University of Richmond Athletics
Capital Cup 125: History And Memories In The Making
- Soundbites: Capital Cup 125 Multimedia Interviews Collection
The Cup runneth over. Richmond vs. William & Mary. The 125th meeting. Oldest Rivalry in the South; Fourth Oldest in the Nation. Senior Day. CAA Title. Playoffs. Sellout crowd. TV. Memories. Then there’s that Cup - The Capital Cup – which will be hoisted by the winning team in one of those emotional memories-of-a-lifetime around three o’clock Saturday afternoon.
Richmond grad Mike London is as uniquely qualified to give his perspective of the rivalry as anyone. He has participated as a player, assistant coach and head coach - and been on both the Spider and Tribe sidelines. He was head coach of the Spiders for two of the most memorable Richmond triumphs. Both the 2008 and 2009 contests ended on game-winning field goals. 
"I remember rushing the field,” recalls London. “There’s no better feeling than celebrating with the kids when you have a big victory like that. You’re trying to run out there and hug somebody and the kids are hugging each other. It’s such elation to see the guys have that lifelong memory. We’ll never forget that. It was two special years.”
None more so than 2008, which of course, ended with a national championship. But without that taut 23-20 overtime victory at William & Mary, the season may have ended in Williamsburg.
“It was somewhat similar to this year,” related former Spider captain and standout defensive lineman Lawrence Sidbury, Jr. “We felt we had to win that game to get into the playoffs. And I’ll make it a little more personal. As seniors, we were like, ‘if we don’t win, this might be our last game – period.’ We wanted to win first and foremost and it might be a little selfish, but we didn’t want it to end. I might not be where I am today if the season had ended that week. I’m forever grateful we won that game.”
Sidbury went on to earn MVP honors in the national championship game with a dominating four quarterback sack performance. That defining effort helped pave the way for an NFL career that has him currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sidbury’s Spider teams went 4-0 against the Tribe from 2005-2008. His coach for his first three years was Dave Clawson, who coached Richmond from 2004-2007, going 3-1 against William & Mary.
“I remember my opening press conference at Richmond,” laughed Clawson while sitting in his office at Wake Forest, where he is in his second year as head coach. “A lot of people were congratulating me, but there was one gentleman who came up to me and said, ‘come here, sonny. Just understand this. You’re not our head coach until you beat William & Mary.' ”
Clawson’s Spider teams beat the Tribe to clinch conference titles in 2005 and 2007. His 2006 team won in Williamsburg to secure a winning record.
“I remember the elation of ’05 and ’07," said Clawson. “The feeling of running out on that field – both those games were at home. Knowing you beat William & Mary and were getting a conference championship trophy. You were just so happy for the players.
“The year we were 5-5, we brought in former players every day at practice so our guys could hear how lucky they were and how special it was to have this rivalry game. Those former players had memories from 20-30 years ago. This was going to be their last memory of playing football at Richmond.”
The Spiders and Tribe joined the same conference with its current configuration in 1993 and Saturday will mark the 10th time one of the squads has a chance to win at least a share of the league title. Richmond was successful six times, William & Mary three times. In the 22 meetings since 1993, each team has won eleven games. The overall series is 61-58-5 with the Tribe holding that slight edge, but the Spiders have won three in-a-row and eight of the past 10.
William & Mary has already clinched a share of the CAA title with a 6-1 conference record. The Spiders are 5-2 in the league. A Richmond win will earn the Spiders a share of the conference crown.
“Whatever league you’re in, if you’re in-state and in-conference, that’s a really big deal,” said Richmond coach Danny Rocco, who is 3-0 against William & Mary. “Now you add the 124, or 125 (games) worth of history, and oh yeah, by the way, a conference championship is on the line this week. But that’s what we all want and want to be able to see as the season winds down. We’ve positioned ourselves to make this a meaningful game so everybody can celebrate this rivalry as we get ready to compete for the 125th time.”
William & Mary’s Jimmye Laycock will coach in this rivalry for the 36th time. He also played in the rivalry as a Tribe quarterback from 1966-1969. His head coaches were Marv Levy and Lou Holtz. It was Holtz who took William & Mary to the 1970 Tangerine Bowl. Richmond almost upset the Tribe’s run with a narrow 34-33 W&M victory in the regular season finale, in a game that was then known as “The I-64 Bowl.”
Two years earlier, Richmond, led by future UR Hall of Famers quarterback Buster O’Brien, wide receiver Walker Gillette and Coach Frank Jones won the 1968 Tangerine Bowl. That team beat William & Mary, 31-6, in the regular season finale, despite a then-school record 259 yards passing by Laycock, who had just returned from a knee injury, only to injure his other knee late in that game. The Spider victory gave UR a 6-0 Southern Conference record and the school’s first SoCon title.
“It’s a very big rivalry to me because I go back so many years,” said Laycock. “I remember one game back in the 80’s when our fans rushed the field and took down the goal post. I still have a picture of that. For William & Mary fans to take down a goalpost, that’s pretty significant.
“But I also remember the year (1988) they put Curtis Jefferson at quarterback when he had never played quarterback and he ran all over us and beat us. That’s one of the great things about playing a team year-in-and-year out. It creates a lot of memories.
“Now, it has significance in standings, rankings, playoffs. Both schools have made a commitment to be as good as they can be in football. I think it’s great to finish the year with a traditional rivalry game. It adds a lot of significance. I think a lot of people take pride in this game. It’s exciting to tee it up with them every year.”
Saturday’s game at Robins Stadium is SOLD OUT. Fans needing game day information can visit RobinsStadium.com for maps and directions to the stadium, parking, tailgating, promotions and stadium policy procedures.
Fans are encouraged to visit capitalcup125.com to relive the rivalry through photos, recaps, record books, videos and audio. Current and former players and coaches take their own walk down memory lane with remembrances of the rivalry. Season ticket holders will receive a replica of the Capital Cup Trophy that the winning team takes back to campus each year following the game.
Detailed information about this year’s matchup is available on the Gameday Central page. A full game recap, with photos, videos and interviews will be available following the game on RichmondSpiders.com.