Chattanooga wanted to make a strong statement Friday night about why it should remain the host of the NCAA Division I football championship game. That hardly seemed possible earlier in the day as a steady rain continued to fall.
But the skies cleared before the 8 p.m. kickoff, though the rain later came and went, and an announced crowd of 14,328 saw the No. 2 Villanova Wildcats beat the top-seeded Montana Grizzlies 23-21 for the FCS national championship.
Despite the concerns that many of the area spectators, who bought more than 10,000 tickets, might stay home, there appeared to be at least 12,000 fans on hand at the start of the game.
“The weather didn’t help, but it’s another one of those things we can’t control,” along with which teams reach the title game, said Scott Smith, president of the Greater Chattanooga Sports & Events Committee. “To sell over (10,000 tickets locally) for two teams that aren’t remotely close to us is pretty strong.”
Chattanooga and Frisco, Texas, a Dallas suburb, are the finalists to host the game starting next season.
John Frierson is in his fifth year at the Times Free Press and fifth year covering University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletics. The bulk of his time is spent covering Mocs football, but he also writes about women’s basketball and the big-picture issues and news involving the athletic department. A native of Athens, Ga., John grew up a few hundred yards from the University of Georgia campus. Instead of becoming a Bulldog he attended Ole ...
It will be great to watch A Steady Rain, i have bought tickets from http://ticketfront.com/event/A_Steady_Rain-tickets looking forward to it.
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