VMI Cyber Corps

Alumni and Friends of VMI:

Cyber Corps Numbers:
519

3rd Annual Memorial Mark Wilson 5K Run: For those who have been Cyber Corps participants for a while, you'll remember that a year or so ago we mentioned that Mark Wilson '88 was killed in a military training exercise. He left behind a wife and small child. An annual 5K Run was begun as a means of raising money for his child's future college expenses. More information about the run, which is held in the Richmond area can be found at: http://www.kreeganplunkett.com/vmi/markwilson.html

The First Cyber Baby (At Least the First We Mentioned to the Cyber Corps): Pleased to announce that Cyber Corps participant Ronald A. Robinson, Jr '87 and his wife Maggie were blessed with the birth of their first child (Ronald A. Robinson, III - class of 2020) on October 9. Congratulations to this Cyber Family.

The Cyber Shirt: Some time ago I mentioned that I was working on a design for a Cyber Corps shirt. Well it seems that the prototype Cyber Corps polo shirt is close to being ready. We'll try and have a picture of the shirt scanned for everyone to review. Since the Cyber Corps logo incorporates the VMI spider and since the spider is now trademarked, licensed, or whatever they call it, I need to work out an arrangement with the VMI Athletic Department before the shirts can be sold. I'll be working on this. Stay tuned.

VMI Football:

Western Carolina’s Hoover leaves Keydets in a vacuum
W. CARO. 39 VMI 17

Sunday, November 1, 1998

BY VIC DORR JR.
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

LEXINGTON -- Western Carolina’s Catamounts used a Hoover to sweep
Virginia Military Institute’s beleaguered football team off the surface
of Alumni Field.

Tailback Brad Hoover, as effective at slashing as he was at bashing, rushed for 251 yards and scored five touchdowns yesterday to lead Western Carolina to a 39-17 Southern Conference victory over the Keydets.

‘Lead’ is the proper word. Hoover, who also caught three passes for 40
yards, was the football equivalent of a cavalry commander on a white
stallion. He produced 291 yards of total offense. VMI’s team produced
241.

“We knew after watching the Morehead film” -- a reference to the
Keydets’ 41-38 loss last week --

“that people sometimes have success running against them,” said Hoover.
“Some of the coaches were reminding me about that. They said, ‘You know,
you might be able to do some damage.’ ”

Some damage? Hoover set Western Carolina single-game records for rushing
yardage and touchdowns. He scored on runs of 1, 3, 17 and 6 yards and
caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Cella. He
carried 33 times for a 7.6-yard average -- a performance that far
exceeded even his expectations.

“I knew coming in that I needed 113 yards to reach 1,000 for the
season,” he said. “That’s the number I was shooting for: 113. Knowing
our game plan” -- the Catamounts called three times as many runs as
passes -- “and considering how well our offensive line has been playing,
I figured, ‘Yeah, I ought to be able to do that.’ ”

Hoover’s most remarkable number may have been this one: he was trapped
behind the line of scrimmage only once, for a 1-yard loss, after he and
backup quarterback Darren Miller failed to make a clean exchange on a fourth-quarter handoff.

“He’s a hard, tough runner -- that’s the first thing,” said VMI defensive end Jordan Clark. “The second thing is: The guy can be pretty darned elusive when he needs to
be.”

The opening minutes of the first period spoke volumes. VMI (0-6, 1-8)
lost 12 yards on its first three snaps. Western scored in four plays.
VMI threw an interception on its next possession. Western (4-3, 4-4)
scored in five plays.

Both of VMI’s touchdown drives -- one in the third quarter and another
in the fourth -- were sustained by multiple Western Carolina penalties.
VMI gave up eight sacks and misfired on 11 of 14 third-down conversions.

“In general, I’m afraid, it wasn’t very good football on our part,” said
Keydets coach Ted Cain. “We were inconsistent -- very inconsistent -- in
every aspect of the game.”

Cain is concerned about his club’s psychological health. VMI was 0-11
last year and has now lost eight in a row after an opening-day conquest
of Lenoir-Rhyne. It has been outscored

374-111 in those eight losses. The cumulative effect of so much
disappointment and frustration is beginning to take a toll.

“We’re going to have to dig extremely deep just to get ready for [this
Saturday’s game against] Appalachian State,” said Cain.

