THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 1, 1996 TAG: 9601010119
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF, WIRE REPORTS\
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Family members were unsure yesterday about the whereabouts of Ron McKelvey, a Texas defensive back dismissed from the team Saturday amid allegations that he is a 30-year-old playing under an assumed name at his fourth college.
Friends and family members confirmed yesterday that McKelvey is Ron Weaver, whose eligibility expired after playing the 1989 season at Sacramento State University. His half-sister, Bonita Money, issued a statement yesterday on McKelvey's behalf. She said she has known of her brother's ruse since the 1993 season, when he was living with her in Los Angeles and playing under the name ``Ron McKelvey'' at Los Angeles Pierce College.
The player's parents, Richard and Sung Weaver, did not know of his assumed identity, she said. An employee at the Weavers' liquor store in Salinas, Calif., said yesterday that Richard and Sung Weaver were worried about their son because he has not contacted them.
Money said her brother is not planning to write a book, as he told a reporter from the newspaper, the Salinas Californian. He played under McKelvey's name, she said, ``because he loves football and wanted a second chance to play.''
In all, Weaver has played seven seasons of college football in the past 10 years: two at Peninsula Community College (1986-87); two at Sacramento State, a Division I-AA school (1988-89); two at Los Angeles Pierce College (1993-94); and one at Texas (1995).
Southwest Conference commissioner Kyle Kallander said he has conferred with Texas officials and the league office will assist, if needed, in investigating the incident.
``I don't see how they can hold Texas culpable,'' Kallander said, ``The NCAA only uses forfeitures (as a penalty) if there was some intent to defraud to gain a competitive advantage. That clearly wasn't the case here. I can't see them getting any penalties from the NCAA.''
SENIORS' FINALE: The Hokies said so long to 16 seniors, 11 of them starters, who played their last college games in the Sugar Bowl.
Some of them will be virtually irreplaceable, including defensive tackles J.C. Price and Jim Baron, linebacker George DelRicco, safety William Yarborough, receiver Jermaine Holmes, offensive guard Chris Malone and flanker Bryan Still. Nine Hokies seniors lettered as freshmen in 1992.
``We've got a lot of rebuilding to do,'' junior rover Torrian Gray said. ``It will be hard for anyone to come in and pick up at the level of those guys. We're going to miss those guys a lot.''
The offense and defense will each lose five starters, and placekicker Atle Larsen is a senior.
The Hokies' two-deep bowl roster included 13 seniors, 16 juniors, seven sophomores, five redshirt freshmen and three true freshmen.
TICKET TALE: Go figure on how the Sugar Bowl distributed its tickets. Both schools quickly sold out their allotments and undoubtedly could have sold more, but were not given more tickets. The game, however, was not a sellout, and hundreds of fans were attempting to unload tickets outside the Superdome before the game.
QUICK KICKS: Tech's appearance in three consecutive bowl games - Independence in 1993, Gator in '94 and Sugar in '95 - is a first for the school. . . . Hokie leading tackler DelRicco (137) posted 100 or more tackles in three consecutive seasons, the first Hokie to do so since Mike Johnson from 1981-83. . . . Malone started his school-record 47th consecutive game Sunday. Malone started every game during his four seasons of eligibility. . . . The Sugar Bowl was Tech assistant coach Billy Hite's sixth with the Hokies since he joined the staff in 1978. That's the most bowl trips for any coach in school history. . . . The Sugar Bowl was Texas' 36th bowl trip, which ties Tennessee for the most of any school. by CNB