THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 24, 1994 TAG: 9409240384
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth, UNC-Charlotte and South Florida are considering membership in the Colonial Athletic Association after learning that the formation of a new midwestern athletic conference will leave their basketball programs and nonrevenue sports homeless beginning in 1996.
The new all-sports league, as yet unnamed, will include Louisville, Tulane and Southern Mississippi from the Metro Conference, Cincinnati and Memphis University from the Great Midwest and Houston from the Southwest Conference. Presidents from the six schools met Thursday in Atlanta and orally agreed to form the nation's newest league.
East Carolina, which had lobbied to become a charter member of the new league, was not included. ``But we are hoping there's still a crack we might slip in,'' said ECU associate athletic director Henry VanSant. ``Nothing is in writing with the new league yet. We're still going to church and praying.''
The long-awaited formation of the new league means:
The four remaining Metro Conference members - Virginia Tech, VCU, UNC-Charlotte and South Florida - will seek to merge with another league. Virginia Tech athletic director Dave Braine says the Colonial ``is the logical alternative.''
The Colonial will vigorously attempt to persuade the four schools to come in as a group. CAA officials could not be reached for comment, but a source at a league school said: ``I think the league will take a position on this within days. We've discussed the four schools. We've known for some time that they might be in this position, and we'd love to have them. This would greatly enhance our league. We'd become a dynamite conference.''
East Carolina will remain in the Colonial for all sports except football for the time being.
The Great Midwest, considered one of the nation's best basketball leagues, likely will disband. Cincinnati and Memphis were the league's anchors. Although the new league is being formed primarily for football, VCU athletic director Dick Sander predicts it will add DePaul and Marquette and perhaps St. Louis and Alabama-Birmingham from the Great Midwest. That's bad news for Oliver Purnell, who resigned as basketball coach at ODU and went to Dayton in part because of Dayton's membership in the Great Midwest.
Colonial commissioner Tom Yeager, who could not be reached for comment, has been attempting to persuade Virginia Tech, VCU and UNC-Charlotte to join the league for years.
Current Colonial members, in addition to ODU and ECU, include William and Mary, Richmond, James Madison, George Mason, American and UNC-Wilmington.
However, sources say Virginia Tech might prefer to join the Atlantic 10, which will soon lose Rutgers and West Virginia to the Big East and is seeking new members. Tech, a Big East member in football only, is hoping to join the Big East in all sports.
``We want to get in the Big East,'' Braine said. ``If we have to take one more step before, if someone is willing to take us on that condition, we'd be willing to do that.''
Sources say that Yeager has told Tech officials the league is willing to take the Hokies if Tech joins the Atlantic 10 first.
Braine added: ``I've talked to the Atlantic 10. I think that's a viable option for everyone. We (at Virginia Tech) have to look at the Atlantic 10 because that's in the direction of the Big East.''
South Florida, which is geographically removed from the Colonial's eight members and begins playing Division I-AA football in 1996, might prefer the Southern Conference or the Sun Belt.
However, the four schools have plenty of incentive to merge with a new league as a group. By doing so, they would retain the Metro's share of NCAA basketball tournament money, which Sander said could mean up to $3.5 million over the next six years.
Moreover, the four schools likely will split fines of between $250,000 and $500,000 to be levied on Louisville, Tulane and Southern Miss for leaving the Metro.
Sander said athletic directors from the four remaining Metro schools spoke by phone Friday morning and agreed move slowly.
``The consensus was that we need to figure out all of the implications and then try to do something rational,'' he said.
But he added: ``The Colonial is a great conference. Some of my best friends are at other schools in the league.
``The conference tournament is in Richmond, and many of the schools, such as Richmond and Old Dominion, are natural rivals.'' by CNB