Double Time

It was after that loss that Baucom arranged to have self-proclaimed "head coach" Travis Fox, a hypnotherapist whom Baucom sought out last spring after seeing Fox's Beat the Bogeyman self-help infomercials on Golf Channel. The Palm Desert, Calif.--based Fox, who also performs hypnosis in stage shows and on television, had never worked with a sports team, but Baucom arranged for him to drive from Atlanta and meet with the Keydets. "We all agreed that we were going to believe in the impossible," says Fox, who has met twice with the team and conducted two other video conferences.

His suggestions have become part of the VMI routine. Last Thursday, three hours before they played Southern Virginia, the Keydets came together in their locker room. They formed a tight circle on couches and stools and locked their arms. Baucom turned off the lights, and Bell spoke softly: Every little thing is for a big purpose. Know it in your mind. And for a moment, at a school defined by its boundaries, there were none.