Some will have to dig deeper than others. Clark, a senior tri-captain,
put in a full day’s work despite sharp pain in his lower back. Why not
call in sick and let someone else take a beating?

“It’s like I told the guys after [yesterday’s] game,” said Clark. “When
times are tough like they are now, when you’re really down, when it
seems like everybody’s a critic, when you’re looking for answers and it
seems like you can’t find any, there’s only one place you can look for
support and know you’re going to find it: the guy next to you.

“Right now, that’s the only answer: We’re all in this together. We’ve
got to stick together. We’ve got to be there for each other. We’ve got
to believe in each other.”

VMI Soccer: At this point in the season, VMI's soccer team stands at 1-12-1.

Southern Conference Basketball Tournament Location: Seems that the 1999 tournament will be the last for the Southern Conference in the Greensboro Coliseum.

Those vying for the site of future tournaments include the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, S.C., the North Charleston (S.C.) Coliseum, the Charlotte Coliseum and the Asheville Civic Center. A decision should be made by early December.

Preason Basketball Rankings (Men's Basketball): The Southern Conference conducts preseason polls of its coaches and media. The composite rankings:

On the men's side, Davidson (193 points) is the pick to win the North
Division, beating out Appalachian (173), East Tennessee State (125), VMI
(97), UNCG (71) and Western Carolina (51). Charleston (200) has control
of the South and is followed by Chattanooga (173), Furman (112), Georgia
Southern (95), Wofford (83) and The Citadel (51).

Looks like the Keydets should be fairly competitive in roundball.

You May Have Noticed A New Name: In reviewing the above rankings you'll notice that Charleston is not only listed, but is picked to control the South division of the Southern Conference. The following article provides a little insight.

Cougars not planning Southern hospitality

10-29-98
By ROB DANIELS

The Southern Conference has imported a beast to terrorize the block, but
the longtime residents are smart enough not to run away screaming and
begging for help. In this case, the beast is the help.

The College of Charleston, which ruled the Trans America Athletic
Conference the way Castro squashes Cuba, is the Southern's newest member
and potentially its most important one. Right away. The Cougars have
their top six players back from a 24-6 team that gave eventual Final
Four participant Stanford a game in the first round of the NCAA
tournament. They are expected to win their new league and -- more
importantly -- to bring it credibility.

Charleston is ranked in several national preseason polls, and the timing
of its arrival is perfect for a league that fell precipitously last
year. While hoping for an NIT bid, Appalachian State coach Buzz Peterson
knew his chances were shot when the selection committee started talking
about his league's standing in the Rating Percentage Index chart, which
Peterson was told had fallen from 18th to 24th in one year.

"That's what the NIT people kept telling me," said Peterson, whose team
was 21-8. "I really think the College of Charleston coming in is going
to make it better."

The Cougars went 80-6 in their TAAC play, and they've got a witty,
inventive leader in John Kresse, whose winning percentage of .797 is
third among active coaches.

This is clearly a perfect match for a school that craved stability like
none other. Of the school's first 14 coaches, 11 stayed one or two years
and got out. Not Kresse, whose wife is the college's admissions director
and who has the place to himself. No football, no pros, nothing else.

"Instead of taking prospects to a football game, I take them to the
beach. In October," he said.

The best reasonable scenario for the conference is to have Charleston
boost its RPI with a win over Georgia and a second-round game -- win or
loss -- against North Carolina in the Preseason NIT. Let the Bulldogs
run rampant over the league, secure an automatic NCAA bid and then lose
the conference final. Having two members in the NCAAs would make
everybody happy.

"It will make everybody rise to the challenge," VMI's Bart Bellairs
said. "This league needs to get two in the NCAA and one in the NIT."

Kresse isn't boasting -- "I know it's going to tarnish my record," he
joked -- but he also knows the Cougars should make the tournament one
way or another. He also seems eager to have membership in a legitimate
league, something the TAAC has never been called. And it doesn't hurt to
have a conference rival, The Citadel, less than a mile away.

"Their cadets march onto our campus on Friday and Saturday nights and
steal our coeds," he joked. "Now, it's warfare."

Hey, that's it for this week.

Yours in the Spirit,
RB Lane '75

Back to Cyber Corps Page

Back to the Main Page

Last Updated: October 11, 2009

Site Created by: Richard L. Neff II, '90 - Network Technologies Group