fall 2004 backup 0815 205pm - Austin Peay State University

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fall 2005 9/19/05 11:03 AM Page 26 Sports News APSU returns to OVC Heaven in 2007! Should we or shouldn’t we? That’s what Austin Peay officials were asking after the University’s 13 percent enrollment increase in Fall 2004. Should Austin Peay attempt something that never had been done before: a full-throttle return from non-scholarship football to the highest competitive levels of the Ohio Valley Conference? After nearly six months of unprecedented financial support from Austin Peay alumni and supporters, the answer APSU President Sherry Hoppe and OVC Commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher gave in April 2005 was a resounding yes. Thirty years after winning the OVC football championship, Govs football will return to the OVC in 2007. A little background The Govs’ departure from the OVC came as a shock to many, including then-Head Coach Roy Gregory. He was on a recruiting trip in Rome, Ga., when then-President Sal Rinella made the announcement in December 1996. Citing budget issues, poor performance and concerns about gender equity, Rinella removed the team from scholarship football competition. The Governors had competed in the Conference from 1963-96, earning an OVC title in 1977. Look at the OVC record book, and you’ll see the names of several former Govs football players, including former receiver Harold Roberts (1967-70), who still Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, left, welcomed back Austin Peay, President Sherry Hoppe and Athletics Director Dave Loos to the OVC in football, beginning in 2007. holds the League record for most single-game (20) and career (232) receptions. But that time seemed to be over for good. Gregory, who had invested six years with Photo: Robert Smith, The Leaf-Chronicle In an April Nashville press conference attended by most of the region's media, Dr. Sherry Hoppe announced Austin Peay's intentions on returning to scholarship football in 2006 and the OVC a year later. Austin Peay, remained committed to serving the University, so he accepted Rinella’s offer to become Austin Peay’s first assistant athletics director for marketing and promotion. Austin Peay joined the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League following the 1996 season. But fans never stopped asking, when are the Govs going to get back into the OVC? 24 Austin Peay/Fall 2005 PEAY Alum FACT: Curtis Johnson (’86), Clarksville, is Tennessee House Representative for District 68. Way to grow! In Fall 2004, APSU became the fastestgrowing public university in Tennessee. Enrollment was up 13 percent, and as enrollment increases, so do available funds. It was the right time to look into the possibility of a return to scholarship football. Hoppe, Athletics Director Dave Loos and Mitch Robinson, vice president for finance and administration, began studying Austin Peay’s five-year projected growth. They determined that the University could afford to fund 45 football scholarships–the minimum amount required to re-enter the OVC–but that wouldn’t be enough to compete at the highest levels of the conference. During the later years of the University’s participation in the OVC, the Govs found themselves playing at a disadvantage, down by up to 20 scholarships compared to other OVC members. No one wanted to repeat those times. Instead, Gregory–now executive director of University advancement–was given the challenge of a lifetime: to launch a campaign asking former football players and boosters to donate $750,000 to pay for 15 scholarships a year over the next five years to enhance the University’s contribution. Making that goal would mean the Governors could return to the OVC with 60 scholarship players–as many as any other OVC team. It would mean Austin Peay wouldn’t be just a Conference member, but eligible to compete for the Conference and national championships. But the question remained, could the Govs’ former players and supporters be counted on to carry Austin Peay to another win? Back in the game The fundraising campaign officially began in November 2004. Along with financial commitments, University officials started receiving telephone calls, e-mails, letters, cards and personal visits from excited alumni and fans. In fact, the groundswell of support was so strong that by the Football Reunion in Spring 2005, Hoppe was ready to make an announcement: The OVC Board of Presidents had agreed to reinstate Austin Peay into the Conference. The press conference at the Hilton Suites in Nashville erupted into applause. “This is an exciting moment in the history of athletics at APSU,” said Hoppe. “I am excited for our alums, including our former football players, and campus and community Photo: Robert Smith, The Leaf-Chronicle
fall 2005 9/19/05 11:03 AM Page 27 leaders who strongly believed we should be playing at the scholarship level in the OVC. “APSU’s public and internal images were diminished when scholarship football was dropped. I think it affected how students viewed this University. I see this as an investment in Austin Peay’s future.” The University will leave the PFL after the 2005 football season. In 2006, the Govs will assume partial-scholarship status as a Division I-AA independent, then rejoin the OVC as a full-scholarship member in 2007. “I am excited to see Austin Peay reinstate scholarship football and resume competition in the Ohio Valley Conference,” said OVC Commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher. “This speaks volumes to the institution’s desire and that of its supporters to compete at the highest level of I-AA football.” In fact, Austin Peay’s Division I-AA football program is the first to drop scholarship football and later return with a program capable of supporting the full 60 scholarships required to be eligible to compete in a national championship. Steinbrecher called it a “bold” and “masterful” move, praising Austin Peay for coming back at the upper levels instead of the minimum. Bubba’s Back! The leading scorer in Austin Peay men’s basketball history is back. Charles “Bubba” Wells, the 1997 Ohio Valley Conference “Player of the Year” and two-time OVC “Male Athlete of the Year,” has returned to the Governors basketball program as a full-time assistant to Head Coach Dave Loos. “This is the next step for me,” Wells said. “Playing is tough to give up, but I am ready to take that step, and this is the place where I wanted to start.” Considered by many to be the most popular player in OVC history, Wells finished his career with 2,267 points, ranking him third all-time in the OVC. He was a three-time, first-team All-OVC choice after being named the league’s “Freshman of the Year” in 1993- 94. Wells also was two-time Tennessee Sportswriters College Basketball “Player of the Year.” Looking for Austin Peay sports schedules, news and the most up-to-date information? Get it all online at www.apsu.edu His jersey (13) was retired Jan. 22, 1998, and he was inducted into the APSU Athletics Hall of Fame, Feb. 8, 2003. As a sophomore, Wells averaged 19.3 points per game (ppg) and followed that up with 26.3 ppg (third in nation) in 1995-96, earning the OVC Tourney MVP in leading the Govs to a championship and NCAA tournament appearance. But it was his senior year that drew nation- continued on page 32 The game plan At this writing, the scholarship football campaign has surpassed its original goal of $750,000, with more than $788,000 in commitments. In addition, Head Coach Carroll McCray has committed to raising $100,000 annually from guaranteed games against bigger schools on the road to be put toward the scholarship football budget. In 2007, the Governors will play an eightgame conference schedule and compete for the team’s first OVC championship in 30 years. The new schedule will include rivalry games destined to become permanent fixtures (APSU vs. TSU, APSU vs. Murray). However, the scholarship football fundraising campaign will continue with a new goal in mind: to raise enough money to fund the program with an endowment in 2010. If met, this goal would bring a new beginning to Austin Peay’s membership in the OVC–one without an end. If you would like to contribute to the APSU Scholarship Football Campaign, send your donation to the Advancement Office, APSU Box 4417, Clarksville, TN 37044. Pledge cards are available online at http://www.apsu.edu/development. Charles “Bubba” Wells, center, returns to Austin Peay as part of the men’s basketball coaching staff led by head coach Dave Loos, left, and assistant coach Scott Combs. Wells is now an assistant coach also. Austin Peay/Fall 2005 25
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fall 2004 backup 0815 205pm - Austin Peay State University

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