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--> --> SOU bids to host playoff game By Bobby Heiken Ashland Daily Tidings Southern Oregon University athletic director Phil Pifer has vowed to do all he can to make sure the Raider football team plays as many home playoff games as possible. "I've told the football coaches that I will do everything in my power," Pifer said. "I know that the more games we play at home the better our chances are of advancing." The Raiders (7-1) are currently ranked 7th in the NAIA Top 25. This week they travel to Eastern Oregon (1-7) and a victory would lock up the school's first national playoff berth since 1987. A loss and it will come down to where the Raiders are slotted in the final poll of the year. To make the playoffs, SOU has to be in the Top 20 and be the highest ranked independent team - a position they now enjoy. In awarding home playoff games, the NAIA looks at national ratings, money, facilities and people being able to get in and out of the area. "We seem to be a fit for all of the criteria," Pifer said. "Our facilities are really good and with the airport in Medford people are able to come and go." Pifer also went all out to help guarantee the Raiders a home game for the first round, which starts Nov. 17. Pifer bid the recommended $22,500 last week. "If we win Saturday I would be shocked if we don't host a first-round game," he said. The money that Pifer bid is hinged to SOU selling out the playoff game and generating the money from tickets, programs and concession sales. "As soon as we get the call Sunday, I've got to hit the streets and sell this place out," Pifer said. "I'm going to Grants Pass, Rogue River, Roseburg, Medford and start selling tickets to businesses that could buy a large number of tickets. If people say they are going to be out of town, I'll ask them to buy some and donate them to the VA Dom in White City." Should the Raiders win in the first round, a second round game on Nov. 24 becomes Pifer's next dilemma. "That gets a little scary," Pifer said. "They want a much higher bid (probably somewhere in the $40,000 range) and it's also Thanksgiving weekend so I'm a little concerned about crowd size. But even if we were to sell out, we'd still be short." If it gets to that point Pifer said he would again seek outside help. "I'll need to find people and businesses that would back us," he said. "I'll go to the Raider Club, Friends of Raider Football or someone else in the region that can help." There's also the outside chance the Raiders may be bidding against themselves for the second round game. "It could be just a roll of the dice because it's Thanksgiving and a lot of school's won't bid for the second round," he said. Pifer says he hasn't asked the school for any money yet and is trying to do this all by himself. "There's really not a lot of money available here at the school," he said. "But playoff games would benefit the whole school. This is a chance for some positive PR for the whole institution. It would help bring a lot of students to our campus." And they also wouldn't hurt the team's chances of winning. In 1998 when Azusa Pacific won the NAIA championship, all but the championship game was played at its home stadium. And according to Pifer his No. 1 goal is to make sure the Raiders play at home. "I'm doing everything I possibly can," he said. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing