THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412080591
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Analysis
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
Coach George Welsh and his players say they are happy to be going to the Independence Bowl.
So is athletic director Jim Copeland. ``A lot of teams will be staying home,'' he reminds.
But not all University of Virginia fans are pleased that the Cavaliers are going to the Independence Bowl and a lot of them are vowing to stay home, too.
Not only that, but the majority of discontented fans who have voiced complaints to newspapers and radio talk shows across the state are blaming Copeland for not getting the team invited to a better bowl.
Fans are frustrated that a three-point loss to North Carolina State in the final game could bump Virginia from a major bowl to the Independence, which rates last among the bowls available to ACC teams.
Fiesta Bowl officials have confirmed they would have invited Virginia instead of Notre Dame if the Cavaliers had won their last game to finish with a 9-2 overall record and in second place in the ACC.
But Notre Dame, which tied Southern Cal in its last game, was more attractive at 6-4-1 than a Virginia team that finished 8-3 and tied with North Carolina and Duke for third place in the ACC.
No one is disputing that reasoning.
What disgruntled Virginia fans don't understand, though, is how the Cavaliers tumbled all the way from the Fiesta Bowl to the Independence Bowl, which will be held in Shreveport, La., on Dec. 28.
Three other ACC teams - North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Duke - are going to ``better'' bowls despite having the same 8-3 record as Virginia and finishing behind the Cavaliers in the regular-season AP poll.
North Carolina was invited to the Sun Bowl, N.C. State to the Peach Bowl, and Duke to the Hall of Fame Bowl.
Even Virginia Tech, which Virginia defeated convincingly, is going to a bigger bowl (Gator) with a record indentical to Virginia's.
What gives?
Welsh says he has ``absolutely no idea'' why those teams were chosen ahead of his.
Copeland says each of the bowls had its own reason for the selection it made.
But many irate Virginia fans contend Copeland simply was out-hustled and out-politicked by athletic directors at the other three ACC schools.
Some feel so strongly about the bowl snubs that they are calling for Copeland's dismissal.
One influential fan who has called several newspapers in the state to complain says a Hall of Fame selection committeeman admitted to him that Copeland did not campaign as actively as Duke athletic director Tom Butters, who wrote letters and made numerous phone calls.
Others claim Virginia is in disfavor with Peach Bowl officials and, again, the reason for that is Copeland.
But committeemen from the Peach and Hall of Fame bowls who were told they could speak candidly without being indentified all denied Copeland was to blame for Virginia not being invited to their bowls.
Hall of Fame sources said Duke was an early favorite because coach Fred Goldsmith is a native of South Florida and the Blue Devils, winning their first seven games, were a major story most of the season.
They agreed Copeland showed only mild interest, but said that was probably because Virginia was moving up in the polls and drawing attention from larger bowls.
They pointed out, too, that Duke did defeat Virginia and had the same overall and league records.
Peach Bowl sources seemed surprised Virginia fans felt they were snubbed because N.C. State was selected ahead of the Cavaliers.
``N.C. State did beat Virginia, right? N.C. State did finish second and Virginia third in the league, right? The two had the same overall records, right?'' asked one committeeman.
``Go figure.''
ACC officials, who work closely with the bowls, say Virginia going to the Independence Bowl was ``just the way it shook down.''
North Carolina had the highest ranking in the coalition poll of ACC teams available and is considered ``a good television draw.''
N.C. State finished second to Florida State in the league and usually has a large bowl following.
Duke had the inside track to the Hall of Fame Bowl all along.
``That left the Independence Bowl for Virginia,'' a league source said. ``But, I don't see how anyone could say it was Copeland's fault.''
When pressed, the league source agreed Virginia brings little to the bargaining table other than its record.
He noted the Cavaliers have lost four consecutive bowl games, have not had large fan followings in recent appearances, and, yes, athletic officials, including Welsh and Copeland, do not sell their team as hard as other schools.
But after Virginia lost to N.C. State in the final game, Copeland didn't have as much to sell as North Carolina, N.C. State or Duke.
It would have been different if Virginia had not been upset by both Duke and N.C. State, and finished 10-1 or 9-2.
No one can blame Copeland for that, either. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jim Copeland
by CNB