Ten Years Ago Today
- Thread starter ChoppinBroccoli
- Start date
Man I needed that put the excitement of UR football back in my body. Were there with 3 other Peanut gang members, what thrill we had that day UNI hushed after that score
They were already handing out flyers on the trip to Chattanooga prior to the score
They were already handing out flyers on the trip to Chattanooga prior to the score
Did you have police escort after the game? I am sure the Panther fans were in a total state of shock and really pissed!
What a magical weekend in Iowa. Rolled the dice and decided to commit to the trip. One of the best spontaneous decisions I have ever made. So many memories and relationships developed during that 2008 Championship Run. Thankful to have experienced each playoff game in person that year and the journey is definitely a highlight in my time as a Spider supporter.
I don't know what was more satisfying, watching Appy State friends leave a bar a little
after half time after we blew them out or shutting up the obnoxious fans from UNI who
had invaded our board. That was such a magical season and special time to be in
Chattanooga to witness the championship with my best friends from UR.
after half time after we blew them out or shutting up the obnoxious fans from UNI who
had invaded our board. That was such a magical season and special time to be in
Chattanooga to witness the championship with my best friends from UR.
It was on my birthday, best present ever. Wow ten years later and I am still 40. Time does not pass slowly I have just ignored it.
FEATURED
As 10th anniversary arrives, 10 things to know about the Spiders' 2008 FCS championship
- BY JOHN O'CONNOR Richmond Times-Dispatch
- 2 hrs ago
Coach Mike London celebrated Richmond's 2008 FCS championship with Josh Vaughan (32), John Crone (3), and Sherman Logan (8).
- ALEXA WELCH EDLUND/TIMES-DISPATCH
Sherman Logan and the Spiders sacked Montana's Cole Bergquist seven times in the title game.
- ALEXA WELCH EDLUND/TIMES-DISPATCH
https://www.richmond.com/sports/plu...&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share#3
A fan did not disguise his preferred team as he prepped at Chattanooga's Finley Stadium for the 2008 FCS title game involving Richmond and Montana.
- ALEXA WELCH EDLUND/TIMES-DISPATCH
In the college football world, Wednesday will be more about the future than the past. It’s the first day of the Division I early-signing period.
But for the University of Richmond supporters, Dec. 19 will forever be memorable. On that day in 2008, the Spiders captured the FCS national championship by beating Montana 24-7 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Ten things to remember about that 10-year-old accomplishment:
1. It was Richmond’s first NCAA team national championship. In 1982, the UR tennis team won the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championship. That is the school’s only other national title.
2. The championship capped Mike London’s first season as a coach on any level. He inherited a group with 16 starters back from an 11-3 team that advanced to the 2007 FCS semifinals.
“What I had to do was just put the plan together and say ‘Look, I don’t want to mess this up,’” said London, a former UR defensive back who was named William & Mary’s coach on Nov. 19.
3. Seven games into the season, the Spiders were 4-3, and deflated. Top-ranked James Madison beat them with a last-minute touchdown via punt return, and next up was a trip to No. 10 Massachusetts. UR beat UMass 30-15, the first of nine consecutive victories on the way to the title and a 13-3 record.
4. Eric Ward threw for a touchdown and caught a pass for another score in the championship game. Ward pitched the ball right to fullback John Crone about halfway through the first quarter. Ward then ran left, uncovered. The 23-yard Crone-to-Ward connection resulted in a TD on a play the Spiders had practiced all year, but hadn’t used in a game.
“I began giggling when it was called, because I never thought we would run it,” Crone said. “I knew I had to hit [Ward] or I would never hear the end of it.”
Ward was one of five Georgians on the roster, and the Southern accent extended with six Floridians and four Texans.
5. The NCAA’s first FCS championship game was played in 1978, and since then, only three private schools have won the title: Furman in 1988, Richmond in 2008, and Villanova in 2009.
Football success, generally, is more difficult to secure at private schools. The infrastructure, support and resources usually aren’t the same at private schools as public schools, and academic requirements are typically more demanding at private schools, shrinking the recruiting pool.
6. Richmond’s involvement in the 2008 title game was part of a five-year run during which a CAA team finished as national champion or runner-up.
7. The two Richmond stars in the championship-game win over Montana went on to play in the NFL. Lawrence Sidbury, a defensive end who had four of UR's seven sacks against the Grizzlies, played seven seasons (Atlanta, Tampa Bay). Josh Vaughan (Hermitage High), who ran 23 times for 162 yards against Montana, played three seasons (Carolina, Atlanta).
8. A day after the championship game in Chattanooga, Richmond defensive coordinator Russ Huesman became the coach at Chattanooga, his alma mater. One of his first staff hires was Will Healy, the Spiders’ back-up quarterback. Huesman is now Richmond’s coach, and Healy is Charlotte’s coach.
9. The UR Bookstore, an on-campus establishment that sells clothing and gifts to in-store customers and online, experienced a 96 percent increase in business from the end of 2008 fall-semester exams through the holiday break compared to the same period in the previous year.
Highly desired was national-championship merchandise, with hats, T-shirts and sweatshirts leading other items.
10. In 2009, the Spiders returned 18 starters from the national-championship team. Richmond began 2009 with a win at Duke and finished the regular-season with a 10-1 record, losing 21-20 to Villanova, which won the 2009 national title. UR lost to visiting Appalachian State in the quarterfinals.
