Governor's Cup

[RI_Rams]

The rivalry game with Brown.

Looking into this rivalry, I never realized how one-sided it has been historically. Brown leads the all-time series by a wide margin, 73-29-2. URI lost 36 of the first 37 meetings. It took 17 meetings before URI scored a single point! Enough about the negative, since 1981, when the Cup was introduced, the series has been even at 19 wins apiece.

Here's a link to the series results:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown%E2% ... ll_rivalry

I've gotten feedback from other posters on here that URI has not put much at all into football for a while now - lack of facility upgrades, poor coaching hires, etc.

How do you guys view Brown? Are they URI's top football rival? Historical? Or is it UConn? I ask because I'm not a local. I didn't grow up in the area with the aura and tradition. One day I'd like to attend the game.. maybe in 2021 or 2022 depending if we have football.

[Brian Forster]

Great questions.
Brown is a rivalry game-anything can happen -period. URI underestimates them.
Brown puts a fair amount of players in pros.
A few years ago Harvard (better than Brown) had 5-6 guys in NFL and URI was not ready for them. Rhody got more talent and beat them 2 years in a row. Rhody lost to crappy Brown team same year. Rhody beat Brown in 2016 where Brown beat Dartmouth who beat UNH who pounded Rhody.
Perry is probably going to be great coach. Ivy has a lot of great coaches-Murphy,Reno,Teevens who can make up for talent discrepancies. URI's lack of funding shows up in my mind in salaries-good coaches don't stay and you get people who not that good. Harvard hired two of Rhodys assistants who were good at twice the pay. I would put Brown and Bryant @ top of rivals list. But,would not read into any one game too much as symptomatic of the problem.

[RI_Rams]

Thanks, this is helpful.

Do you think Brown is inside Rhody's head? The games have been pretty close recently. Brown hasn't won by more than 10 at URI since the 1980s. And, URI has an issue winning at Brown. I think we've won there once this decade?

[PeterRamTime]

Thanks, this is helpful.

Do you think Brown is inside Rhody's head? The games have been pretty close recently. Brown hasn't won by more than 10 at URI since the 1980s. And, URI has an issue winning at Brown. I think we've won there once this decade?

Won there last year.

Were able to use our once in a generation NFL players for only the second and final time.

[RF1]

The lopsided record in the early decades is not surprising as it is explained by historical perspective. Ivy League football was big time back then. Yale regularly had Heisman winners and many of the Ivy teams played in huge stadiums. Furthermore, even though URI has played Brown in 104 games, less than 20 of these meetings were ever in Kingston. URI played every game at Brown from 1909-1980. The first time URI ever hosted was in 1981. It was considered a big deal then with pins commemorating the event. I was there and still think I have the pin somewhere.


**Edited to correct the date of the first game in Kingston.

[RI_Rams]

Thanks, this is helpful.

Do you think Brown is inside Rhody's head? The games have been pretty close recently. Brown hasn't won by more than 10 at URI since the 1980s. And, URI has an issue winning at Brown. I think we've won there once this decade?

Won there last year.

Were able to use our once in a generation NFL players for only the second and final time.

True. 2019 was our first win in Providence since 2007.

I just feel we don't get the talent. The CAA has decent teams, but we can't compete with New Hampshire, James Madison, Maine, Albany in recruiting. James Madison contends for the title nearly every season. They won it in I think 2014 or 2015? Albany has been pretty good recently and NH goes to the playoffs quite frequently.

[RI_Rams]

The lopsided record in the early decades is not surprising as it is explained by historical perspective. Ivy League football was big time back then. Yale regularly had Heisman winners and many of the Ivy teams played in huge stadiums. Furthermore, even though URI has played Brown in 104 games, only 17 were ever in Kingston. URI played every game at Brown from 1909-1980. The first time URI ever hosted was in 1986. It was considered a big deal then with pins commemorating the event. I was there and still think I have the pin somewhere.

You're right, for nearly the first 70 years of NCAA football, the Ivy League teams were the powers. There is a reason why Yale, Princeton, and Harvard are among the leaders in National Championships.

That is awesome you were there in 1986. How has the stadium, feel of the game, and feelings between the two teams changed since?

[RF1]

I stand corrected on the year of the first Brown game ever held in Kingston (edited my above post to reflect this). The game was in 1981, not 1986 (the wiki page and URI record books differ). I looked around the house and quickly found the pin that was given out to game attendees in an old trunk stuffed with memorabilia in my basement. The pin lists the date as November 7, 1981.

[RF1]

That is awesome you were there in 1986. How has the stadium, feel of the game, and feelings between the two teams changed since?

I must admit that I while I attend most URI home basketball games, I have not been to a football game in a very long time. I mostly went to football games in the past due to a family connection to the program that no longer exists. Saw many a game at Meade and on the road at places such as UConn, BU, Brown, and Holy Cross back in the glory years of the 1980's.

