Players from historically black colleges and universities participated in the first all-star game last Saturday. (Photo by Mark Dunn)

By Graham Dunn
RRS Editor
(Dec. 24, 2009)

Sitting above the 3,000 or so fans at the HBCU game at Cramton Bowl last Saturday, I had a vision. 

My dream was captured within the confines of my surroundings but with a bigger stage. I saw what I hoped would be the future.

I saw a bowl filled to capacity with fans from all parts of the state to witness a bowl game… an all-star game featuring some of the top players in the country.

I saw players who are unknowns in most circles but well known among NFL scouts and draft experts who keep a constant eye on this sort of thing. I saw players from state schools who had one more chance to play the college game, something they would not get otherwise.

I noticed ESPN cameras and Erin Andrews (of course) walking the sideline having pleasant conversation with players who have their own dreams of making an NFL roster next season. (No, I was not walking next to her. It wasn’t that kind of vision.)

If this sounds more like a flashback to the Blue-Gray Classic instead of a vision of the future, you would be mistaken. Well, almost.

HBCU was a start

The first edition of the HBCU All-Star game provided a decent start for what organizers hope to be a success down the road. The idea has merit. Take the top seniors from historically black colleges and give them a week in front of the pro scouts. Put them in the “combine,” at least for those intelligent enough to participate and not listen to their agents and decline to be timed.

Overall, the week was a good one. But I think it could be better.

I understand the premise of the game… Historically black colleges.  I get it. I recognize the importance.

Why not the Historically “Small” College All-Star Game? Why not include players from West Alabama, North Alabama, Jacksonville State, Birmingham Southern, Huntingdon and Faulkner?

Why not bring in some of the top-level talent from the FCS leagues (a.k.a. Division I-AA and II) such as Valdosta State, Delta State, or farther north such as Furman, Grand Valley State and Montana?

Why not make this a large-scale small college game? Certainly, it would attract the scouts much like the HBCU game.  Maybe more so.

The "League" knows small-college talent

Currently, the NFL has a large portion of players who did not play in the big boy conferences. I could give hundreds of examples of players from these schools but a good example is last year’s Super Bowl runner-up, Arizona, which had three starters who were from the small college level.

Reggie Wells, a graduate from Clarion (Pa.) University started as the Cardinals left guard. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie played at Tennessee State and was one of the top corners in the league.

Running back Tim Hightower was a fifth-round pick out of Richmond. He was a key player in Arizona’s run to the Super Bowl.

All of these players were considered a “steal” of the draft because most scouts were not as familiar with them as they were those from the SEC, Big 10 and the like.

The combine held every year in Indianapolis is limited in the number of players that can participate. Usually, it is the small-college player that gets left out. The game of my vision would allow those that chance they would otherwise not get.

A game with a national base of players would certainly attract more interest from a national network. Like the Senior Bowl in Mobile, I believe the NFL would have an interest in helping the game succeed.

But this is not just about the NFL draft or making the game attractive to the pros or fans of the pros. This is about putting Montgomery back on the map when it comes to a college all-star game. The Blue-Gray Classic is gone. It will never return. It was a great event and it benefited so many through the effort of the Montgomery Lions Club.

The HBCU game met a need. Those spoken to during the week pointed out that the players were given this chance because there was an interest in watching them play.

But I believe a case could be made for a larger scale classic. Montgomery can be the perfect site. It has the history of the Blue-Gray. It now has a mayor who thinks progressively. I believe Todd Strange has similar visions for bringing in tourist dollars.

But in order to make money…

Strange recognizes that Cramton Bowl needs a facelift… maybe an entirely new face. During a brief conversation prior to the game last Saturday, he informed me that he is looking into the possibility of investing a substantial amount of money to improve the bowl and bring it into the 21st Century.

He speculated during our talk if this was feasible. I gave him my opinion – yes it is.

Cramton Bowl is an eye sore. While the field itself is in good shape (thanks to the installation of the new Play Turf a few years ago), the rest of the stadium has been left behind.

Improvements are needed in so many areas – concessions, player locker rooms, press box, which is in dire need of an elevator.

So many cities are involved in similar improvements to their stadia. Recently, city officials of Little Rock, Ark. announced a massive renovation plan to the War Memorial Stadium press box to the tune of $7.3 million. But the new press box will be used for more than football. It will include facilities for special events such as receptions, parties and meetings. It will include club seating and food services and catering outside the stadium.

In a troubled economic time, it might seem ridiculous to consider an upgrade to the old stadium. But to wait any longer would mean more cost in the future. The city had once considered the upgrade and chose to limit the improvements to a new turf and modifications to the locker rooms but it did not go far enough.

Whether or not a future HBCU game or any other event is successful will not necessarily depend on a Cramton Bowl facelift. But it would help to attract other events…. including a “big” small college all-star game.

Merry Christmas everyone!