Nathan Fenno The Washington Times - March 27, 2011, 09:39PM

SAN ANTONIO — Standing on the edge of Virginia Commonwealth University’s on-court party Sunday, Tom Yeager beamed.

“This is absolutely thrilling,” the commissioner of the Colonial Athletic Association said.

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Yeager was on hand in Dayton, Ohio, when VCU’s run started with a First Four win over Southern California.

“This isn’t just a victory for us, it’s a victory for all mid-majors,” Yeager said. “It is so hard to win in the tournament and we rejoice at every victory. But this exceed our hopes and dreams when (the tournament) started.

“You have a Florida kid (Joey Rodriguez) who wasn’t even recruited by Florida schools. They’re always ‘a little short’ or ‘not a bad player.’ Not the type of school that usually goes to a Final Four.”