Western Connecticut's hosting ends today
 Western Connecticut head coach John Cervino. |
D3football.com
A 10-0 season doesn't get you much anymore.
Imagine running the table to earn the top seed in your region, only to hit the road for your second game because of a paperwork problem.
Western Connecticut could consider it another snub of the Freedom Football Conference. But this time it's not the NCAA at fault. Even before the Colonials stepped on the field Saturday for its game against Montclair, they were battling institutional ineptness. That's because the home game they were theoretically assured next week in the East bracket final – should they beat Montclair – cannot come to pass.
Due to negligent paperwork submitted to the NCAA by Western A.D. Ed Farrington, the Colonials will not be allowed to host the national quarterfinal game Dec. 4. Despite earning the No. 1 seed in the East – and home field throughout the regionals – Farrington neglected to indicate Western's desire to host after the second round.
If Western beats Montclair today for a second time this season, the Colonials will have to play at either No. 5 Rowan or bottom-seeded Ursinus next Saturday. And in the unlikely event that top North seed Mount Union were to lose this week or next, the Colonials could not host the national semifinals.
"They would probably not host it. They're pretty solid with that," said NCAA West Region committee representative Jack Osberg. As head coach at Augsburg, Osberg's team was not allowed to host a game in 1997 because Augsburg's facilities were not up to playoff standards.
Not only would the gaffe undermine Western's chances of advancing in the tournament – and possibly winning the prestigious Lambert Trophy – it will be a costly a blunder for the city of Danbury. An overflow crowd of about 4,000 was expected for the Montclair game, creating a windfall for area establishments.
If Western (10-0) was to lose today, the mishap still could not be overlooked, especially by the Colonial players and coaches, who worked since August to gain the home-field advantage.
An official announcement was expected following Saturday's game.
"The school frantically tried to rectify the situation during the week," said one source. "But it was too late. Usually this sort of thing happens only before the tournament begins, when someone doesn't bother or forgets to put in to host at all. In this case, at appears the athletic director just didn't think his team would still be playing Dec. 4."
Whether Western advances or not, the blunder is expected to place additional strain on an already strained relationship between Farrington and Western head coach John Cervino.
Today's appearance by Western in the NCAA playoffs was its first since 1985, when Paul Pasqualoni was head coach. Pasqualoni, who was also the athletic director, left Western after the 1986 season to coach at Syracuse. Farrington became the AD when Pasqualoni left, and the football program crashed immediately. Cervino began its revival after taking over as coach in 1992.
Farrington has had strained relationships with at least two other veteran coaches at Western, Bob Campbell (men's basketball) and Richard Myers (volleyball). Both coaches led their teams to NCAA tournament appearances in their most recent seasons, and rank among the most popular and respected coaches at the school. Campbell sports one of the top winning percentages in Division III basketball.
Last winter, Farrington neglected to request the option to host any games in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Though the Western men's team stood 7-10 at one point, it closed the regular season with seven wins in a row and then captured the Little East playoffs, thus gaining an automatic NCAA bid. The Colonials played at Clark instead, winning 70-51.
Western Connecticut is scheduled to play host for the next two seasons to the Division III women's Final Four in basketball. The school was awarded the contract by the NCAA through the 2001 championships despite questionable management of its first attempt at hosting last season.