NCAA rule forces VSU, Norfolk State Spartans to end tradition

Athletic Director
NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  Norfolk State will not play Virginia State in football next season, ending an annual tradition that began in 1962.

While the teams had planned to take a year off from the series in 2015, the application of an NCAA rule has resulted in voided contracts between the schools for games in 2013 and 2014.

The loss of the VSU games takes one of NSU's most well-attended games off the schedule and leaves the Spartans scrambling to find opponents, particularly for next year's opening. Over the past six years, all NSU wins and by an average margin of 27.5 points, the game has drawn an average of 20,316 fans.

"It's put us in a tough spot," NSU athletic director Marty Miller said. "It's caused us to scramble a little bit. We're... having discussions with a couple of schools, working hard and trying to come up with a replacement."

Miller said he's certain that he'll find a replacement game and that he could have a team in place within days.

The rule that voided the games has been in the Division II handbook since 2010, but VSU athletic director Peggy Davis said CIAA schools had been granted waivers by the NCAA in the past to play early-season games because the conference had lost members.

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