Pearlman adds nothing new to debate of UD vs. DSU

By JASON LEVINE, The News Journal

One day before Delaware State University made national headlines in the wake of an on-campus shooting early Friday, the historically black college made national news of a different sort.

I guess "news" is a relative term.

Jeff Pearlman, a University of Delaware graduate and former Sports Illustrated writer, penned a piece on ESPN.com about the fact that his alma mater has never played DSU in football.

Pearlman called UD officials racist. He has some experience covering the subject. Remember John Rocker? It was Pearlman's article that made Rocker what he is today.

Anyway, Pearlman didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, though his charge of racism is nothing more than a very logical hypothesis.

We in The News Journal sports department have made our views abundantly clear over the past several years. This game should be played.

For those of you new to the debate, here are the basics: DSU officials, for their part, have stated publicly that they would welcome a game against UD. UD officials, as they do in today's story by Kevin Tresolini, say the game will happen, they just don't know when.

Over the past few years, UD has had ample opportunity to schedule the game. The Blue Hens have filled holes in their schedule with teams like Albany. A few years back, they even plugged a hole with a nonconference game against fellow conference power New Hampshire. And, yes, they continue to maintain the "tradition" of playing Division II West Chester every single season.

Four years ago, our research revealed that Delaware was (and remains) the only state with two or more Division I football teams and those teams have not played each other in at least one game.

Pearlman was not the first person to call UD racist. Won't be the last, either. We in the sports department have speculated for years about who doesn't want the bigger, richer, whiter upstate school playing the smaller, poorer, blacker downstate school.

The question is whether putting this story on a national stage will make a difference or, more to the point, make a game.

What kind of game would it be? You know the Hornets would circle it on their schedule ahead of almost any Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference matchup. And UD? The Hens would be favored, at least for the first few years.

But then DSU would get stronger from playing a perennial I-AA power every year. And then, sometime down the road, they'd beat UD and celebrate all weekend in Dover.

Meanwhile, in Newark, the Hens staff and players would go back to work, just as after any other game, win or lose. And in the back of their minds, they'd think about the next time they face that school. Not that smaller, poorer, blacker school. The school that plays Division I college football in Delaware, just like them.