Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 22, 1995 TAG: 9508230111
SECTION: WELCOME STUDENTS PAGE: WS-72 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But this time around the Virginia Tech student body has a built-in handwarmer - some red-hot sports programs.
This fall and winter, Tech students can cuddle up and find soothing warmth in:
A football team that has won 17 games over the past two seasons and is a good bet to land a school-record third straight bowl bid.
A men's basketball club coming off the school's second National Invitation Tournament title and picked to be even stronger this time around.
A women's basketball program coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids.
Tech's major-draw sports programs are hot, and, at least in football and men's basketball, figure to get hotter.
And guess what? The students are catching on.
Student interest is at an all-time high.
Florida might be 500 miles down the road, but nevertheless, Tech sold 17,579 tickets when its football team traveled to the Gator Bowl. The impressive response at the ticket window can only help the Hokies when they show up on any future bowl's search list.
As of last count, more than 13,500 season tickets - an all-time program high - had been sold for Tech's 1995 football season, which begins Sept. 7 when the Hokies entertain Boston College in an ESPN national telecast.
In men's basketball, Coach Bill Foster's exciting team gradually won over fans, averaging 7,254 fans its final seven home games.
The response hit a fever pitch in Tech's NIT quarterfinal at Cassell. The noisy throng of 9,523 fans was treated to one of the greatest finishes in Tech history. Who will ever forget center Travis Jackson's 3-pointer from the left corner with 1.9 seconds left to beat New Mexico State, 64-61?
And only minutes after Shawn Smith's two free throws with .7 of a second left beat Marquette 65-64 in the NIT championship game at New York's Madison Square Garden, delirious Hokie fans some 525 miles away mobbed the streets of downtown Blacksburg.
The carryover for this season will no doubt be great. Coach Foster's team, which has every major contributor back and some strong newcomers, will be among the favorites in its first year of competition in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Interest in women's basketball also hit record proportions last winter. Coach Carol Alfano's team drew 4,300 for a Jan. 13 home upset of highly ranked Virginia. On Feb. 22, a program-record 5,000 turned up at Cassell for Tech's meeting with longtime national power Tennessee.
There you have it. It's figures to be a hot time at Lane Stadium this fall and at the Cassell this winter.
FOOTBALL: The program has hit a new plateau as head coach Frank Beamer prepares for his ninth season.
Coming off a school-first, back-to-back bowl games, the Hokies enter 1995 raring to go. Beamer has 17 starters back, including 10 of 11 on defense, from an 8-4 club that went to the Gator Bowl.
"We've got a chance to be a very good football team,'' Beamer said. "One thing about it, we're going to know something early.''
No doubt. The Hokies meet Boston College and Miami, both nationally ranked, and both picked ahead of No. 3 Tech in most preseason Big East Football Conference polls, in games one and three, both at home.
If Tech wins those two games, the sky could be the limit. If Tech splits, it's basically a wash. If Tech loses both, the Hokies' goal then simply becomes to try and finish third in the Big East, which guarantees a Carquest Bowl slot.
After the first three games - Tech entertains Cincinnati on Sept. 16 between the BC (Sept. 7) and Miami (Sept. 23) games - the Hokies will spend most of their time on the road. Tech plays only two home games after September - Akron (Oct. 14) and Syracuse (Nov. 4).
"Obviously, if I had had my druthers,'' said Beamer, "the schedule would be a little different. I'd rather played BC and Miami a little later down the road.''
Beamer would have liked to have bought some more game time for new quarterback Jim Druckenmiller, who takes over for graduated three-year starter Maurice DeShazo.
"I'm not real worried about Jim,'' Beamer said. "He has learned really well and I feel good about that position. I'm more worried about our offensive line giving him time to get the job done more than I am Jim Druckenmiller.''
The new QB will have plenty of weapons in the arsenal. Tech's running game, behind senior tailback Dwayne Thomas (655 rushing yards), junior fullback Brian Edmonds, and sophomore backups Ken Oxendine and Marcus Parker, includes one of the top stables in the nation.
Senior Brian Still, who averaged a team-leading 21.7 yards per catch last year and senior Jermaine Holmes (34 catches) will be Druckenmiller's primary aerial targets.
Defensively, Tech lost only one starter - All-Big East linebacker Ken Brown - off a unit that played well before wilting late. Nevertheless, Tech finished No. 20 in the country in total defense.
Junior end Cornell Brown, Tech's best defensive talent since Bruce Smith, anchors a unit that should be helped by some able first-year newcomers.
"I think what you saw the last two years was just a sign of things to come,'' said Beamer, who signed a four-year contract extension in April. "I have visions of Virginia Tech football reaching even greater heights.''
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Riding the tidal wave of the NIT title, Foster's Hokies can't wait for Oct. 15, when the roundball starts bouncing in Cassell again.
In addition to having every player back, Foster also will welcome four more good players - forward Jim Jackson, center Keefe Matthews, forward Shawn Browne and guard Troy Manns.
"On paper, we look awfully good,'' Foster said. "If we stay healthy we'll be 10 or 11 deep.''
A far cry from last season when the team, because of injuries, played with only six men many nights.
"We should really be something this year,'' said Ace Custis, Tech's star junior forward. "It's going to be nice to have all these bodies that can play.''
Smith, Custis and their backcourt running mates, Shawn Good and Damon Watlington, will be afforded the luxury of being able to take a breather or two this season.
"It's hard not to think about how good we could be,'' Good said. "I know I can't wait to get started.''
Tech's move to the A-10 from the Metro Conference will bring a bunch of new opponents to Cassell.
"We can't wait to show the A-10 just how tough it is to play us in the Cassell,'' Custis said.
Coming off a school-record 25-win season, the Hokies should be a lock to be ranked in the nation's top 25 before the opening tip to the season. Tech will be the heavy favorite to win the A-10's Western Division that includes Dayton, Duquesne, George Washington, La Salle and Xavier.
"The expectations will be high and that's something we'll have to handle,'' Foster said. "I think the bunch we have is capable of doing that. We'll see.''
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: After making the first two NCAA appearances in school history, Alfano's program has to regroup somewhat after losing a stellar senior class.
Last year's seniors - Jenny Root, Christi Osborne, Lisa Leftwich, Angela Donnell and Stephanie Carter - were the cornerstone of Tech's success during the past three seasons. After going 10-18 their freshman season, the seniors went 66-23 in this last three years, taking Tech to three consecutive 20-win seasons.
The loss of the seniors leaves a major rebuilding job for Alfano, who is entering her 19th season.
Only senior point guard Teri Garland returns from the starting five.
``We're going to be OK, though,'' Alfano predicted. ``We have some good young players who will compete, plus we signed some pretty good kids.
``Getting to the NCAA two straight years was a major accomplishment for us. It shows the program is not a flash-in-the-pan-type thing. Hopefully, the future will be just as bright.''
by CNB