Meade was a a rocking place back then. It was filled with fans. Many students. Temporary bleachers were added for games. The Ehrhardt years were a special time. Start times had to be moved up to begin earlier in the day. URI rarely ever ran the ball, the game clock was constantly stopping thus lengthening the actual time it took to complete games. To avoid the sun light fading toward the end of the 4th quarter, the game times were moved up. URI hosted 1AA playoff games back then. I remember Gerry Faust (former Notre Dame coach) bringing his Akron Zips to Kingston. URI ran a total of just ONE running play in the first half of that 1985 playoff game winning 35-27.

Meade was different back then. The west stands were an old concrete section with just a few rows. The red brick locker room building was right behind it. There was no Ryan Center then and cars were parked where it now stands with tailgating close to the field.

[PeterRamTime]

Thanks, this is helpful.

Do you think Brown is inside Rhody's head? The games have been pretty close recently. Brown hasn't won by more than 10 at URI since the 1980s. And, URI has an issue winning at Brown. I think we've won there once this decade?

Won there last year.

Were able to use our once in a generation NFL players for only the second and final time.

True. 2019 was our first win in Providence since 2007.

I just feel we don't get the talent. The CAA has decent teams, but we can't compete with New Hampshire, James Madison, Maine, Albany in recruiting. James Madison contends for the title nearly every season. They won it in I think 2014 or 2015? Albany has been pretty good recently and NH goes to the playoffs quite frequently.

Fleming 100 percent has the talent he is just a dope.

You saw how we competed against Virginia Tech. We were battling them pretty even pretty much the whole way. Our offensive line held their own against them. Our receivers were open, our defense didn't break against maybe the third best team in the ACC.

Fleming cannot coach worth a damn. Priore squandered his weapons. We saw how good we were with Jajuan Lawson. Can't believe we weren't able to get any grad QB to come here with Parker and Coulter to throw to. There are tons of back ups in the FBS that are superior to Vito. No way the best we could get was Alin Edouard.

Top ten worst coaching job of all time last year. And I'm not exaggerating.

[Running Ram]

I mean yeah, it was pretty bad especially when you consider the level of talent we had.

[RI_Rams]

Won there last year.

Were able to use our once in a generation NFL players for only the second and final time.

True. 2019 was our first win in Providence since 2007.

I just feel we don't get the talent. The CAA has decent teams, but we can't compete with New Hampshire, James Madison, Maine, Albany in recruiting. James Madison contends for the title nearly every season. They won it in I think 2014 or 2015? Albany has been pretty good recently and NH goes to the playoffs quite frequently.

Fleming 100 percent has the talent he is just a dope.

You saw how we competed against Virginia Tech. We were battling them pretty even pretty much the whole way. Our offensive line held their own against them. Our receivers were open, our defense didn't break against maybe the third best team in the ACC.

Fleming cannot coach worth a damn. Priore squandered his weapons. We saw how good we were with Jajuan Lawson. Can't believe we weren't able to get any grad QB to come here with Parker and Coulter to throw to. There are tons of back ups in the FBS that are superior to Vito. No way the best we could get was Alin Edouard.

Top ten worst coaching job of all time last year. And I'm not exaggerating.

Great observations. I agree with you. The kids have played hard. I find it hard to believe Fleming still has a job. He won 3 games or less in each of his first four seasons. Unless the school is keeping him around because of 2018's 6-5 record. But still, 2-10 last year... and at least 3-4 games that were close enough for us to win...

[PeterRamTime]

True. 2019 was our first win in Providence since 2007.

I just feel we don't get the talent. The CAA has decent teams, but we can't compete with New Hampshire, James Madison, Maine, Albany in recruiting. James Madison contends for the title nearly every season. They won it in I think 2014 or 2015? Albany has been pretty good recently and NH goes to the playoffs quite frequently.

Fleming 100 percent has the talent he is just a dope.

You saw how we competed against Virginia Tech. We were battling them pretty even pretty much the whole way. Our offensive line held their own against them. Our receivers were open, our defense didn't break against maybe the third best team in the ACC.

Fleming cannot coach worth a damn. Priore squandered his weapons. We saw how good we were with Jajuan Lawson. Can't believe we weren't able to get any grad QB to come here with Parker and Coulter to throw to. There are tons of back ups in the FBS that are superior to Vito. No way the best we could get was Alin Edouard.

Top ten worst coaching job of all time last year. And I'm not exaggerating.

Great observations. I agree with you. The kids have played hard. I find it hard to believe Fleming still has a job. He won 3 games or less in each of his first four seasons. Unless the school is keeping him around because of 2018's 6-5 record. But still, 2-10 last year... and at least 3-4 games that were close enough for us to win...

