Washington and Lee football was a long way from home for its second away game — over 1,400 miles away, to be exact.
The Generals flew to San Antonio, Texas, to play against a top-level team at Trinity University on Sept. 21.
“This was a great opportunity that arose because of unfortunate circumstances,” said Head Coach Garrett LeRose, ’07. “Our opponent Birmingham Southern had to close their doors, so our conference had been in touch with the Southern Athletic Association for a new matchup. Going to Texas wasn’t always a necessarily planned thing, but we’re always looking for opportunities to give our student athletes competitive environments.”
The last time the team traveled outside of their 500-mile radius, required by the NCAA, was in 2017. They played Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in California, according to the Generals football history page.
“The farthest I would travel for a game in high school was about a four hour bus ride, so we never got to fly anywhere. I very much appreciated going along with the team and having this experience,” said Defensive End Cole Sheppard, ’28.
Players said this unique opportunity allowed them to create new connections amongst their teammates and get acquainted with the challenges of being a student athlete.
“It was a great opportunity for us all to bond in a different setting outside of Lexington. Being able to spend the whole day traveling and with my buddies, even when I had to do Latin homework for some time, was a great experience,” said Linebacker Steve Tracanna, ’28.
The Generals were gone for four days, from Thursday to Sunday, to make the away game possible. LeRose said the coaches had to consider how this matchup would affect the players and if it would be worth the long journey.
“We’re academics first, athletics second. When we were scheduling it, we had to consider if this was going to have any negative impacts on our students academically, and I think we did this early enough in the semester where there weren’t any,” he said.
On campus, some students had speculated that the football team had acquired outside funding to make this possible. In reality, the entire experience came out of the regular football operating budget, LeRose said, and other events for the players may have to be compromised because of the high expenses.
“We used the money we typically set aside for the student athlete experiences such as going to a home field hockey game as well as a home volleyball game. Last year, we funded our athletes’ dinners for both games and went to Fireside one time and ordered pizza for 90 players another time. So when you look at our operating budget and the cost of the Texas trip, we’ll now be putting some of those more traditional student athlete experiences aside as well as some funds we typically put aside for equipment costs,” said LeRose.
Regardless of price, LeRose said the coaches still valued the unforgettable experience of playing in Texas.
Alumni were able to engage with the team by attending a “Lex in Tex” tailgate before the game, which was advertised by the Generals Alumni social media accounts. The game itself was intense, as it came down to the final play. In the end, the Generals lost to the Tigers with a score of 16-10, contributing to their record of 2-2.
“Trinity is a high quality opponent and a regular playoff team, but they also balance being a top liberal arts college though in the state of Texas. That was something that pairs nicely with who we are as an institution and part of the reason we thought the mashup was worthwhile,” LeRose said.
“We wish it ended a little bit better, but we played as a team,” Tracanna said. “[They] are a very good team, and we only ended up losing by six.”
After beating Averett University on Oct. 5, the Generals will look to stay hot in conference play against Hampden-Sydney College at home on Oct. 12.
