Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 28, 1995 TAG: 9501300036
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That opinion is no great revelation to Tech athletic director Dave Braine. He's been hearing that from lots of folks - most notably associate AD Danny Monk - for more than two years. Braine has made it no secret he prefers the Atlantic 10, but he's still listening.
With Tech's Metro Conference history about to be settled, a decision is due soon. The Hokies will receive their desired exposure, national niche and increased revenue through the Big East Football Conference's future on CBS and ESPN and the East's major markets.
As for the choice between the A-10 and the CAA for the rest of the program, the scales tip toward the CAA after men's basketball, especially when the financial history of Tech's program is weighed.
In November, we expounded on the pluses of the A-10. Those include men's basketball with Massachusetts and Temple, a winter presence - if more limited than in Big East football - in the media in the Northeast, and four times the NCAA basketball tournament money than the CAA delivers.
It isn't enough to change the opinion here. Many Tech alumni see the CAA as a step backward from the Metro. Well, the A-10 is the Metro all over again, and likely even a more costly proposition.
Braine was rightfully praised because he pushed Tech into Big East football. He likely would receive a different reaction if he chooses the CAA. Could his A-10 preference be rooted in alumni pressure? What's exciting about a Fordham in your future?
There would be little quarrel with Tech liking the A-10 if Big East football foes West Virginia and Rutgers were going to stay, but those schools are going to the Big East for the all-sports membership the Hokies desire. The loss of WVU and Rutgers diminishes the quality of the A-10.
A-10 membership is no certain springboard to full Big East admission, either. In A-10 hoops, there is no program with the tradition or drawing power of a Louisville. What happens to the UMass program when coach John Calipari bolts for the NBA or the Big East? Where does Temple head when coach John Chaney, 62, retires.
The Richmond-based Colonial would have seven state members with the addition of VCU - as expected - and Tech. Would the Hokies rather send teams from its growing non-revenue program to Olean, N.Y., and Pittsburgh, or Wilmington, N.C. and Norfolk?
Would Bill Foster rather play a crucial men's basketball game at McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia or at Norfolk's Scope, where as the road team he'd probably still have half of the support in the seats? Maybe Tech would rather play George Washington than American, but the Colonial's program has more to offer than the Colonials.
Tech is academically compatible with the Colonial. The CAA doesn't accept Proposition 48 recruits. Neither does Tech. The Metro has. The A-10 does.
The recent climb of Carol Alfano's basketball program wouldn't be slowed in the CAA. Tech's baseball program would take a big hit in an A-10 without an automatic NCAA bid. The CAA wouldn't be nearly as costly a travel proposition for the Hokies. Tech's scholarship numbers fit the average CAA program, too.
For years, Tech alumni in Richmond, Norfolk and Northern Virginia have wanted to see more of the Hokies. A CAA affiliation enhances that. Tech has longed for more TV and newspaper exposure in Richmond and Norfolk. The CAA would help in that regard, too.
The A-10 earned $1,453,189 for 34 NCAA units last year as compared to the CAA's $384,668 for nine units. If it's dollars Tech is counting, add the opportunity for better crowds in the CAA. Would more people come to Cassell Coliseum for St. Joseph's-Tech or Richmond-Tech?
With the Hokies, the CAA Tournament in Richmond would sell out. It's true that if Tech lost to JMU in men's basketball that the Hokies would take more heat than after a loss to Rhode Island, but if the Colonial is a step backward for Tech as is so often stated, shouldn't the Hokies then be confident of success in the CAA?
Tech is 20 games under .500 in 161/2 years of men's conference basketball in the Metro, so it's obvious the addition of Tech and VCU would help the CAA's power rating.
The Colonial has lobbied Tech hard. According to a source within the A-10, the league tendered an invitation to the Hokies about a week ago, but only after some in-house haggling. It takes seven votes for A-10 admission. After several ballots that ended 6-3, the source said, Xavier finally changed its vote to the Hokies' side.
The potential for upheaval in A-10 membership in the future appears greater than in the CAA. And as the ACC proved in its early years, more than rivalries can sprout from compact geography.
The Colonial makes sense for the Hokies, but the choice is about much more than being good neighbors.
by CNB