Yeah and the NFL talent he developed, but couldn't win with is something that's saved him.

Maybe if he just gets a coordinator that knows what they're doing on offense and he mostly focuses on defense. Then again, his in game decisions like not onside kicking it in the maine game in 2018. Unreal decision to just kick it out of the back of the end zone. Embaronsing.

[RhowdyRam02]

The rivalry game with Brown.

Looking into this rivalry, I never realized how one-sided it has been historically. Brown leads the all-time series by a wide margin, 73-29-2. URI lost 36 of the first 37 meetings. It took 17 meetings before URI scored a single point! Enough about the negative, since 1981, when the Cup was introduced, the series has been even at 19 wins apiece.

Here's a link to the series results:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown%E2% ... ll_rivalry

I've gotten feedback from other posters on here that URI has not put much at all into football for a while now - lack of facility upgrades, poor coaching hires, etc.

How do you guys view Brown? Are they URI's top football rival? Historical? Or is it UConn? I ask because I'm not a local. I didn't grow up in the area with the aura and tradition. One day I'd like to attend the game.. maybe in 2021 or 2022 depending if we have football.

The fact that the series is tied in the "modern" era of the rivalry is an indictment of the program. A Yankee/Atlantic 10/CAA program should be beating Ivy league schools at a good clip. Yes, they had some good teams under Phil Estes but that doesn't explain almost 40 years.

I'd say Brown and UConn were our main rivals with UMass coming in third. Brown is instate with the Governor's Cup and we faced off over the Ramnapping Trophy against UConn. I think Maine and New Hampshire are just too isolated for us to have a real rivalry with either even with all of the history. It would be nice if Bryant could become a rival because we don't really have a conference rival at this point and rivalry games are fun. It's another area where we'd be a much better fit for the NEC than we are for the CAA. In the NEC we'd have an in-state conference rival, we'd have the random A10 basketball member we'd play in football (Duquesne instead of Richmond) and we'd have three conference teams in Connecticut and Mass

[RhowdyRam02]

Won there last year.

Were able to use our once in a generation NFL players for only the second and final time.

True. 2019 was our first win in Providence since 2007.

I just feel we don't get the talent. The CAA has decent teams, but we can't compete with New Hampshire, James Madison, Maine, Albany in recruiting. James Madison contends for the title nearly every season. They won it in I think 2014 or 2015? Albany has been pretty good recently and NH goes to the playoffs quite frequently.

Fleming 100 percent has the talent he is just a dope.

You saw how we competed against Virginia Tech. We were battling them pretty even pretty much the whole way. Our offensive line held their own against them. Our receivers were open, our defense didn't break against maybe the third best team in the ACC.

Fleming cannot coach worth a damn. Priore squandered his weapons. We saw how good we were with Jajuan Lawson. Can't believe we weren't able to get any grad QB to come here with Parker and Coulter to throw to. There are tons of back ups in the FBS that are superior to Vito. No way the best we could get was Alin Edouard.

Top ten worst coaching job of all time last year. And I'm not exaggerating.

It's a double edged sword with Fleming. He's brought in the most talent we've had since Floyd Keith in the 90's but his game coaching is just awful. Really you can draw a lot of parallels between the two of them

[Brian Forster]

Heard they could not afford to buy Fleming out.
The coaching is so gawd awful it's a waste of time to evaluate the players talent.

[Ramulous]

I enjoy going to the football games....I have season tickets and tail-gate access.....I love seeing friends in the tail-gate area...the football is almost an after thought....but it is a money drain at the University.....factoring in the cost of the program itself with it's Title IX implications...

...then factor in that the team has not been very good for a long time...

....I think the financial effect from COVID19 may present the University with a need to streamline athletics......which teams stay....which teams have to go....

....although football is perceived as sacrosanct it makes financial sense to stop playing....this is strictly from a year to year financial view without it's affect on alumni relations....but politics comes into play....no one wants to be the villain that pulls the plug on football...

Bare minimum requirements for the Atlantic 10 must be considered....how many sports must we play to be a member?

I don't know off the top of my head.....We need men's and women's teams in basketball and soccer....maybe track and field....maybe baseball and fast pitch softball....beyond that which teams make financial and athletic sense?

[damram]

Golf.

[Brian Forster]

I don't know off the top of my head.....We need men's and women's teams in basketball and soccer....maybe track and field....maybe baseball and fast pitch softball....beyond that which teams make financial and athletic sense?

None of what you are saying makes sense.

[ramster]

The rivalry game with Brown.

Looking into this rivalry, I never realized how one-sided it has been historically. Brown leads the all-time series by a wide margin, 73-29-2. URI lost 36 of the first 37 meetings. It took 17 meetings before URI scored a single point! Enough about the negative, since 1981, when the Cup was introduced, the series has been even at 19 wins apiece.

