Spiders headed indoors
Published: December 8, 2008
The University of Richmond will play the first indoor football game in school history Saturday.
In the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals, the Spiders (11-3) visit the University of Northern Iowa (12-2), whose third-seeded Panthers play home games in the 16,324-seat UNI-Dome.
Top-seeded James Madison (12-1) gets a visit from fourth-seeded Montana (13-1) in the other semifinal Friday. Winners meet Dec. 19 in the FCS title game in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The JMU-Montana meeting will be a rematch of the 2004 national championship game, won by the Dukes 31-21 in Chattanooga. Montana captured national titles in 1995 and 2001.
Warming to the idea: The Spiders eliminated second-seeded Appalachian State 33-13 Saturday in Boone, N.C., and game-time temperature was 31 degrees, with periodic snow as the afternoon progressed. So when UR coach Mike London yesterday was asked about playing indoors, the first thing he noted was "I hear they keep it about 75 degrees" in the UNI-Dome.
The UNI-Dome, with a fiberglass roof, is also used for trade shows, concerts, other university events, and is often open as a general recreation building for the residents of Cedar Falls, Iowa. The artificial playing surface is a short-pile rug rather than synthetic grass, such as the commonly used FieldTurf.
That rug can be rolled up to make room for a basketball court, wrestling mats or a running track. The UNI-Dome, built for $7.5 million, opened in 1975.
Comfy with CAA: By 1 p.m. yesterday, London and his coaches were analyzing video of the Panthers, who shared the Missouri Valley Conference championship with Southern Illinois. For additional insight regarding the UNI-Dome and the UNI team, London said he planned to call coaches at New Hampshire, which lost 36-34 at Northern Iowa on Saturday night.
UNI must have a pretty good feel for Colonial Athletic Association opposition. UR will be the fifth consecutive CAA team the Panthers have faced in postseason. UNI beat New Hampshire and lost to Delaware last year, then beat Maine (40-15) and New Hampshire this year. Forty-one of the 69 players on Northern Iowa's postseason roster are from Iowa.
UNI notes: The Spiders rely on the run and will face a UNI defense that limited New Hampshire to 76 rushing yards. . . . The Panthers have won 10 straight after early-season losses to Brigham Young (41-17) and Southern Illinois (27-24). . . . William and Mary lost 38-35 at the UNI-Dome in the 1996 quarterfinals.
Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233 or
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Reader Reactions
The DOME will be very interesting for the Spiders, since they’ve never played indoors. We still have the old kind of turf, the kind that causes injuries if you’re not prepared for it. You will get rug burned every time you’re tackled unless you wear long sleeves too, it’s like carpet! Also, the sidelines are literally only 7 feet from a wall. When you’re pushed out of bounds you better stop quick or you will hit that wall. The fans sit directly on top of the players. Seriously, there is no space between players and fans, the fans sit 3 feet above the players. I sit in the front row and I can reach out and touch the opposing teams’ helmets if I wanted to! The dome is definitely an interesting place to play!
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