ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 18, 1997 TAG: 9701200121
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
TECH'S OFFENSIVE coordinator rejects an offer to return to his alma mater.
More money and a chance to return to his alma mater wasn't enough to make offensive coordinator Rickey Bustle leave Virginia Tech.
Bustle confirmed Friday he has turned down an offer from Clemson to become the Tigers' offensive coordinator.
``I'm not going anywhere,'' Bustle said. ``I went back and forth on it all week, but in the end I decided to stay right where I'm at. When you put nine years into something, it's tough to walk off.''
Bustle, 42, wouldn't speak in specifics about Clemson's offer, but a source said he turned down a long-term contract that included a substantial pay increase.
``There's more to it than that, if you know what I mean,'' Bustle said. ``I like where I'm at and I've got a lot of close friends here.
``If it had been an offer from any other place, I wouldn't even have talked to them. But my ol' alma mater called and I felt like I had to talk to them.''
Bustle grew up in Summerville, S.C., and played at Clemson from 1973-76. He was a graduate assistant coach for the Tigers from 1977-78.
Bustle has been at Tech since 1987, with the exception of 1994, when he spent a season as offensive coordinator at South Carolina.
Tech's offense has had incredible success in Bustle's three years as coordinator, averaging 400-plus yards and 32 points per game.
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB