On Monday, Shorter athletic director Bill Peterson released a proposal for a new event that would feature Shorter and Berry competing in four sports — cross country, volleyball, soccer and football — during the first weekend in September in 2014. (Berry will play its first season of football in 2013.)
Peterson sent his ideas about the event to Berry athletic director Todd Brooks, and forwarded the email to the Rome News-Tribune.
In the email, Peterson wrote that he and the Shorter staff had been “thinking of ways that our rivalry can be continued while at the same time helping each of us of meet our mutual goals.”
Later on Monday, Berry released an “Institutional response” to Peterson’s email.
The response said: “We just received the proposal this morning. We wish the Shorter Athletic Director had discussed it with us first before sharing it with others. Our commitment is to Division III and its distinctive blend of academics and non-scholarship athletics. We would be happy to consider the proposal if — in the future — Shorter choose to move to Division III.”
Along with the proposal, Peterson sent a potential itinerary of events for the Festival.
Peterson’s email said: “Our staff has developed a proposal that meets a number of NCAA Division II and Division III initiatives and allows our respective universities to create a unique event that will have a substantial impact on Rome’s economy and provide a significant windfall for a local charity.”
Peterson also said in the email: “I truly believe this idea has the potential to become the most significant sporting event in the history of this community. I also believe it will garner ample attention throughout the entire state of Georgia and even nationally.
“As envisioned, the Berry-Shorter Fall Festival is one weekend a year devoted to athletic events between our two institutions. ... This Festival (could) enhance the student-athlete experience, create more awareness for both our schools and our athletic programs, engage the community and foster a positive relationship between Berry and Shorter.”
Link to pictures of first Berry-Shorter basketball games in the Cage Center.
As you are with Berry, I too am close to Shorter’s athletic department and I think I understand where they are coming from. Coach Pete met with the Berry officials this summer and while he knew that the home and away series of the past were probably over, he was led to believe that there would be at least some contests between the two schools. Ultimately, he was sent either a text or an email that stated otherwise. Given that background, and in this era of blame Shorter for everything, I think he just wanted the community to know where Shorter stands. Now, they do.
I certainly understand why Berry just wants this matter to just go away. At the same time, I know some of their student-athletes and I can assure they feel otherwise. They are competitors and they just want to compete. In its first four years of football, Shorter stepped up and played four teams that were either D1 or D2, so there is no doubt Berry could do the same. And, as you most certainly know, D2 teams compete with D1 and D3 teams all the time principally because most conference schedules (including the SAA) allow room for a significant percentage of non-conference games. Berry will play D1 Mercer and travel as far as St. Louis for non-conference football games in its inaugural season. And while the academic aspect of Division III is trumpeted loudly, we all know that the gulf between D3 athletes and the regular student body is immense. At the end of the day, Shorter wanted 30 or so contests a year and apparently was willing to accept just five. Gosh, it sure seems like something could get worked out.
In the meantime, the kids and the community most certainly miss out.
"The Coward Dies a Thousand TImes, the Brave Man Only Once."
-Viking Proverb-
If Berry does not come back to the table in the future, they will lose a special rivalry that people should care about. Every school needs an arch rival to elevate its sports program, school spirt, etc., and Berry will never have the same set of dynamics with any other school. I know Berry and Shorter alumni with an interest in sports who come back to their alma mater specifically for the Berry-Shorter games but not for others.
In its own way, this is the equivalent of UGA and GA Tech; Ohio State and Michigan; Xavier and Cincinnati; UNC and Duke; or Lipscomb and Belmont (Nashville in-town rivalry) calling it quits. As someone once said: In sports, it is sometimes more important to have someone to pull against than someone to pull for...and when you have both, it's special.
Hope alumni, friends and students of both institutions as well as Rome leaders will weigh in constructively so these great rivals can find a way to reconnect.
And just hope apathy across these stakeholders doesn't win the day.
Division III includes a significant number of high-caliber academic institutions such as Emory University, Washington U. in St. Louis (WUSTL) and the University of Chicago (UC) just to name a few. WUSTL (enrollment of approx. 14,000 students) and UC (enrollment of approx. 15,000 students) will be joining the SAA in the near future, and will compete against Berry and other SAA members in football.
Berry will primarily compete with other Division III schools and on occasion with Division II and Division I schools. A main focus at present is to work with their fellow SAA members to more fully develop operations of the newly minted conference.
However, Berry and Shorter are important to Rome, Georgia, the region; and each other. For years it has been a unique and special rivalry in college sports and it is important to many alumni from both schools who have graduated in the last 30 years. We only wish more in the Rome-Floyd Cty. area would take an interest in the athletics programs in their backyards...go to the games...support the teams...take a side and contribute positively towards rooting for your favorite. We promise you both schools, including the young athletes who actually play in the games, would love for you to "be there" despite mistakes they may have made and grievances some in the Northwest Georgia community may maintain.
Anyone who has every been to a Berry-Shorter basketball game and embraced the experience (especially the down-to-the-wire games like in 2008-2010) knows what a great sports rivalry this can be. Think it was 2010 that Berry's men's team lost to Shorter by 28 but revenged the loss with a 16-point win in the Cage Center at BC. Other games have been won by 1 or 2 points.
