half and another early in the second half—that doomed them.

The University of Richmond’s Mike London and Randolph-Macon’s Pedro Arruza were named state coaches of the year by the Touchdown Club of Richmond. London won the Division I award. Arruza was the winner of the award that goes to a coach from Division II, Division III or NAIA. London’s Spiders won the Football Championship Subdivision title, finishing 13-3 despite a 4-3 start. London, a UR alum, never before had been a head coach. Arruza’s Yellow Jackets won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship and made the school’s first trip to the Division III playoffs since 1984.

Justin Harper’s career-high 28 points led the homestanding University of Richmond Spiders to a 78-75 victory over the University of Rhode Island tonight at the Robins Center. The Spiders improved to 2-1 in the Atlantic 10, 10-8 overall. Rhode Island dropped to 1-3, 12-7. For in-depth coverage and statistics check TimesDispatch.com later and read tomorrow’s Times-Dispatch.

University of Richmond defensive end Lawrence Sidbury will play in the Under Armour Senior Bowl on Saturday in Mobile, Ala. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. (NFL Network). Sidbury, 6-4 and 265 pounds, played in last weekend’s East-West Shrine Game. UR coach Mike London said yesterday Sidbury’s stock as an NFL prospect continues to climb. Some scouts project Sidbury as a middle-round choice in the next NFL draft, according to London.

The University of Richmond won the Football Championship Subdivision title Dec. 19 and lost its defensive coordinator 48 hours later. Russ Huesman, the top defensive coach on the Spiders’ staff for five years, became the head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga, his alma mater. Mike London, Richmond’s coach, continues to seek a new defensive coordinator. Staff writer John O’Connor, who hoped to learn a thing or two about the job, was interviewed for the position yesterday by London.

As practice was ending Tuesday, University of Richmond basketball coach Chris Mooney announced “We are changing!“ Music began blaring in the Robins Center, and the Spiders clapped and hollered, as if linebackers priming for a football game’s first collision. One player stood under the basket. Fifteen feet away, another player started dribbling, accelerated to nearly full speed, lowered his right shoulder, and slammed into the stationary Spider’s chest.

BLACKSBURG—The Virginia Tech Hokies dominated on their way to a 62-48 men’s basketball win over the University of Richmond Spiders tonight at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies led 41-21 at halftime. They led by at least 16 until the final minute and a half of the game. The game was essentially over in the first 13:34, during which the Spiders (9-7) shot 2 of 21. The miserable start put them in a 24-6 hole. Richmond, which relies on its outside shooting, attempts 20 3-pointers a game and makes an average of about eight. In the first half, the Spiders were 3 of 12 on 3s and 9 of 32 from the floor.

University of Richmond football coach Mike London seeks assistance. Gone from his 2008 FCS national championship staff are defensive coordinator Russ Huesman, wide receivers coach Mark Carney and strength-and-conditioning coach Brandon Hourigan. Huesman became the coach Tennessee-Chattanooga, his alma mater. Carney appears headed to the staff of Bowling Green, whose program is led by former UR coach Dave Clawson. Hourigan moved to the University of Virginia.

The University of Richmond’s celebration of its 2008 Football Champion Subdivision title began in Chattanooga, Tenn., on the night of Friday, Dec. 19. It kicked off on Finley Stadium’s artificial surface at the conclusion of UR’s 24-7 victory over Montana. Then it moved to the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel’s Imperial Ballroom.

An accidental discovery on a Carytown sidewalk after 36 years and a simple act of kindness to return a lost item to its owner have combined to create a rush of New Year reflections, goodwill and a gift.

Henrico sophomore Trey Davis has been offered a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Richmond. His father, John, played there (1983-86). Like father, like son . . . well, sort of. Trey Davis takes after his dad, John, in that he excels at basketball. That’s about where the similarities end. “Our games are totally different. . . . My brother even asked if I was sure Trey was mine,“ John Davis said, jokingly.

WILMINGTON, N.C.—Big men got the University of Richmond in position to win. UR guards closed the deal. The Spiders won 76-69 at UNC Wilmington last night after leading 44-27 at halftime and by 22 with 15:05 remaining. In the first half, 13 of Richmond’s 19 field goals came from within 5 feet of the hoop. Jarhon Giddings, 6-9, scored 14 before the break and Josh Duinker, 6-11, added nine. They combined to make 10 of 14 attempts.