Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 21, 1994 TAG: 9411220066
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Virginia Tech isn't making the most headlines in the latest round of conference realignment, but the Hokies are actively positioning themselves for their post-Metro Conference future.
Dave Braine, Tech's athletic director, will meet today in Newark, N.J., with Atlantic 10 Conference commissioner Linda Bruno to discuss the possibility of Tech joining that league. (Braine also will discuss the Hokies' bowl possibilities with Big East Conference officials.)
Braine already has met with Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Tom Yeager, who has courted Tech for years. Braine also has spoken with representatives from several other leagues, including the ACC and the Southeastern Conference, just in case.
Barring Big East expansion, the Hokies appear to be leaning toward the A-10. Basketball coach Bill Foster, the Tech men's basketball coach, has said he would favor the A-10 over the CAA, and he's not alone. A recent poll of Hokies coaches by Braine found nearly unanimous support for the A-10, a Tech source said. Braine said he would neither confirm nor deny that, but spoke positively about the A-10.
``To say we have been invited to join would be incorrect,'' he said. ``If the opportunity presented itself, and we made ourselves available to that conference, I feel like the chance will be there.''
The Atlantic 10 is made up of Temple, St.Joseph's, Massachusetts, Duquesne, Rhode Island, St.Bonaventure, George Washington, West Virginia and Rutgers. WVU and Rutgers are joining the Big East in all sports for the 1995-96 school year; Xavier will join the A-10 for '95-96.
The Metro is entering its last season because Louisville, Southern Mississippi and Tulane are leaving to join a new all-sports conference
DePaul still is considering an offer to join the Atlantic 10.
Tech won't make any move, however, until the NCAA rules on what will happen to a bundle of Metro money. Ralph McFillen, the Metro commissioner, is trying to find out whether the four remaining conference members - Tech, Virginia Commonwealth, UNC Charlotte and South Florida - will receive equal shares of what Braine said is $4.4 million in NCAA Tournament money, league buyout fees and Metro television money.
The four remaining members believe the three departing schools must forfeit that money because they are breaking up the league.
by CNB