Here's a link to the series results:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown%E2% ... ll_rivalry

I've gotten feedback from other posters on here that URI has not put much at all into football for a while now - lack of facility upgrades, poor coaching hires, etc.

How do you guys view Brown? Are they URI's top football rival? Historical? Or is it UConn? I ask because I'm not a local. I didn't grow up in the area with the aura and tradition. One day I'd like to attend the game.. maybe in 2021 or 2022 depending if we have football.

Players, their families and Coaches do not look back at the entire series with a team, it’s more about the future and at most the last few years. They could care less about the last 50 years.

So looking at the last 4 years (a college career for a player) URI has outperformed Brown outscoring Brown 131 - 62.
2019 URI won 31-28 at Brown
2018 URI won 48-0 at URI
2017 Brown won 24-21 at Brown
2016 URI won 28-13 at URI

Yes Brown is our biggest and longest term rival. The game has the Governor’s Cup to the Winner each year

URI had their 1st NFL player drafted this season since 1986. Isaiah Coulter went in the 5th round. Aaron Parker and Kyle Murphy just missed getting drafted and landed with NFL teams for tryouts.

Last two seasons have been solid recruiting years

Some coaching changes were made going into 2020 most notable replacing a struggling Offensive Coordinator who didn’t seem to have a clue. Just happened to be the HC’s son. Pressure is on the HC going into 2020.

Attendance last season:
Delaware - 8511
Stony Brook - 6104
Elon - 8911
Merrimack - 3091
James Madison - 2815

[Rhode_Island_Red]

I'd say Brown and UConn were our main rivals with UMass coming in third. Brown is instate with the Governor's Cup and we faced off over the Ramnapping Trophy against UConn. I think Maine and New Hampshire are just too isolated for us to have a real rivalry with either even with all of the history.

Once upon a time, UConn was by far our biggest football and soccer rival. We always played the final game of the season -- soccer at 10 a.m., football at 1 p.m. Can you imagine seeing 5,000 people at a soccer game? At 10 a.m.? That's how it was. And half of them would be half in the bag by the second half.

[RI_Rams]

I'd say Brown and UConn were our main rivals with UMass coming in third. Brown is instate with the Governor's Cup and we faced off over the Ramnapping Trophy against UConn. I think Maine and New Hampshire are just too isolated for us to have a real rivalry with either even with all of the history.

Once upon a time, UConn was by far our biggest football and soccer rival. We always played the final game of the season -- soccer at 10 a.m., football at 1 p.m. Can you imagine seeing 5,000 people at a soccer game? At 10 a.m.? That's how it was. And half of them would be half in the bag by the second half.

Very interesting. UConn joined D1-A in 2000. That is when the annual series ended. It's a shame because we almost beat then in 2018...

[Rhode_Island_Red]

And in the winter, they'd stuff as many as 6,000 people into Keaney when the Leg-humpers came to town.

[RF1]

URI is the most played opponent in many sports for UConn. This still includes men's basketball and football despite the fact that there have been few meetings in recent decades. In fact, this might surprise you but URI is far and away the most played opponent for UConn men's basketball by nearly 30 games (UNH is next most played).

[ramster]

URI is the most played opponent in many sports for UConn. This still includes men's basketball and football despite the fact that there have been few meetings in recent decades. In fact, this might surprise you but URI is far and away the most played opponent for UConn men's basketball by nearly 30 games (UNH is next most played).

And then along came Dave Gavitt.

[RF1]

URI is the most played opponent in many sports for UConn. This still includes men's basketball and football despite the fact that there have been few meetings in recent decades. In fact, this might surprise you but URI is far and away the most played opponent for UConn men's basketball by nearly 30 games (UNH is next most played).

And then along came Dave Gavitt.

Perno continued to schedule URI in the early days of the Big East. It was Calhoun that essentially killed the men's hoops series with Rhody.

[Rhodymob05]

Screw Calhoun

[RI_Rams]

Do you guys feel Brown looks at us as their #1 rival?

[Brian Forster]

They probably would want to win their conference first.
however,poor play against rhody has been a factor in costing coaches at brown their jobs-Anderson,Rosenberg,Estes,etc..

[Rhody123]

Brown plays Dartmouth on the Ivy Rivalry Weekend.
You could make a case for URI being #1 rival, but agree with BF that winning any Ivy conference game is more important to them. URI would definitely be #1 In-State rival over Bryant.

[RI_Rams]

I agree with you guys. In-state foe #1 for sure. Brown much rather win the Ivy League than beat us.

[Brian Forster]

Look at CFL in hoops winning non conference games ,then laying an egg in league play.
It was a complete waste of time.