UM, Tribe football decision likely today Atlantic 10 ADs hold conference call

Gone but not forgotten, Hurricane Isabel is still being felt up and down the East Coast. The storm’s winds are still figuratively swirling around the campuses of the University of Maine and the College of William & Mary.

The impasse between the two universities over what to do about Saturday’s canceled football game between the Black Bears and Tribe may be resolved today.

Officials of the Atlantic 10 and UMaine confirmed Thursday that Maine athletic director Patrick Nero and William & Mary AD Terry Driscoll took part in a conference call Thursday morning with the other eight conference athletic directors and came up with a joint recommendation to their respective college presidents.

“We’re anticipating a resolution to this tomorrow,” said Ray Cella, Atlantic 10 assistant commissioner for public relations.

Officials at both schools were unavailable for comment Thursday.

The game was canceled due to extensive damage and inconveniences caused by Isabel, and all attempts to either reschedule or relocate it – including playing the game Sunday or later in the season, or moving it to Orono – were rebuffed by William & Mary officials.

That’s when the Atlantic 10 got more directly involved.

“We have been involved since the beginning. What we’re in the process of doing is making a decision [over whether the game should be forfeited],” said Cella. “The steps are there. When we found out, the commissioner [Linda Bruno] contacted both schools, but a resolution was unable to be reached.”

So A-10 officials asked the athletic directors to talk and work out some kind of recommendation.

Cella said this kind of situation rarely occurs.

“It came up two years ago with September 11. All games we had were canceled, although I think one was postponed and made up,” he said. “The only issue like this that came up was back in 1996, when it was still the Yankee Conference. Rhode Island decided after some kind of on-campus incident it would not play its game at Connecticut.”

Rhode Island had to forfeit that game.

“We’ve had other issues in the past. Like last year, Rhode Island was rained out because their field was flooded and the game was called off at halftime. They finished the second half on Sunday … It was the world’s longest halftime show,” Cella joked.