NCAA tournament gives VCU and Richmond something in common

Richmond — Virginia Commonwealth basketball players Bradford Burgess and Brandon Rozzell look out from a billboard on I-95 South with a message for passers-by: “Our City, Your Team.” 

These days, though, that slogan is the subject of some debate. Virginia’s state capital is home to two of the 16 teams still standing in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, a fact that bewilders VCU and University of Richmond supporters alike, let alone bracket prognosticators across the nation.

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Richmond and VCU are separated by six miles and a few rungs on the socioeconomic ladder. Richmond is a small, secluded, private school, while VCU is a bustling, urban, state institution. Fans of each will be able to unite under the banner of civic pride Friday in San Antonio for the Southwest Region semifinals. If Richmond can upset Kansas and VCU can beat Florida State, the two teams will play each other Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.

Since the NCAA tournament field expanded to 64 in 1985, just two other cities — Los Angeles and Philadelphia — have boasted two teams in the round of 16 in the same year.

The folks here can’t seem to agree on how to view their unexpected partnership, but they widely acknowledge its benefit to the community.   

“If they’re being honest, the school administrators at VCU and Richmond probably would tell you they’d prefer not to be sharing the spotlight this weekend,” said Matt Smith, a 1992 Richmond graduate who works as a marketing director at Farm Bureau Insurance. “But it’s great for the city.”

VCU has long benefited from its identity as a state school, with a diverse and rapidly growing student population and an in-state tuition under $9,000. Many of those who attend VCU — now more than 32,000 students — are from the region and stay in the area after they’re done with classes. Located near the city’s center, VCU has no football program, which has funneled alumni focus toward a men’s basketball program that has been moderately successful for much of the past two decades.

 Richmond, meantime, resides on a small suburban campus surrounded by a lake and homes fortressed by barriers of brick and wrought iron. A vast majority of Richmond’s 4,400 students come from outside the state, many from the Northeast. Tuition is north of $41,000 per year, and the living alumni count hovers somewhere around 40,000. Prior to Coach Chris Mooney’s arrival in 2005, the men’s basketball program had made two NCAA tournament appearances in the previous 14 years.

“There’s enough difference in the perception of the two schools to make a clear distinction out of the rivalry,” Mooney said. “And I think because of that, it’s easy to pick a side, and that usually makes for a good rivalry.”

White collar, blue collar 

The last time Richmond advanced to the round of 16, Smith was a senior at Thomas Johnson High in Fredrick in 1988. The first time he attended a game between VCU and Richmond, the differences between the schools’ student bodies were obvious.

“When I was in school, the [Richmond] student section used to chant ‘White collar, blue collar’ and they’d point back and forth,” Smith said. “And another one was ‘That’s all right. That’s okay. You’ll all work for us one day.’ VCU fans had their own cheers, as well.