U.S. college grid team to play here
Football: Contest seen as chance to promote city

By Peter McGuire
Published in the Telegraph-Journal on Thursday March 17, 2011
Appeared on Page C1

Saint John may not be hosting a Canadian Football League game in the near future but it's got the next best thing.

Barry Ogden, a long-time local recreation activist and president and general manager of the UNB Saint John Seawolves football team, was over the moon on Wednesday discussing plans for a visit from the Illinois College Blueboys this spring.

"This is a big, big opportunity for us to promote our city," Ogden said. "There's no stopping us once we get going."

The Blueboys will play the Seawolves on May 21 at 2 p.m. at the Canada Games Stadium on the UNBSJ campus in what is believed to be the first visit to Saint John by an American university team.

Ogden said this is an example of an event that will come to the city because of its facilities.

He added that if the Canada Games Stadium had not been refurbished last year, there's not much of a chance Illinois would have considered coming north.

The Blueboys are including Saint John on a sports/cultural tour that will also include a visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio and stops in New York and Boston.

"They decided to add another stop because they wanted a Canadian element and when you go due north of Boston, we are the closest Canadian university football team," Ogden said.

Illinois head coach Garrett Campbell contacted Ogden through email after visiting the Seawolves website and inquired about a possible game.

"I called right away, as soon as I got the email, and said I'm not sure how we'll do it but we'll figure it out," Ogden said. "It's a great opportunity for us and a great opportunity for the city."

Illinois College, which sits geographically between the Kentucky border, St. Louis and Chicago, is a prestigious school whose visitors and guest lecturers in the early days included Abraham Lincoln, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Mark Twain.

According to the school's website, the best-known alumnus, William Jennings Bryan, class of 1881, was a three-time candidate for president of the United States, secretary of state and congressman.

Two graduates went on to become U.S. senators, 20 became congressmen, six were state governors and two currently serve as federal judges.

The Seawolves, who will be heading into their third season in the fall, will hold a spring camp to prepare for this one-off contest.

The Blueboys, who will arrive on a Friday and leave for home two days later, are expected to stay on campus and will be treated to a surf-and-turf barbecue at the Irving Nature Park. Ogden said the Saint John Ys Men are expected to help organize the barbecue.

Big-time football is not new to the city, which hosted a pair of CFL exhibition games in the mid-1980s. Both drew in the neighbourhood of 12,000 fans per game.

"This just shows that we should be going for big events of up to 20,000 people," Ogden said. "We'll be fine for this game (with capacity of between 6,500 and 10,000) but we'll need more seating for future events."

Ogden expects the event will require approximately 30 to 40 volunteers and those interested should call him 658-5911 or Seawolves vice-president Bruce Watts at 674-2747.

The teams will obviously be playing on a Canadian-size field, which is larger than the standard American gridiron. They'll also use Canadian rules with the one exception of four downs. There is also a difference in the ball used with an American football being smaller than its Canadian counterpart. Each team will use its own ball. It hasn't been decided whether or not teams will use 11 players aside or the Canadian version of 12 men aside.

Ticket prices have not been determined but Ogden said, "We'll be very cognizant of keeping it affordable. We want to promote, not just football, but recreation and the city itself."