Tom Archdeacon: Central State-Wilberforce matchup ‘talk of the town’

At some of his previous coaching stops, the rivalries were heated, as well. When he was an assistant at Lamar University in Texas, he said the game that was always circled on the schedule was the one with McNeese State, which was just 60 miles away in Louisiana:

“They call it The Battle of the Border.”

As head coach at Grambling State, he said his team’s annual nemesis was Southern University: “Oh my goodness that was a rivalry.”

And yet with all that history, he’s been surprised by the feeling that comes over him when his CSU teams plays its annual games with next door rival Wilberforce University – a matchup which, by the way, is happening again tonight when the Marauders host Wilberforce in an 8 p.m. contest that is preceded by the two schools’ women’s teams meeting at 6 p.m.

“There’s just such a great, great environment for this game,” Price said. “I tell my friends and family, you’ve never experienced something like this. It really portrays the passion and love these fans have for their institutions. And as a coach, I feel it.

“There’s been times where I just want to take one of my players uniforms and put it on myself. It’s just that I’m so excited and fired up to play.”

Across the street, Wilberforce women’s coach Iesha Gray talked about the feeling that came over her the first time she saw this pair of historically black colleges play in what’s known as “The Battle of Wilberforce,” a reference to the small Greene County community, an old Underground Railroad hub, that is home to the two schools whose campuses are literally divided by the ribbon of blacktop that is Ohio Route 42.

It was 14 years and Gray was a standout player at Wright State University.

“I’d never been to a game over here,” she said. “But we had some freshmen come in and they’d heard about the rivalry so I said ‘Sure, I’ll ride you over there.’

“Well, we got here late and there was standing room only and I was like ‘Whoa!’

“We were athletes at a mid-major (NCAA) school, but we were astonished by the atmosphere. We had nothing like this at Wright State.”

That sentiment was echoed last year when Kourtni Perry starred at CSU after two seasons at Wright State. She transferred for more playing time and was stunned by what that entailed when her team met the Bulldogs from across the street.

“When I was at Wright State our game with Dayton was fun and we had real competition, but it was nothing like this,” she told me. The atmospheres don’t compare. When Central and Wilberforce play, there’s so much energy and hype ….and noise. You can’t hear out there on the court.”

I have to agree. Right now there’s no better, no more fun, no more intense college basketball rivalry in the Miami Valley than when Wilberforce and Central State get together.

“It’s not just a game,” said Terry Futrell the WU men’s coach. “It’s an event.”

CSU women’s coach Sheba Harris agreed: “It’s the talk of the town.”

For ‘bragging’ rights and pride’

Established in 1856, Wilberforce University is the first college owned and operated by African Americans. Some 31 years later the Ohio General Assembly formed a two-year program at WU to train teachers and provide vocational education.

From that CSU became its own four-year entity in 1947 and attained university status in 1965, which is the same year its basketball team went 30-0 and won the NAIA title, a feat it repeated three years later.

Over the years both schools – and their athletic programs – have also struggled with financial challenges, but have proven resilient.

That’s one reason the showdowns are so embraced by the community and why tonight’s games will almost certainly be sold out, said Harris.

“It’s a great night for the community,” she said. “It’s like a big ol’ family reunion, but its also for bragging rights and pride.”

CSU – which is now an NCAA Division II school while much smaller Wilberforce is an NAIA Division II program – has often dominated the series, but the games are often close and there have been major upsets.

In 1999, CSU was rated No. 25 in the nation, went over to Wilberforce and was beaten by nine points. Three years ago, the Wilberforce women stunned visiting CSU, 99-95. It remains the only time the Lady Bulldogs have beaten CSU.

“This is always their championship game,” Harris said of Wilberforce, “It doesn’t matter what their record is, who their worst shooter or worst rebounder is. This game their worst players become their best and their best become superstars. This game they always manage to put it all on the line.”

Gray agreed: “It’s about heart and you see it from both teams. They get great performances, too.

“The thing that’s interesting for me is that I watch some of our kids come in as freshman and the first time they list their goals, they are about personal achievement. By September, one of their top goals is ‘to beat CSU.’

She started to laugh: “It doesn’t take long for them to get it. It’s kind of beat into those kids from the jump.”

A unique experience

The experience at CSU-Wilberforce game is far different than anything that happens at UD Arena or the Nutter Center,

When the Marauders host the game at Beacom/Lewis Gym, the place turns into the Thunderdome when the CSU band – The Invincible Marching Marauders – begin their high-decibel musical assault from their perch in the upper bleachers.

“It bothers other teams,” Harris admitted.

A couple of times I’ve seen the partisanship get far too pointed. In 2001, some fans fought in the stands in a game at Wilberforce’s Alumni Complex. Two years later the women’s game ended in a full court brawl that involved players and fans.

Civility soon returned, so much so that soon after that the Cleveland Cavaliers had the two teams play each other in a prelim game before they took on the Chicago Bulls at what was then Gund Arena.

When the Marauders cheerleaders didn’t show up for one game at Wilberforce, guys and gals from the CSU crowd came out of the stands and performed their own synchronized routines on the sidelines.

And after the Wilberforce women upset CSU three years ago, the players gathered at center court with Gray and soon all were dancing.

Can you imagine Archie Miller dancing with the Flyers in the middle of Blackburn Court?

Tonight, though, there will be a first.

“One thing we’ve done as a team this year is focus on gratitude,” said Gray. “So before every game, each one of our players picks a player on the other team and writes some words of encouragement to them in a card. They might give them a bible verse, as well.

“We don’t make a big show of it. With maybe 15 or 20 minutes left on the clock before the game, one of our players brings the stack over and puts it on the bench for their coach so the cards can be handed out after the game.

“We figure those players are the only people in the gym – other than the men’s players – who understand what it’s like to be a student-athlete.

“Sure we want to play them hard and compete for 40 minutes, but outside of that they identify with the ups and downs we’re going through. We want to tell them: ‘Thanks. You’ve gone through the same thing we have.’

“And that’s especially the case in this game.”