KINGSTON, R.I. — A banner behind the north end zone at Meade Stadium reminds the University of Rhode Island of its last appearance in the NCAA football postseason in 1985. Nearly four decades later, URI has returned. And the Rams, who play host to Central Connecticut State in the first round of the FCS playoffs Saturday, bear little resemblance to the 32.1-points-per-game ‘85 “Ehr Force” led by quarterback Tom Ehrhardt.
“Those guys,” URI senior wide receiver Tommy Smith said, “could sling.”
These days, the game is grounded, a balanced attack that has given 10th-ranked URI (10-2) a chance to surpass the program victories record, set by the 1984 and ‘85 teams, against Central Connecticut (7-5).
“Our ability to win games is really our ability to run the ball effectively and stop the run first and foremost — every coach would tell you the same thing,” URI coach Jim Fleming said. “We have dynamic schemes on both sides of the ball. Offensively, we do have quick-strike capability but last weekend we ground out nine minutes on a [13]-play drive in the fourth quarter [in a 35-21 victory over Bryant]. I’ll do that every time.”
URI’s resurgence is also built on solid economic foundations, with donors contributing to Meade Stadium improvements, including an artificial turf field and lights in 2019. Next up is a $42 million investment in the east stands, along with a videoboard, thanks to the Rhode Island Capital Improvement Plan.
“I think about just standing out here on this field, and when you talk to our donors, about the $4 million we raised to put this field in place, that was a huge statement,” URI athletic director Thorr Bjorn said. “It said people believed in our football program and all those different factors came into play to say Rhode Island football is important, we care, and we can be very good at it.”
Bjorn, though, needed more W’s to ignite investment.
“Winning’s the greatest marketing tool there is,” Bjorn said. “We’ve always had some support, but as we’ve grown and won more games, you can see more and more people wanting to be part of this. I knew we could do it, but you have to have everything lined up, and winning football takes a lot of support and a lot of financial resources.”
Credit Bjorn and URI with keeping the faith while the L’s piled up. Fleming went 1-11, 1-10, 2-9, and 3-8 in his first four seasons.
“Back in [2009], Northeastern and Hofstra dropped football and we made a decision [to limit scholarships] so that we could maintain football,” Bjorn said. “I thought that was important — let’s keep staying in the game so we can adjust.
“So when Jim got hired, he inherited a program that was probably near the bottom of the FCS level, and that doesn’t just magically change. People were using recruiting at Rhode Island against us, saying, ‘Why would you go there? They’re just going to drop football.’
“When we make a $4 million investment, that argument went away. Now we’re making a $42 million investment, those arguments go away.
“I always believed in [Fleming] and I felt like once we got things going — it’s like turning a barge, it takes a long time to turn a barge — but if all of a sudden if you keep making coaching changes, you’re starting from square one again. And Jim wouldn’t have deserved that.”
Fleming, 65, had two years of head coaching experience before URI, guiding Sacred Heart to a 21-1 record.
“It’s no secret in 2014 the program was really on life support,” Fleming said. “There was a heavy burden of carrying the responsibility to keep football on campus here because you could hear the echoes — like, ‘You should drop football. Why do you have it? You stink.’ There was no pride in the program.”
Fleming said his wife joined a campus tour, and when the group passed by, they were told, “That’s our football team. And they stink.”
“We finally got to the winning season in 2018, first time in 17 years,” Fleming said. “At that point in time, you start to see the little light at the end of the tunnel.”
After the ‘85 season, the Rams lost their footing, nearly sliding into oblivion. In the next 39 years, URI experienced 30 losing seasons. In the last seven years, though, Fleming has guided the Rams to six plus-.500 records, including a program-record five in succession.
Those numbers have changed URI’s image.
“I knew coming in this was a competitive group, and I definitely wanted to be part of a winning program,” wide receiver Marquis Buchanan said.
URI might have been a difficult sell had Buchanan, who grew up in Providence, been part of a previous generation. Then again, possibly not.
“Maybe I like being around my hometown, close to home,” Buchanan said. “I’d have embraced it and wanted to fight for a change and turn the program around.”
Not that Meade Stadium has seen all doom and gloom since its 1928 opening. Signs commemorate appearances in the 1955 Refrigerator Bowl (a 12-10 loss to Jacksonville State spoiled an unbeaten URI season); the 1973 Turkey Bowl in Frankfurt, Germany; and three playoffs (1981, ‘84, ‘85), which concluded with a 59-15 loss in a visit to Furman, despite Ehrhardt’s 494-yard passing day.
“That’s a long time before any us were born,” Smith said. “We’re happy to be a new number on the banners over there. But the season’s not done yet, so we’re excited to keep going.”
Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at frankdellapa@gmail.com.