A&T foe goes from bottom to top in MEAC

By Rob Daniels, Greensboro News-Record

DELAWARE STATE AT N.C. A&T
When: 1:30 p.m. today
Where: Aggie Stadium, Greensboro
Records: Delaware State 4-1 overall, 3-0 MEAC; N.C. A&T 0-6, 0-3
Tickets: General admission tickets on Fan Appreciation Day are $5 online at http://www.ncataggies.com or call 334-7749

GREENSBORO -- Follow the money, a furtive figure once said. To discover why Delaware State has upended the MEAC and become what N.C. A&T would like to be again one day, it's instructive to study the Hornets' commitment to scholarships and facilities and other obvious elements. Just make sure you go beyond that trail.

"I think what we're seeing now is the beginning of a journey of hard work and energy so we can be a leader regionally and nationally," said Rick Costello, who took over as athletics director in August after a tenure at another place now famous for development, South Florida.

The context of today's football game at Aggie Stadium surely confounds longtime MEAC observers. Delaware State owned the longest losing streak in conference history, 19 games in 1997-99, until last month, when A&T absorbed its 20th straight defeat. The Aggies' string now is at 22, and the Hornets are tied for the league lead after an eye-catching victory at Hampton, the class of the MEAC the past few years.

Delaware State is the No. 1 team in black college football, according to two polls.

"That's good, but I did not know that," said Al Lavan, who became the Hornets' coach in 2004.

Every successful reconstruction project starts at the top. When he took over the 3,700-student university as president in 2003, Dr. Allen L. Sessoms sought to use athletics as a prominent vehicle in a long-term growth initiative. That's not uncommon in American higher education, but it seemed odd at Delaware State, a school with inherent roadblocks to success in sports.

Simply put, there aren't many football players in Delaware, which ranks 45th in population. The database at http://www.scout.com Thursday listed only 13 prospects for college football's highest division in the state.

Photo: DSU Head Coach Al Lavan

To field a competitive roster, the Hornets must rely disproportionately on athletes from elsewhere, and that means out-of-state tuition and fees ($13,100 as opposed to $6,146). Only nine of Lavan's 86 players are from Delaware; the rest come from as far away as Berlin, Germany, and Gresham, Ore.

To make it happen, the university's governors did something extraordinary: They increased football scholarships from 41 in 2003 to the division maximum of 63 a year later. That was appealing to Lavan, an 18-year NFL assistant with a Super Bowl ring (1990 San Francisco 49ers) and references such as Tom Landry and George Seifert on his resume.

"When we came in, the talent level was very, very low, and you've got to recruit some better players," Lavan said. "There was and is a tremendous economic commitment to the program."

That included a recruiting budget that allows the coaching staff the latitude to travel in search of talent.

"That was at best very modest when I got here, and not even good enough for the scholarships they had had," Lavan said. "Right now, we've got enough money to do the recruiting we need."

The infrastructure also was been improved. Last week, a 17,000-square-foot strength and conditioning facility -- the second-largest in the MEAC behind A&T's 25,000-square-foot Bryan Fitness and Wellness Center -- was opened. An academic enrichment center also is planned.

Beyond the dollars, outsiders frequently cite Lavan and his staff for their work. Among Lavan's NFL pupils were Roger Craig, Priest Holmes, Tom Rathman, Earnest Byner, Robert Newhouse and Bam Morris.

"This is not his first time at the barbecue," Costello said. "He has really revitalized the program."

The staff includes Rayford Petty, an Elon and A&T graduate who served as Howard's coach in 2002-06; and Douglas Sams, a head coach for 15 years at smaller colleges and a former offensive coordinator in the Canadian Football League.

"You get good people on board and keep going after it," Costello said, "and you can get it done."

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SBN Sports Black College Football Poll
(As of 10/08/2007)
Rank School W-L Points Prev
1 Delaware State (23) 4-1 268 1
2 Tuskegee (7) 5-0 229 2
3 Hampton 4-1 186 4
4 Alabama A&M 5-1 165 6
5 Albany State 5-1 132 7
6 Southern 5-1 102 3
7 North Carolina Central 4-2 83 8
8 Norfolk State 4-1 54 NR
9 Grambling State 4-1 42 NR
10 Virginia Union 6-0 31 10

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Norfolk State 27, Bethune- Cookman 23, Prairie View A&M 19, Grambling State 16, Tennessee State 13.

DROPPED OUT:

Ranking includes number of first-place votes and record in parentheses, total points and previous ranking