We're not soccer fans but attended a soccer match with a crowd of about 600 a few years ago between BC and SU on Shorter's campus and it was as exciting pound-for-pound as anything we've attended in sports on the college or professional level.
If you go to other towns with smaller colleges (Davidson in North Carolina as just one example), these towns really gets behind the sports programs of their local colleges vs. bigger schools to which they have no real affiliation. And not many have the special in-town rivalry as does Rome.
Berry does not want to play Shorter in the near term because it is trying to acclimate to its new conference in Division III, and Shorter will absolutely have a competitive advantage as a Division II school. And Berry does not want to sacrifice it inaugural football team (the freshman who will play over the next 4 years) to Shorter at least during the next 4-year period of building the program. Berry's men's basketball team is currently struggling to adjust to recruitment challenges and becoming competitive again as a Division III team. Currently, men's basketball would not live up to the great basketball rivalry of the past...but they will improve given time.
That said, in another 4 years or so, we hope the 2 schools will find a way to reconnect athletically as Berry is able to recruit stronger athletes after having had some time to create and establish its brand among Division III schools. As it stands now, Berry could compete well with Shorter in most sports except basketball and football --- 2 sports where there is the biggest difference in competition across all divisions of the NCAA --- with football certainly being the sport where there is the greatest athletic jump between divisions.
We can share with you without doubt that many Berry alumni and friends of the college would love to see a Berry-Shorter football game on Mountain Day Weekend either on Berry's campus (once the stadium is ready) or at Barron. It could potentially be one of the greatest sporting events in Rome if people will just embrace and support it. Berry definitely needs time to build its program so the rivalry stays interesting and entertaining.
Give it a chance. Go Vikings!
"The Coward Dies a Thousand TImes, the Brave Man Only Once."
-Viking Proverb-
And yes, you are the only one who thinks that....most people couldn't care less. Berry's plans for the near future don't include Shorter. Big whoop. Move on. There are more important things going on in the world.
What you seem to miss from the radio program is this - because of these other meetings Peterson (and Dowless no doubt) ALREADY KNEW Berry wasn't interested for whatever reason. So how is it possibly defensible for him to say he wasn't sending this out publicly either to somehow cast bad light on Berry - directing it away from everything going on on the hill - or otherwise to try and strong arm his way?
He already knew the answer for crying out loud. You really need to think those things through a bit deeper. The motivation for this at the time it was put out publicly this way could only be one of those two. Perhaps originally it was an altruistic proposal as he presents it - good for him. This wasn't.
And on the NCAA DII or DIII issue you also miss an incredibly important point. This proposal involved 4 sports, each team having it's own conference requirements for game schedule obligations, and each in an organization (NCAA) that absolutely limits the total number of games any institution can play in any given sport. So - do you not readily see the impossibility of trying to schedule something like that across 4 sports and also live up to other NCAA and conference requirements? If you don't (or refuse to) I think that says enough.
Economic impact? For a game involving two schools in the same town? We expecting bunches of students and alumni/townspeople to go out and buy up hotel rooms? Sure, I'll miss the games - particularly the soccer and volleyball matches. But life moves on.
In football - since Berry is a new program and Shorter gives football scholarships they see it as an easy (and inexpensive) win for their schedule for a few years - once Berry got competitive they wouldn't be the least bit interested - bank on it.
The adjectives that everyone is using to embellish my analysis of the event are well noted, but at the bare bones of this, take Berry and Shorter out of it. Look at it from the perspective of a D2 and a D3 program in the same town in Anytown, USA. Is it really that bad of an idea? That's the only question I've been asking is why say no to this?
I completely understand schedule limits. For example, the D3 limit in basketball is 25 games while in D2 the limit is 26. There are a number of in region games, etc. that schools must play. I am not naive to that and did not appreciate the tone (we can debate without putting down). However, let us look for a second. Cross Country is simple. Berry already hosts two meets a year, why not just host a dual meet as well. NCAA regulations on cross are very loose. Volleyball? The teams played once this year so I think they know how to work that into the schedule. As for soccer and football, we are talking 2014, not next year. I'm sure, aside from conference matrices that are set, there are open dates that far ahead at this point. Being early in the fall season also alleviates the chance that conference schedules have begun. It is not impossible and may be at least worth a look.
Economic impact in this case would simply be from a charity standpoint IMO. You sell 2,000 tickets to the football game at $20 a piece, that's $40,000 with $20,000 of that going to charity. And that's just the football (I realize the other sports would be significantly less, but that is still a good amount, do you agree?). So this wouldn't be economic impact in the sense of the NAIA game, but I think raising that type of money for charity is a good thing.
And on your last point, why would you think Shorter wouldn't want to play when Berry gets established? I would think that would make them want to play even more! Nothing like a competitive football game between two rivals.
I just want everyone to take a step back and look at the proposal objectively. The dislike for Shorter is quite clear so we don't need to continue bringing that to the forefront. I feel like we cant have conversation because people want to attack me for not piling on with them. Sure, Berry doesn't have to do this. And if they don't want to play Shorter, that is Berry's right! I'll give you the method may have been harsh, but taking all of that away, if it can be done and Berry is willing to participate, what is the down side?
