THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502090567
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Virginia Commonwealth and Virginia Tech, refugees from the Metro Conference, have called press conferences for today to announce their new athletic affiliations.
According to sources, VCU will join the Colonial Athletic Association, which includes Old Dominion and William and Mary. Virginia Tech is expected to join the Atlantic 10 conference.
A published report Wednesday in the Roanoke Times and World News, citing an unnamed source, said Virginia Tech had decided on the Atlantic 10 and would notify its board of visitors this weekend.
And the Associated Press reported Wednesday that Tech, Dayton and La Salle have joined the Atlantic 10 with an official announcement to come today.
Athletic director Dave Braine would not confirm that a decision had been made but added: ``I'm not saying that the sources are not correct in the way we're leaning.''
Virginia Tech, a Metro member since 1978, last week reached a $1.1 million settlement from the Metro Conference to leave that league. VCU, in the Metro since 1991, also was denied membership in a new league the Metro is forming with Houston and most of the Great Midwest Conference schools.
The CAA aggressively wooed Virginia Tech, and that league seems a better fit for Virginia Tech's sports. But in terms of competitive level and opportunities for TV exposure and financial gain for its men's and women's basketball programs, the Atlantic 10 by most accounts offers the Hokies significantly more than the Colonial.
The Atlantic 10 had three teams in last year's NCAA tournament and Massachusetts was ranked No. 1 for four weeks this season.
Reportedly, the Atlantic 10, which would grow to 12 members with Virginia Tech, Dayton, LaSalle and previous additions Fordham and Xavier, Ohio, would be broken up into two six-team divisions for basketball.
The conference loses West Virginia and Rutgers next season to the Big East.
Virginia Tech's move does not require a vote of approval from its board of visitors, the school's governing body. by CNB