ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 8, 1996 TAG: 9601080022
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
VIRGINIA TECH MAKES ITS WAY into the elite of college football programs with its Sugar Bowl win over Texas, but the Hokies need money and fan support to stay on top.
It first Big East Conference championship ... a school-record 10 consecutive victories ... a statement-to-the-nation 28-10 victory over Texas in the Sugar Bowl ... a No.10 ranking in The Associated Press' final poll.
No question, 1995 forever will remain the year that Virginia Tech's football program stood up and introduced itself to the rest of the nation's elite.
But how about this question: Now that the Hokies have crashed the big-timers' party, how long will they be able to hang around?
No one has to tell coach Frank Beamer that Tech can ill afford to play Hokey Pokey if it wants to run with the big boys.
``I'm sure there's going to be a lot of press and pictures up on the wall after this,'' Beamer said after Tech's milestone Sugar Bowl triumph.
``And there should be ... let's enjoy this.
``But, hey, we're going to get right back to work. I think where we take this thing from here will answer a lot of questions.''
If the Hokies want to hang with college football's upper hierarchy they're going to need a couple of things - money and a bunch of good pick-up lines.
Tech is still $1 million short of raising the $6 million it needs to start construction on its much-anticipated football addition to the Jamerson Athletic Center.
An even bigger issue is Tech's modest season-ticket base. The Hokies may have had 30,000 fans in New Orleans, but the fact remains the program sold only a little more than 13,000 season tickets this season. That's less than one-third the number sold by such perennial powers as Nebraska, Florida, Florida State, etc.
``The financial base of season tickets is very important,'' Beamer said. ``We don't have that the way we should right now.
``Look at our program and compare it with the top five in season tickets, and ours is not even close.
``I would hope all those people who came down [to New Orleans] would consider buying season tickets, because that's part of building a solid program.''
Throughout the season, Beamer pushed for funds for the new football facility like some of the televangelists that preceded his Sunday morning football shows.
At his weekly Tuesday news conferences it was rare when Beamer didn't say at least once: ``Y'all send those checks, you hear.''
``I expect some bulldozers to be moving soon in Blacksburg,'' said Beamer at his day-after Sugar Bowl media session.
``It's my goal to have the best facilities on the East Coast. It's something we got to have to keep up and try to get to that next level.''
The 40,720 square-foot facility, to be built adjacent to Jamerson, will include a conditioning and weight-lifting complex, a multi-purpose gymnasium, an area for sports medicine and training, additional lockers, an academic center, classrooms and an auditorium for meetings.
Now, for those party pick-up lines. We're not talking dates. We're talking players. To stay with the elite, Tech must continue to woo the best athletes to Blacksburg.
``We're on the way to having a great recruiting year, and, hopefully, we can finish that off,'' Beamer said.
``We've got a good recruiting base in Virginia. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if us and Virginia get the best players in the state year-in and year-out, we'll both be in the top 20.''
What transpired in New Orleans should pry open more recruiting doors for Tech.
``It sure can't hurt,'' Beamer said. ``Our program got a lot of publicity, a lot of national awareness that you can't buy. Yeah, I would think all this would make us more attractive to a lot of kids.''
Beamer said he thinks Tech ``has a chance'' to stay on top.
``I think this year tells everybody we're legitimate, that we deserve to be here,'' he said. ``Now, if we can build on it. I think it's real important what we do next.''
And what comes next for the Hokies? Beamer, who has directed the Hokies to 27 victories and three bowls the past three seasons, realizes it's tougher to stay on top than it is to get there.
Next season, Tech figures to be picked third in the Big East, behind early-line favorites Miami and Syracuse. Unlike this past season, Tech will play both of its conference rivals on the road.
Then comes the matter of attrition. Counting kicker Atle Larsen, Tech loses 11 starters to graduation.
Tech's defense, which more than held up its ranking against Texas, takes a huge hit up front, where six of the eight linemen on the two-deep are seniors. Waving goodbye to Blacksburg will be such stellar performers as J.C. Price, Jim Baron and Hank Coleman. Tech All-American end Cornell Brown still could bolt early for the NFL.
``We lose a couple real good ones, guys who have meant a lot to this program, and they're going to be hard to replace,'' Beamer noted.
The defense also loses heart-and-soul linebacker George DelRicco, not to mention William Yarborough, the Hokies' tough, ball-hawking free safety.
Offensively, the biggest question looms at wide receiver, where the Hokies bid adieu to Sugar Bowl MVP Bryan Still and Jermaine Holmes, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass against Virginia.
``The last few games, what Holmes and Still meant to us was very obvious,'' Beamer said. ``I think we've got some OK receivers, and we've recruited some really good receivers, but they've all got to step it up and be more consistent.''
On the offensive line, Tech loses ironman guard Chris Malone and stable tackle Mike Bianchin.
In the backfield, Ken Oxendine should be able to fill the shoes of Dwayne Thomas as the Hokies' primary ball carrier.
``I'd sure like to have about three or four of those guys back,'' Beamer said.
His Sugar high suddenly fading a bit, Beamer turned realist.
``Every year certainly is not going to be like this one,'' he said. ``I know our fans understand that, too.''
Beamer is smart enough to know a lot of memories will be purged when the calendar rolls around to September.
``In this business,'' said Beamer, ``it's not so much what you did yesterday, but what you do tomorrow.''
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Tech players Antonio Banks (9) and Marcus Parkerby CNB(33) celebrate the Hokies' Sugar Bowl win with fans. color