Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 1, 1994 TAG: 9411010097
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
So, what's in Virginia Tech's hoops future? The crystal ball says another title for the women and possibly third place for the men this season.
After that, how does an Atlantic 10 spot sound? It's not all-sports membership in the Big East Conference, but more than a few Hokies see it as the next-best available opportunity.
The Metro held its preseason media gathering Monday by teleconference from Atlanta. Commissioner Ralph McFillen talked about the league's ``great opportunity in the future.''
What future? The Metro's chance for survival is the sort of long shot that Darrell Griffith and Dell Curry once fired. Maybe the death certificate hasn't been signed, but the autopsy already is being performed.
Louisville, Southern Mississippi and Tulane are committed to a new, football-driven all-sports affiliation. It will look a lot like the current Great Midwest, and the Metro as it began in July 1975.
Five of the original Metro six will be in the new league - Louisville, Tulane, Cincinnati, Memphis and St. Louis. Only ACC member Georgia Tech is missing from the first Metro mix. Houston, Alabama-Birmingham, Marquette and DePaul complete the new Metro.
That's 10 teams. It doesn't include Tech - which doesn't want to be included - or the most recent Metro additions, South Florida, Virginia Commonwealth and UNC Charlotte, although the 49ers are lobbying for a spot in the reconfigured Great Midwest Metro.
What are the Hokies' options? Athletic director Dave Braine will meet with Tech's basketball and non-revenue coaches today to discuss that.
Everyone knows what the Hokies want - and it's not February basketball jaunts to St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island - but what are they going to get?
The ACC? Next question.
The Southeastern? The league may want to expand past 12 schools, but no one is sure when. Tech should ask. The worst the SEC can say is ``forget it.''
If the SEC says anything else, the Hokies could use SEC interest as leverage and attempt to turn its Big East football tie into an all-sports commitment that may never come.
While Tech is waiting, the choices are the Atlantic 10 and the Colonial Athletic Association.
``We're exploring our options,'' Braine said. ``The Big East knows we'd like to be an all-sports member.''
Tech women's basketball coach Carol Alfano certainly doesn't want to see the Metro melt. Her Hokies won their first conference title last year. They're the preseason pick this time. She's also realistic, however.
``Everybody knows I'm Catholic, and my mother says a novena every night,'' Alfano said. ``So, we'd like to be in the Big East. They have to add one more. Thirteen is an unlucky number.''
Alfano's desire for that affiliation was echoed by Tech men's basketball players Shawn Smith and Shawn Good. When they were recruited, they were told Tech was planning to play in the Big East.
``Our hopes and dreams were playing there,'' Smith said. ``If we can't get in the Big East, I like the Atlantic 10.
So, when Mr. Smith goes to Washington, he'd be playing George Washington, not Georgetown. In Philly, it would be Temple, not Villanova. But who's to say the A-10 would take Tech.
A few years ago, the league wanted the Hokies. Tech stayed in the Metro. The A-10 loses West Virginia and Rutgers to Big East all-sports membership next year. Would the Atlantic 10 be willing to possibly be just a transfer station for another program?
The Colonial will accept all four of the Metro finishing schools. Surely, the A-10 would not. The Colonial, already with five state schools, makes much more sense financially for Tech's non-revenue programs.
However, in recent seasons, the Atlantic 10 has played better basketball than the Metro. The A-10's power rating has been superior and also is much stronger than that of the CAA.
If Tech is going to get in the Big East, the A-10 provides the better avenue because it plays in the same neighborhood. Even when it's not football season, the Hokies still could be in the newspapers in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Boston and Providence.
The Colonial doesn't have as much to sell, but it's a much cheaper fare. Braine can read, and the alumni letters basically say that if he puts the Hokies in the Colonial, the next contract at Tech will be one on him.
That could make the decision easier.
by CNB