IF THE SCHOOL's original plan had been adopted, the University of Charleston would be playing its football games in a quaint and more appropriate setting along the Kanawha River.
IF THE SCHOOL's original plan had been adopted, the University of Charleston would be playing its football games in a quaint and more appropriate setting along the Kanawha River.
Earlier in this decade, UC president Ed Welch looked into the future and, as he often does, saw things that would add distinction to his university and make it a trendy place. As part of UC's football revival, Welch wanted to build a modest football stadium on the western edge of campus where Triana Field now stands.
Its exterior would have been brick in keeping with the architectural style of UC's other nearby buildings. It would have seated about 2,000 fans and would have been located on the banks of the Kanawha in view of the Capitol and within easy walking distance of the school's new dormitories. Welch, in fact, wanted to clear away trees and brush from the riverbank to make the stadium more visible from Kanawha Boulevard. In addition to football, the school would have used it for baseball and soccer.
Welch's proposal would have produced a picturesque, on-campus environment that would have been better-suited to UC's small-college atmosphere. The plan never materialized and, instead, the Golden Eagles play at 18,500-seat Laidley Field that's two miles from campus and lacks intimacy, especially when UC games draw only a thousand or so fans.
Nevertheless, Welch's decision to bring back football after a 47-year absence has worked out nicely, particularly in the aftermath of a season in which the Golden Eagles came within two plays of a perfect season and within one play of an NCAA Division II playoff berth. And besides, the new artificial turf installed by UC is preferable to the hard, worn-out surface that previously had been a Laidley eyesore and safety issue. The new surface greatly benefits not only UC but the high school and middle school teams that also use Laidley.
Like UC's decade of campus construction and the recent addition of the pharmacy school, football's successful return six years ago reflects the school's prosperity.
The South Ruffner campus, however, has not always been such a thriving place. It's easy to forget that in the 1970s the school then known as Morris Harvey College battled serious financial problems and even tried to give itself away to the state of West Virginia.
The late Marshall Buckalew was the school's president at the time and, in a 2001 interview with me, recalled the problems. "Inflation was hitting us on one side, and we were losing students faster than we could count them,'' Buckalew said.
In addition, he said, community colleges were popping up everywhere, particularly in the Northeast where Morris Harvey recruited much of its student body.
The prospect of Morris Harvey's move to public status also raised concerns at West Virginia State College and West Virginia Tech. Officials there feared that, as a public college with competitive tuition fees, MH would draw students away from those schools.
IF THE SCHOOL's original plan had been adopted, the University of Charleston would be playing its football games in a quaint and more appropriate setting along the Kanawha River.
Earlier in this decade, UC president Ed Welch looked into the future and, as he often does, saw things that would add distinction to his university and make it a trendy place. As part of UC's football revival, Welch wanted to build a modest football stadium on the western edge of campus where Triana Field now stands.
Its exterior would have been brick in keeping with the architectural style of UC's other nearby buildings. It would have seated about 2,000 fans and would have been located on the banks of the Kanawha in view of the Capitol and within easy walking distance of the school's new dormitories. Welch, in fact, wanted to clear away trees and brush from the riverbank to make the stadium more visible from Kanawha Boulevard. In addition to football, the school would have used it for baseball and soccer.
Welch's proposal would have produced a picturesque, on-campus environment that would have been better-suited to UC's small-college atmosphere. The plan never materialized and, instead, the Golden Eagles play at 18,500-seat Laidley Field that's two miles from campus and lacks intimacy, especially when UC games draw only a thousand or so fans.
Nevertheless, Welch's decision to bring back football after a 47-year absence has worked out nicely, particularly in the aftermath of a season in which the Golden Eagles came within two plays of a perfect season and within one play of an NCAA Division II playoff berth. And besides, the new artificial turf installed by UC is preferable to the hard, worn-out surface that previously had been a Laidley eyesore and safety issue. The new surface greatly benefits not only UC but the high school and middle school teams that also use Laidley.
Like UC's decade of campus construction and the recent addition of the pharmacy school, football's successful return six years ago reflects the school's prosperity.
The South Ruffner campus, however, has not always been such a thriving place. It's easy to forget that in the 1970s the school then known as Morris Harvey College battled serious financial problems and even tried to give itself away to the state of West Virginia.
The late Marshall Buckalew was the school's president at the time and, in a 2001 interview with me, recalled the problems. "Inflation was hitting us on one side, and we were losing students faster than we could count them,'' Buckalew said.
In addition, he said, community colleges were popping up everywhere, particularly in the Northeast where Morris Harvey recruited much of its student body.
The prospect of Morris Harvey's move to public status also raised concerns at West Virginia State College and West Virginia Tech. Officials there feared that, as a public college with competitive tuition fees, MH would draw students away from those schools.
It's probably good that the proposal died in the state Legislature's Senate Finance Committee. The school somehow survived, changed its name and, nowadays, is robust enough to revive football and spruce up Laidley Field.
Welch's decision to bring back football has helped bolster the school's enrollment, of course, but the UC president likes to cite the sport's intangible advantages. He has called football "a vital part of the collegiate experience'' and "a focal point for reunions and other alumni activities.''
Coach Tony DeMeo points out that Golden Eagle football players who earn their degrees are far more likely to think fondly of their old school and thus remain loyal, financially and otherwise, to their alma mater.
In the spring of 1957, when Morris Harvey president Leonard Riggleman decided to terminate the football program, his reasons were strictly financial. In those days, crowds packed Laidley Field for high school football but not for the Golden Eagles, despite a 25-game winning streak.
Not long after announcing his decision, 300 fans signed a petition urging Riggleman to reconsider. The petition hardly fazed the MH president. "Those are the same 300 fans,'' he said, "who attended the games.''
Reach Mike Whiteford at 304-348-7948 or mikewhitef...@wvgazette.com.
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