Berry is wise enough to focus on the purpose of higher education. They know that buying athletes through scholarships, regardless of their academic abilities is what has gotten colleges and universities much larger than Shorter into big trouble before. Since Shorter has destroyed their academic reputation, I suppose they have nothing else but athletics to keep the institution in the news.
Come on, major donors, forget academics and buy Shorter a few more athletes.
Instead of hiding behind emails and sending information to the paper separately for a story it would have gone a long ways to extend a hand across the city and develop something with the Berry administration. Pick up the phone, man up and apologize for handing the information out to community then ask if there would be something to do in the future.
Good for Berry to be above the line on this and push back. There is a better way to put an event like this together and I am sure it will take place once Mr. Peterson and Shorter realize how to work together rather than force an agenda. Rome is such a great small town and most people know that the babershop down the street can help start the conversation the right way.
As for other rah rah above about giving back, all of the coaches at each school do a great job in the community to host events, raise awareness for organizations, etc. etc.
I can't believe Dr. Dowless would do something like this without first giving Berry a call.
I think that it is time Shorter Athletics gets the benefit of the doubt when it comes to motives. Shorter's athletic department has a history of reaching out to the community. Without Shorter, the NAIA Football National Championship is not in Rome. Shorter's women's basketball and baseball teams are very involved in the community through countless events. Rachel Rogers, who works in Shorter's athletic department and is a wonderful person, has many community tie-ins and works hard to involve the Rome community. In fact, Shorter Athletics not only pays $25,000 out of pocket for the NAIA game (SU is not even an NAIA institution anymore, as everyone knows), but has signed a three-year, $321,000 deal to use City facilities such as Barron and Alto Park -- they are by no means getting a free ride. This event would just be another community event that originated by Shorter.
Please know that I am not trying to start any widespread ill discussion about Shorter, although I am sure that it will happen on this very forum. In my six years living in Rome, and being a sports fan of all levels, I have noticed that Shorter Athletics has made a conscious effort to involve itself in the community through a variety of methods.
I thought what Shorter's baseball program has done with Military Appreciation has been phenomenal. Shorter's basketball and softball programs have raised incredible amounts of money for The Breast Center at Floyd Medical. Organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club and Mal's Pals are constantly on Shorter Athletics' list of community engagement activities at sporting events.
Aside from all of that, it didn't take me long to realize that the Berry-Shorter rivalry was one of the most unique in the country. Since Berry moved to Division III, it has become evident that Berry has tried to move away from that rivalry. I think that if everyone looks at this proposal, it seems to make sense for the community and for the sake of an incredible and unique rivalry.
Maybe instead of asking why Shorter went to the media with this, we should be asking why Berry wouldn't want to do this? D-III teams play D-II teams all the time, especially early in the season. Berry has a chance to accept this and rekindle a rivalry while helping the community. Seems like a win-win to me.
On another, and unrelated note, I appreciate the Rome News for allowing comment on such forums. I have come to love Rome itself and I really enjoy reading all sides of debate featured on this site! Happy Holidays to everyone!
I think that it is time Shorter Athletics gets the benefit of the doubt when it comes to motives. Shorter's athletic department has a history of reaching out to the community. Without Shorter, the NAIA Football National Championship is not in Rome. Shorter's women's basketball and baseball teams are very involved in the community through countless events. Rachel Rogers, who works in Shorter's athletic department and is a wonderful person, has many community tie-ins and works hard to involve the Rome community. In fact, Shorter Athletics not only pays $25,000 out of pocket for the NAIA game (SU is not even an NAIA institution anymore, as everyone knows), but has signed a three-year, $321,000 deal to use City facilities such as Barron and Alto Park -- they are by no means getting a free ride. This event would just be another community event that originated by Shorter.
Please know that I am not trying to start any widespread ill discussion about Shorter, although I am sure that it will happen on this very forum. In my six years living in Rome, and being a sports fan of all levels, I have noticed that Shorter Athletics has made a conscious effort to involve itself in the community through a variety of methods.
I thought what Shorter's baseball program has done with Military Appreciation has been phenomenal. Shorter's basketball and softball programs have raised incredible amounts of money for The Breast Center at Floyd Medical. Organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club and Mal's Pals are constantly on Shorter Athletics' list of community engagement activities at sporting events.
Aside from all of that, it didn't take me long to realize that the Berry-Shorter rivalry was one of the most unique in the country. Since Berry moved to Division III, it has become evident that Berry has tried to move away from that rivalry. I think that if everyone looks at this proposal, it seems to make sense for the community and for the sake of an incredible and unique rivalry.
Maybe instead of asking why Shorter went to the media with this, we should be asking why Berry wouldn't want to do this? D-III teams play D-II teams all the time, especially early in the season. Berry has a chance to accept this and rekindle a rivalry while helping the community. Seems like a win-win to me.
On another, and unrelated note, I appreciate the Rome News for allowing comment on such forums. I have come to love Rome itself and I really enjoy reading all sides of debate featured on this site! Happy Holidays to everyone!