Deans At WM, Richmond Place Bet Over Football Game

By Amber Lester Kennedy Saturday, November 20, 2010

A lot is at stake in Saturday’s football game between old rivals The College of William and Mary and the University of Richmond. Fans will be waiting to see which team will earn a spot in the NCAA playoffs, sure, but they’ll also be waiting to see the result of a wager between two business school deans.

The deans of the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond and the Mason School of Business at The College of William and Mary have placed a bet on the outcome of the 120th football game between the two colleges. Nancy Bagranoff, of Robins, and Larry Pulley, of Mason, have agreed that the dean of the losing school will wear the winner’s logo T-shirt to work for the entirety of Nov. 29.

Bagranoff initiated the bet to Pulley by e-mail on Wednesday. “If – or should I say, when – the Spiders bring home a win, Dean Pulley will sport a Robins School of Business shirt to work on the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday,” Bagranoff said. “In the unlikely event that we are defeated, I will go to work in a Mason School T-shirt on Nov. 29.”

Responding to her fighting words, Pulley produced a video addressing the challenge and showed off a shirt bearing the slogan, “Bringing the Revolution to Richmond.” He said William and Mary values revolutionary thought from its students. He also mocked Richmond’s mascot, the Spider. “Spiders do elicit fear,” he said, adding that typically the response is to “swat it with a newspaper.”

Bagranoff produced her own video response, saying she’s not very fond of the color of green. She also described a T-shirt made for Pulley; it bears the new business school building, which she insinuates will outlast the Mason School building by 100 years.

The teams will compete in a sold-out game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Zable Stadium.

http://www.youtube.com/WMSchoolofBiz